Appeal process

[Anxiousmummy2]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post here, but I would really appreciate some advice and see if anybody knows something that may help my case. I hope this is an appropriate thing to post about.

The situation is that my daughter will be attending primary school in September, she wasn't given any choices that I applied for.
She was given a school in an unfamiliar area which is a bus journey away and a 20 minute walk. Its the bus journey which is an issue really and the unfamiliar area.

I want to appeal based on my mental health and the fact that I will be having a new baby in November.

The school I want to apply for is an 18 minute walk away from me, more like 15 really.

I know there is a lot of stigma around mental health, but I have anxiety, depression and borderline personality disorder.

I am under a specialist mental health team for mums to be and new mums.

Mental health risk is at a peak after having a new baby, I'm concerned about travelling to an unfamiliar area as I experience a lot of anxiety and a bit or paranoia. Also, bus journey with the side effects of grogginess and dizziness from my medication will make it difficult to commute such a journey to and from the school given.

Not to mention travel costs too. These reasons are why I applied for one within walking distance which I am familiar with. I just want to stay well for me and my children.

I'm also worried that my child will get to the school late as it's a longer journey and I don't want that to reflect on theor education.

Does anyone have experience with the appeal process? Do I have a chance? It's all quite daunting to be honest and getting me down.

Any advice would be helpful?

Sorry about the long essay and thank you for reading.

the fact that I will be having a new baby in November.

remove that from your appeal for starters OP

did you not get in due to distance?

I'm sorry to say that appeals are not about the parents personal situations, but about the child and the suitability of the school for your child. Also, schools cannot go over a class size of 30 for infant classes, so unless you can prove that a mistake was made when allocating the place, you won't be successful.

I'd concentrate on keeping your child on the waitlist for your preferred school and working on how to sort out the logistics in September.

As others have said the appeals are about the child not siblings nor parents.

If there is a "social" category for your chosen school, and if they will include parents' health (our lea does not) and if it isn't infant class size (ie 30 per class on PAN) then you may be able to successfully try an appeal.
But it isn't good odds. Sorry.

Get on all the waiting lists for all the schools that are closer/more accessible for you. Any that you discounted for other reasons, reconsider as easy access seems to be the priority at this point. However, it's also worth getting yourself familiar with the route to and the area of the allocated school now so that it doesn't hold such anxiety for you and will become familiar and less of an issue. I know it seems tough now, but these aren't insurmountable obstacles and many people have more arduous journeys - some by choice - to school each day, even with MH or other issues to contend with. If you're worried about your DD arriving late, there may be ways to get their earlier, and breakfast clubs or even a local childminder you could use. Take a breath and you'll get past the initial shock of this being unexpected and further than you thought, and focus on ways to make it less of a worry and even potentially a more positive option.

You can of course appeal for other schools but if they are full then generally you have to prove that a mistake has been made, rather than making a case based on your own difficulties in getting DD to school, which don't hold sway.

Why?
I was getting at the side effects of medications making it hard to travel as it is let alone with a new baby. I'm concerned about their safety.

I think so. But even though it is closer, it is harder to get to.

Okay, thank you x

You really need to have a letter from a doctor or social worker stating that in their professional opinion the school is the only one that you are able to access.

Did you apply to your closest schools?

Thank you x

Sorry but logistics won't sway an appeal especially if it is an infant class size restriction. Your mh is unlikely to be a consideration unless there is a broader social/medical need category on admissions criteria which includes parents/carers and evidence was ignored. What was reason for refusal at nearer schools, are you on the waiting lists for those and any other nearer ones you may not have listed? If the allocated school is over 2 miles away the LA may fund transport. Otherwise is finding a childminder or family to do the drop off/collection possible.

I appealed for DS1 years ago and because they hadn't allocated places against policy we lost, along with a few other families. However the school he went to, followed by his siblings turned out to be the best thing for them all. They really won't care about your personal needs, just that they've allocated your daughter a place appropriate to their policy.

And you do have time to familiarise yourself with bus route and area if needs be.

How far away is the school you have been offered?

Are there other nearer/easier to get to schools?

Realistically your mental health needs won't make a difference at appeal. I personally wouldn't bother with that route. It will be lots of stress for an almost certain no. I would focus on waiting lists.

Did you apply to more than one school? Are there other schools closer to you which you could get her name down on waiting lists for, in addition to the one you missed out on?

I'm afraid your person circumstances regarding mental health and new baby won't make any difference if they've correctly followed the admissions procedure. As long as they have, you'll lose the appeal. If a school is full it's full I'm afraid. They can't magic a place for your daughter and everyone else who may want one. Parent's individual health, transport and childcare needs don't come into it I'm afraid. The system would become impossible to organise if they did. The admissions criteria is what it is.

This is why it's so important to apply to more than one school (even if you're not overly happy with other local options after your first choice), rather than putting all your eggs in one basket, otherwise you'll just get allocated your next nearest school with a place if you don't get your first choice, which can often be miles away and difficult to get to. Did you apply for any others? It's quite rare for someone to get none of their choices if they list several local schools as you'll usually get one of them on the distance factor, as long as they're on your list. People who get allocated miles away are usually those who did not apply to their most local schools. I understand that there are many factors which put people off applying for certain schools, even if they're their most local, but it can be a risky game.

My advice would be to use the next few months familiarising yourself with the area and the journey to reduce the anxiety linked to it as much as possible. In the meantime, get her name on the waiting lists of all the more local schools, no matter how you feel about them as individual schools (as right now accessibility needs to be a priority). Don't waste your energy on an appeal you won't win. There really is no point listing your own personal health issues as it really won't make any difference I'm afraid.

Can the new baby’s father not help with this situation?

@Anxiousmummy2 did you apply for your nearest school/catchment area school? Is the one that's 15 minutes walk away your nearest school?

Sorry I've just re-read your post and see you say you didn't get any of the schools you applied for so I'm guessing that means you did apply to more than one. Were they definitely your most local schools though?

I ask as I am a bit confused. You say the one you want is a 15-18 minute walk, the one you've got is a 20 minute walk. That's not a major difference? Both sound doable, and practically as doable as each other. Are there really no other schools any closer to you though? Is this definitely a case of her missing out on your most local school which is the easiest to get to, or it is more that she just didn't get the school you'd prefer? Either way it really doesn't sound like it's worth wasting time and energy on an appeal, especially if you suffer from poor mental health.

Distance wise, you've been allocated a school a similar distance away from your house as the one you really wanted. I'd say admissions have actually done their job quite well in that sense. I originally read it that you'd been given something much further away to what you wanted.

Unfortunately, it's not up to admissions to organise something personally convenient or preferable for you. If the criteria has been adhered to, they've done what they're there to do.

I would advise strongly against appeal. It is really stressful and with the reasons you've given, you won't win.

Get on the waiting lists for all nearer schools, there is always a lot of movement in the summer.

Practice the route, visit the area, over the summer go to parks in the area for days out, it will only be unfamiliar the first few times.

I think it’s a bus ride plus a 20 minute walk, whereas the one she wanted was just an 18 minute walk.

It’s a bus and a 20 min walk?

Yes

I had serious reasons for needing to appeal against the school my dc was allocated (technically for a school which could keep them safe) and even though there was a significant safeguarding reason that meant we couldn't sent our DC to that school, it wasn't enough to win an ICS appeal.

We also couldn't physically get him to that school on time and get our older DC to their school due to living rurally and there being zero public transport and zero before or after school childcare provision. I needed to effectively be in 2 places at once, 10 miles apart. However, the logistics were my problem, not the LA's.

We had to move house.