Are these sufficient grounds to appeal?

[PutYourRecords0n]

We live in a town with 4 primary schools - 1 catholic (1 form), 1 CoE (1 form) and 2 none religious, state schools (1 x 1 form and 1 x 2 form entry). The two religious schools require church attendance and are oversubscribed.

We live 0.38 miles from the 1 form state primary. Any other year, the furthest admitted was roughly 0.8 miles, so we would have been easily safe. We sorted out a childminder for both of our children on this basis - 3 days per week for our 1 year old and before/after school care for our 4 year old.

In the space of a year a housing development has been finished and the school has become the school of choice for SEN provisions. There are a lot of siblings.

We found out on Tuesday we didn’t get in by ~ 40 metres. Ie the max distance has more than halved in 1 year. We are 3rd on the waiting list. We’ve been given a place in the other none faith school, 1.8 miles away. We only own 1 car that my husband needs for work and our CM won’t pick up from that school. All the other CMs near the other school are full.

Obviously the council haven’t technically done anything wrong apart from not building more schools, but we are absolutely screwed. Is this sufficient to appeal?

I haven't read the other replies but, frustrating as it is, this is not grounds for appeal as long as their admissions criteria has been applied correctly.

Your childcare situation is not their problem. Again, as frustrating as it is you will have to find another childminder who collects from the other school. Or is there wrap around care you could use at the other school, while your youngest still goes to the original childminder?

The distance of 1.8 miles away might sound far, but in reality that's nothing compared to the distance many have to travel for schools when their local one is oversubscribed. It's really not worth appealing as you won't win.

Third on the waiting list isn't that bad. People move a lot and maybe not everyone who has been offered a place will take it There's every chance a place will come up by September. Fingers crossed for you.