Primary school appeal - going into Y3

[CAmember]

Hi all; dealing with London authority, schools can be hard to get into.

Looks like I have to appeal as DC have now finished (independent) school and our most local school is terrible, we have chosen 2 local schools but there are no spaces.

Child in question is academically highly able (top 1% of pupils their age), but the appeal will be more on social and medical basis.

Does anyone have experience in succeeding with an appeal?

Would you include academics into it?

Chosen school can support pupils beyond curriculum and has record of doing so, its not just an inkling.

Please help a desperate parent.
Any tips appreciated

Even if you don’t have letters, you will have some form of written ‘advice/next steps’ following medical consultations. I would highly recommend you are as detailed and as specific as possible with your reasonings to why you want X school. Absolutely NO need to compare schools and say X is better than Y. The appeal panel are not choosing which place to give your DC, just whether they should get a place at X school. With regards to academics; if X school offers something that your child already does ie: learning a particular language or music lessons etc etc these are definitely things to mention as they will be taken into consideration (particularly if you know no other local schools offer them- also mention this in your appeal)
And you’ll no doubt get a ‘case’ from the school as to why they can’t have your child because the year group already has SEN/EAL etc etc. I do know of schools that have put up very very weak cases when they ‘want’ the extra kids particularly if they know they’ll be ‘no bother’ in the classroom as they don’t come with additional needs etc. I’d suggest that rather than going on about academics, alongside your appeal there’s usually a section to upload supporting evidence, I’d upload your child’s most recent report (as long as it’s not too lengthy)- they schools and appeal panel see all the documentation so will have ‘proof’ that your child will not need a lot of catching up/ won’t hinder the schools academic numbers etc etc. It’s obvi not very PC to say but schools and appeals panels will take that on board when deciding if the school will be too disadvantaged by taking an extra child- and providing evidence that they won’t be can’t hurt!

Unlike other posters, I do think bullying can be considered in an appeal- for example, if he’s being bullied outside of school by local children he sees on his way to and from school and could benefit from going to a school further away this can and will be considered- as obvi it’s not as easy to move!

Oh and if you are talking about specific therapies, please check they can be accessed by all students as some schools will only have them available for children within the school with an EHCP

How do you know this for sure? Presumably via parents of children who attend? Ie rumour.

Eh? If he’s being bullied outside of school by the local thugs, then whatever school he goes to, that will continue!

Don't include academics. Appeal panels are specifically disallowed from taking that into consideration.

Bullying may be relevant in the circumstances described above for a secondary age child but definitely not for a year 3 child. The only time it might be considered is if the parent has a job in specific areas which would put the child 'at risk' to be in that particular school

@ soontobe60 No, I go past the school every day.

I’m sorry to hear that OP.

Do any of the reports you do have mention the specific therapies or other things you will be arguing in your appeal?

As pp said check that they will have access to these things and they’re not reserved for students with an EHCP or on pupil premium.

Schools will be expected to be able to cater to all students needs, so you need to be very very clear why medically this is the only school that will cater to those needs. E.g if a child has dyslexia you could try and argue that the school you are appealing for has an excellent special needs department, but the panel may take the view that all schools are able to support students with dyslexia.

Yes CAMHS report does - the school has links with the therapy CAMHS suggested and they work with sibling bereavement, not many places in the borough do. I am gathering all the evidence available but not looking forward to the appeal.

Having seen how people reacted to an ex private pupil on this thread, I am not sure we will be treated with kindness.

My child's condition flares up with stress so we are trying to avoid at all costs as it affects their quality of life. If they can offer continuity (e.g musical lessons, specific clubs, a lanhuage they do already etc) , stress from moving schools will be minimised. It is all available at our first choice school, although it is not super sought after

Being an ex private school pupil has no bearing on an appeal and indeed the panel have to ignore previous schooling (I'm a fair access officer so place students including private school pupils returning to state)

@CAmember

I chair hundreds of appeal panels each year. This year there have been a number of families wanting to join the state sector from private. Some have won their appeal. Families have a choice when using the private sector so moving to the state sector via an in year application can come as a surprise. Generally, the popular schools are full and you may well get offered a school that is not a preference. It is the same for families who move to a new area.

The appeal panel should treat you with courtesy but like all appeals they will want to be sure they have all the information they need before making their decision. This will involve questions focusing on why this particular school. Academic are not relevant as all schools should cater for the range of ability.

