Is it worth appealing?

[lalalonglegs]

My dd (oldest child) has been turned down by all four primary schools in local area and the council will not allot her a place until September. The school we really want her to go to is Catholic and we fulfil the criteria for entry - it's just that we live too far away by a few yards to have made the first cut. Our neighbour's children have got in but we are 4th on the waiting list. Same story at the local community schools. So what do we do? Everyone says appeal but on what grounds? She is not "looked after", as far as I can tell the rules were applied fairly and she has no special educational/medical/social needs. Any ideas? By September I will have her, her 2 year old brother and a new baby to care for and can't face the thought of driving around the borough to drop her off at some school that is in special measures.

If the entry criteria were fairly applied, then it would be hard to see why you would be successful, assuming that the classes are "full" so either 30 per teacher, or the maximum in the space available if less than that. If you are close of LEA borders then sometimes slightly different distacne rules can apply but even so, it sounds as if you are clear as to what has happened in your instance.

But if you are 4th on the list with 6 months to go then I would be surprised if you didn't get in by September. I was initially amazed at how many last minute spaces our local very over subscribed CofE school had left in September, but people move for so many different reasons. Have you had a chat with the school secretary about your chances on the list? They would know how many changes there usually are in this timeframe, so could give you the best idea of your chances ime.

Yes, spoke to admissions officer who said that sometimes two or three spaces come up, sometimes none at all... Is there any way of finding where last child to get in on distance came from? Do they have to tell you?

I don't know whether they "have" to tell you, but certainly I was allowed to see copies of the maps used for the allocations, which included dots for all applications under that particular sections (in care/SN/siblings having been considered previously).