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Original poster

School appeal - urgent

189 replies

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 18:31

Dear parents,

This is a desperate post re schools and appeals; apologies if not allowed, I can delete if needed.

I have appealed for reception for my daughter and I am looking to find information, reasons, motivations on how to build a successful school appeal.
I am concerned that the offered schools is unsuitable for my daughter and the hearing is tomorrow.
Any information welcomed.
Many thanks in advance.

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viques · 04/07/2023 19:14

Your daughter is in reception so it will be an infant class size appeal.

Unless you believe that she was denied a place because the LA got the allocation wrong, eg they used the wrong address, didn’t realise she was a sibling, got the distance wrong, then there is very little you can say at appeal that will make a difference unfortunately , because however much you want her to go to the school if they have allocated the number of places they are legally allowed to allocate then that is probably the end of the matter.

Are you on the waiting list for this school, or other schools? That might stand you a better chance. I hope you accepted the place you were offered, otherwise unless a waiting list place comes up you might not have a place at all in September.

Original poster
monyk12 · 04/07/2023 19:40

Hi Viques,

Thank you very much for replying, greatly appreciated.

We got offerred and accepted our third option - a good school in not a good area.
We are on the waiting list for the one that we want and we have our appeal tomorrow.
The closest school to us is our first option and we didn't got in.

OP posts:
Jinglybangly · 04/07/2023 19:44

Did you not get in because of distance? Have you looked online to see how far out you are? Can you ring the LA to see where you are on the waiting list?

Parker231 · 04/07/2023 19:45

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 19:40

Hi Viques,

Thank you very much for replying, greatly appreciated.

We got offerred and accepted our third option - a good school in not a good area.
We are on the waiting list for the one that we want and we have our appeal tomorrow.
The closest school to us is our first option and we didn't got in.

What are the grounds of your appeal?

LIZS · 04/07/2023 19:47

Do you know which category the last admitted child was(ie sibling, faith, distance etc)? Were you placed in correct category. Unless a mistake was made if it is ICS you have minimal chance of success.

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 04/07/2023 19:47

Reads like snobbery - a good school in a not good area, fgs...

TwoLittleDucks22 · 04/07/2023 19:49

What did you put on your written statement?

viques · 04/07/2023 19:53

It sounds as though you have been very unlucky if it is your closest school. Is it a small school? It is easy for quite a few places to get taken by siblings which means that the remaining places are even more limited in distance since this is usually the deciding criteria. Do you know what the furthest distance is that an offer was made? You could find out the measurement for last year on the LA site, I don’t know if the information for this year will be available yet. I am assuming that you have checked that they used your correct address.

Original poster
monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:07

Yes we are 23rd on the list. I calculated the distance and is wrong.

OP posts:
MrsSchrute · 04/07/2023 20:08

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:07

Yes we are 23rd on the list. I calculated the distance and is wrong.

If you can show that the LA have made a mistake, using the same measurements that the LA use, then I'd say you're in with a chance.

meditrina · 04/07/2023 20:11

It is almost certainly an appeal under Infant Class Size rules. Was the number of places offered 30 (or multiple of 30)?

If so, it's only possible to win an appeal if

a) the admissions criteria broke the Admissions Code (eg not giving priority to a group they must prioritise such as LAC, or prioritising a group they must not) and if they had compliant criteria your DC would have been offered a place. This is extremely rare
b) a mistake has been made in applying the criteria (eg overlooked sibling link, measured distance incorrectly) and if there had been no mistake your DC would have been offered a place
c) the decision is so wrong it's unreasonable (in a legal sense of being so perverse no reasonable person could have made it - eg your DC's mobility needs they need to use a wheelchair and you've been offered a school which is not adequately accessible)

What is your reason for saying currently offered school is unsuitable(other than your not liking it as much)

If it's not ICS rules, there is one further way to make an argument, but unless you can confirm it's not an ICS appeal then unfortunately it's not worth discussing for your case.

meditrina · 04/07/2023 20:16

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:07

Yes we are 23rd on the list. I calculated the distance and is wrong.

What is the greatest distance offered, and is the distance you believe is correct less than that?