They will also check that the Local Authority has made an offer (even if it is a school you definitely don't want). The LA may only do this when you definitely need a place and can take it up quickly. I always check with the parent that they have given notice/are prepared to take the place up quickly.

I don't think it would be relevant as all schools should be able to stretch and challenge able pupils. I guess the only thing relevant would be if he requires support to access something open to more able children. For instance, years ago, when I was studying for GCSE maths, students who were going to take the higher tier paper attended extra lessons. Initially it was presumed that I would not need support in those lessons because they were by definition, for more able learners. In fact, with my slow writing speed and sometimes memory difficulties, I needed MORE support in those lessons, because they went faster and didn't repeat as much as the ordinary lessons where lots of students struggled.

Worst case scenario if your appeal is unsuccessful can you use the money saved from private school fees for therapy/music lessons/clubs?

The appeal panel won’t judge your or DC for private education and it will not factor into their decision.

Have the LA offered you any school place at all/have you applied? If so you should get a place (any place) asap unless you are happy to homeschool.

”CAMHS report does - the school has links with the therapy CAMHS suggested and they work with sibling bereavement, not many places in the borough do.”

Sorry to hear about the trauma. FYI we have had successful appeals based on the fact we have forest school, gardening club, a school garden and a therapy dog. It is that specific.

You can prove a child is being bullied at a school they've never been to.

Sorry but did you say your evidence for the terrible bullying in one school was taken from “walking past the school each day?”
How on earth?

I wish it was money saved! I have secondary school children that I cant pull out of their independent school and VAT is a killer!
We are trying to access what we can via charities and yes; clubs and extracurricular activities we do fund. Play therapy I was quoted £150 per session. :(

Thankfully museums are free to visit And so are parks.
We have apllied when child was still in school, they are on 2 waiting lists. We will have to reapply in August and we will have to accept any place offered and stay on waiting lists and probably appeal. I may try to go and talk to pupil services in person but I am not entirely sure if they offer any face to face appointments.

No, you won't be able to talk to admissions in person. They don't do face to face appointments. Were you offered a place when you applied? ie what was the outcome of your application. Reapplying won't change the outcome (full schools will still be full) I think you're muddling up notifying the local authority that you want to remain on the waiting lists. They wouldn't have told you to reapply in August as you can appeal from the application that has already been refused. (The current refusal letter should give you 'right of appeal' and how to get the correct forms) The appeal wouldn't be listed until September now anyway but you'd be wise to make it now as there will be others refused a place over the summer.
So, appeal now
Accept the place you've been offered. This doesn't prejudice the appeal.
Stay on the waiting lists
Make sure you contact pupil services at the right time to remain on the waiting lists (but be aware your position can go down as well as up)

By pupil services do you mean admissions? If so they may be able to give advice and answer questions such as waiting lists, how to do things etc, but speaking to them won’t change what place you are offered.

It isn't clear from your posts whether you have experience of the local faith schools or other faith schools. Faith schools vary. Some community schools are more religious than some faith schools. Visit the schools and understand them before writing them off.

The strongest appeals are where a mistake has been made, but that is unlikely for an in-year case like this. You will only be able to argue that a mistake has been made if the school has a place available, but it is offered to someone else when your child should have been given priority.

In terms of an appeal, it doesn't matter whether the school has social/medical needs as a category. An appeal for Y3 or later is about allowing children who need the school but don't fit the admission criteria to get places. If there is a good case that your child needs a particular school on social or medical grounds, you should use it, particularly if it is supported by a letter from a relevant professional.

Your child's academic ability is irrelevant for appeals. All schools are assumed to be equally able to cope with all ability levels.

The possibility that your child may be bullied won't carry any weight, no matter how certain you are that it will happen. It would be different if your child was already in a school, was being bullied and the school were not doing anything effective to stop the bullying.

You need to build your case around things the appeal school offers that are not available at the allocated school (when you get one) and that are particularly relevant for your child.

The good thing about London is it has so many schools, there is good public transport and in many area, but not all, there are large surpluses currently, which is a challenge for schools and LAs but potentially an opportunity for your child.

I would suggest being proactive and looking wider than the two local schools which you mention are full. Your LA only has to offer you a place in one school, then it has fulfilled its duty.

On your child’s health issue, were they having therapy while in their previous school or is this something which has occurred recently?

I have found ringing the hospital switchboard and asking to speak to the consultant's secretary to be very effective. If it's just details of the condition that are more up to date than the last appointment they are usually happy to oblige. Alternatively if you have the latest letter that should be good if less than a year old.