In-year admissions appeal

[Aozora13]

We are are about to relocate back to my hometown. We have applied to our four nearest primary schools, only one of which had any space for my DD going into Y1. Although when I visited they had space for my eldest going into Y4 also, this was snapped up before I got the formal application in. This is actually our closest school (0.2 miles as the crow flies) although it wouldn't necessarily be our first choice.

I've spoken to the LA and they've advised me on the appeals process, which I'm working on now. They told me that there might be Y4 spaces at other schools in the town but these are much further away (and a couple are not great - hence the spaces) so really not ideal. I would be really grateful for any pointers or experience people could share on successful in-year appeals. I've done some googling but most info seems to be for starting Reception. I had a look and last (school) year's Y4 class had 31 children and the school is under-subscribed overall although whether that's still the case now or has any relevance to this appeal I don't know. I am so stressed about this, any guidance would be very welcome!

While KS2 can go over PAN in exceptional circumstances (usually to accommodate siblings), if they have 31 in Year 4 it sounds like they've already gone over PAN so it could be an issue.

You talk about whether schools are good or not but, when you move, I'm afraid you sometimes just have to take what is available regardless of what local opinion is or what Ofsted say. I'm not sure 'we don't like the Ofsted grading or the local reputation' would hold much weight in an appeal. Besides, an appeal should be about why the school you're appealing for is right for your child, not why others are wrong.

Do you have transport? If you can get your children to these so called not great schools and they have space for both I'm afraid an appeal is unlikely to rule in your favour. The job of admissions is to find you a suitable school in your town, not necessarily to find one that is to your personal choosing. If they are able to do that, that's a bonus, but as long as they find your children a school in their new town they will be considered to have done their job.

Ofsted reports and local opinion aren't always everything. Many children can thrive in schools others automatically reject just based on grading. If you do get allocated a 'less desirable' school it's definitely worth looking around and reading into before automatically dismissing.

@Aozora13 I have done an in year appeal which was successful and I have sent you a PM.

It sounds like the school has agreed to go over PAN but the 32nd place in the class has been offered for September 2024. In this case, there will be 16 tables. It's likely that the classroom won't take another table so this makes your appeal less likely to be upheld.

@savoycabbage thank you so much!

No problem. I think it's quite a difficult thing to do, writing a statement about your own child and your circumstances so it helps to have some idea of what it's supposed to look like.

@BoleynMemories13 @Charmatt sorry that wasn’t clear - my DD’s current year group has 30, the year ahead of her (last year’s Y4, this year’s Y5) had 31 so I wondered if this helped make the case ie last year you had 31 kids in Y4 so this year you can also accommodate 31 kids.

The school actually Requires Improvement according to the latest OFSTED but it’s our nearest and the only Y1 place we could find and we really want to keep the DC together as they’re really close (as well as logistical considerations). But I don’t know if that carries any weight. The school also offers things relevant to DCs interests but again not sure how much weight that carries.