Because if the greatest distance (in your category - distances in other categories are not relevant) was - for example - 1km, and they measured you at 1.5km, you might have a case. If your true distance is 0.8 km, then you should have been offered a place and should win your appeal. But if the true distance is 1.2km then even though a mistake had been made, it did not mean your DC would have been offered a place had they got it right first time, as you would still be beyond the greatest distance offered. So the appeal would not be successful - but the waiting list should be updated to put you in the correct position based on your true distance.

Jinglybangly · 04/07/2023 20:17

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:07

Yes we are 23rd on the list. I calculated the distance and is wrong.

How is your distance different from theirs? How did you measure it? I'm pretty sure it is from your front door to the schools as the crow flies.

LolaSmiles · 04/07/2023 20:19

Have you checked how the LA are calculating distance?
It's a while since I looked at primary appeals but I believe some LAs do as the crow flies from pins at each address, some do the designated route from home to the nearest open gate to the school site, where no shortcuts will be counted other than OS designated rights of way, also the software used will often use the middle of a road as the route, not the pavement.

LIZS · 04/07/2023 20:19

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:07

Yes we are 23rd on the list. I calculated the distance and is wrong.

You mean you disagree with their distance calculation? If so you need to check how they measure (the admission policy will state it) as it may be a specific route or point. Would the correct calculation have got your address within the distance of last admitted child though? Unless it was a mistake and your child missed out on a place due to that you still may not succeed. To be 23rd suggests many others live closer and perhaps your chances were low to start with.

Original poster
monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:24

Thank you for reolying. Is distance as far as I know and oversubscription too. This are very popular schools and the one that I am appealing is an Academy.

OP posts:
TreesandFish · 04/07/2023 20:26

You are not making full sense. What are the grounds for your appeal? What date are you bringing to demonstrate they've made a mistake? How have you carried out your research?

unfortunateevents · 04/07/2023 20:27

You're not giving a huge amount of information to enable people to provide focused information to you but whatever you do tomorrow, do you not disparage the school which you have been offered. You are appealing FOR a school, not against one.

LIZS · 04/07/2023 20:28

What does "Distance as far as I know" mean? The school must publish how they measure it.

Original poster
monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:28

Distance first - 0.4 miles from our house
Attendance to after school activites
Concerned about attendance if we cannot organise school drop offs and pick ups
Safety reasons
Least but not last the consistently outstanding Ofsted report

This are some.

I can go on regarding the how it impacts my daughter emotionally to be separated now from her friends;
How it impacts our family and jobs - we start working at 7 am and finishing after 8pm

There are more, but I can't know

OP posts:
Original poster
monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:30

It is a non-denominational.

I don;t have specific information about the specific criteria's- this was not send over although I have requested it. I am going to throw everything tomorrow - social, emotional, phychosomatic etc. I am so upset about this really.

OP posts:
GU24Mum · 04/07/2023 20:32

From what you've said, unless the local authority calculated the distance wrongly and, had they done it correctly you would have had a place, you aren't going to win on appeal. The other reasons are
important to you..... but aren't reasons a panel can take into account.

Whinge · 04/07/2023 20:33

monyk12 · 04/07/2023 20:28

Distance first - 0.4 miles from our house
Attendance to after school activites
Concerned about attendance if we cannot organise school drop offs and pick ups
Safety reasons
Least but not last the consistently outstanding Ofsted report

This are some.

I can go on regarding the how it impacts my daughter emotionally to be separated now from her friends;
How it impacts our family and jobs - we start working at 7 am and finishing after 8pm

There are more, but I can't know

If you can prove the distance is wrong then you may be in with a chance of successfully appealing for a place. If you can't prove they've made a mistake with the distance then you won't win an appeal. None of the rest of your points matter, and none will help you win an appeal.

LIZS · 04/07/2023 20:34

Unless the safety reason puts your dc in the medical/social category, if they have one, which is higher than distance none of the rest is relevant. What is the difference in distance by your calculation. Your admissions letter from April will state why your child missed out on a place.

unfortunateevents · 04/07/2023 20:35

Oh dear, their outstanding OFSTED reports are not going to win an appeal for you.

Neither are your points about pick ups and drop-offs and your working hours. Many families have two working parents and are expected to make appropriate childcare arrangements.

If you are starting work at 7 am and finishing at 8 pm that is going to be a problem in any school your daughter attends.