Plenary Hearing Today & Seems We Have Irregular Goings On With Admissins/Appeal ?

[RockinHippy]

Lots of angry parents as a result & some excellent pointed questions asked - I'm glad I went along. It was interesting to say the least, but I didn't ask a question that maybe I should have, though maybe that can go in my favour now it's daunting to say the least

Basically, thanks to a local news article slating our complicated local allocation pool system & our LA because a significant number of DCs who listed only the 2 schools in their catchment area which I didn't even realise you could do, as it's not clear in the booklet & I was given bad advice didn't get an offer of a catchment area school, which I now know putting only those 2 schools, guarantees a catchment area school - that number of children have now been split & both schools forced to take half each

This means that all the extra spaces in our chosen school, that would usually become available by other families turning down offers of places & going elsewhere - have now been absorbed by these children - given priority on catchment area only & not really allocated as part of the usual much bigger allocation pool

So it turns out that whilst all us appellants are frantically building our cases & gathering evidence together - the LA have given away the spaces we were most likely to have a chance of getting & as the panel were grilled by a several of parents! including a school governor from other school - he was good

• nothing in their information booklet or website says this is something they can do, so I suspect lots of complaints will be had, as it's soul destroying to sit there & suddenly realise that all number of appeals won in the past - is just not going to happen this year - even though when pinned down the chair of appeal said it would make no difference - but boy did he not want to answer that question - so I doubt anyone else believes it either :( & from the number of over PAN places the HT agreed he would comfortably take - the number of appeals won is going to be very low this year :(

No-one asked if they acted illegally by giving priority to catchment area DCs only - we have catchment area & strong medical grounds, with a ton of good supportive evidence - though the only medical grounds allowed in at admissions stage - were statemented DCs - everything else was ignored

I'm wondering if this could be considered as disability discrimination ? - I thought of asking the question, but wasn't feeling good myself & sort of hoped if no one else was asking it, maybe we are the only ones with strong medical grounds too, so have a better chance of what looks likely to be only 4 appeals won [hopeful]

Hope that makes some sense - long day & I didn't sleep well last night - this is a huge deal for us, as DD just can't travel to the other schools :-/

prh4 THANK YOU!!!

That us a fantastic easy to follow break down for me - week of little sleep as DD is so ill is impacting on my health too, so I'm very fuzzy headed to say the least, so that us very much appreciated.

I have already rang the LGO & lodged a complaint first thing this morning - the guy I got was lovely & was very patient as I was struggling - I suspect from a few comments I am not the only complainant either, he knew both catchment schools & commented that he'd heard of "this" when I mentioned our odd allocation system & the 22 places allocated ahead of the appeal.

I hadn't seen your recent post before I made the call, so I raised the complaint on..

1. The 22 places being given out ahead of our appeal which in the light of the admissions booklet not making it clear that you can only put 2 school places & that it doesn't say a place is guaranteed in catchment if you do is at best very unfair & at worst potentially illegal & as only 9 appeals won this year, it appears to have definitely prejudiced our chances at winning our medical & catchment area grounds appeal. he already seemed to know all about this point

1. That in the light of DD having very real medical need for this school & my submitting at least 5 medical letters supporting that need, one very detailed & naming the school, others supporting the need for our closest school that deals well with bullying, excellent pastoral care & the right type of sports facilities etc etc, that I believe they have either not understood the evidence on what I know is a difficult medical condition to understand, or they have not properly considered the evidence put before them. he agreed that this seemed odd with so much medical evidence

1. That I only received a basic letter telling me we had lost our appeal & a detailed response would follow shortly - when calling Appeals to ask for more details, how many appeals won etc, I was told that detailed response would take up to 6 weeks, which I felt was unacceptable as it left me without proper information on which to base a complaint he said that it was normal procedure for that information to be included in with the letter telling us that we had lost our appeal & that he hadn't heard of it being sent out separately before, said he didn't know if there was a time scale that was allowed, but he agreed that 4-6 weeks was unacceptable

I did finish up saying that I was sure I had more, but due to stress & lack of sleep my mind had gone blank & I just couldn't remember - I burst into tears at one point when explaining this left us with no viable school for DD to go to at all, I'm so not a cryer .- he was great though & I pulled myself together quickly - it was left that I would receive paperwork in the post quickly & that not to worry as I could add anything else at that stage - he offered the choice of post or phone call & I chose post, explaining that my own health problems might mean I couldn't cope well with a call if they rang when I was ill, where as paperwork allowed me to have some double check it all & gave me time to properly gather my thoughts & respond.

Re the DofE - I know she did leave shortly after we left the hearing room, but I am certain she didn't leave at exactly the same time, I had to stop & catch myself for a few minutes, as I was using a crutch to walk with & felt dizzy - she walked passed us & left the building at this point, but she couldn't have been in there long after us - I'm not sure if she was already in when we arrived, I think she came in at the same time, but just ahead of us, but will check this all with SIL who was with me & use this too if I can.

I do think it's possible I inadvertently got her back up - I initially asked our MP for help at the admissions refusal of a place for DD & he was rubbish - initially just contacting her & getting the info as to how the system worked - I had already manage to get that a week earlier & by then understood that as DD didn't have a SEN we were automatically overlooked for medical need - I then asked our MP if I could make an appointment & asked for his help with our actual appeal.

He didn't answer a single pointed question & simply passed my query on AGAIN to the DofE - I received realms of email copies back all pretty much saying the same as the first response & all of these were included in the paperwork copies I got from the appeals dept - so they were apparently submitted as evidence, even though I hadn't sent them

They had also lost a DWP print out of a booklet explains EDS & Hypermobility, which I had included with my original school application form.

I will use all your points as written here when I get the ombudsman paperwork through - thanks again

she did leave shortly after we left the hearing room

Even if it was only a couple of minutes after you it is not acceptable. She should not at any point have been in the same room as the appeal panel without you present.

They had also lost a DWP print out of a booklet explains EDS & Hypermobility

If this wasn't available at the hearing I would raise this as well. This may have helped the appeal panel understand your daughter's condition.

Have you had the panel's detailed reasons yet?

How far away is the school you have been allocated? I'm wondering whether their thinking is that the travel problem could be overcome by the LA providing home to school transport? DD could well be eligible even if the school is less than three miles away on the basis of her health problems.

Also, given that they have to be satisfied that DD can only attend this school, I wonder whether assurances were given about sorting out the bullying problem at the other nearby school?

Have you had the panel's detailed reasons yet

Given the OP's last post I think we can safely say no.

I'm wondering whether their thinking is that the travel problem could be overcome by the LA providing home to school transport

Possible but that is assuming the OP won't have a huge battle with the LA to justify free transport. And of course free transport only applies to the child, not the parent. In any case, in my view this argument would not be enough to ignore clear medical evidence that the OP's daughter needs to attend the appeal school. If the medical evidence suggested that another school would be ok if transport is provided the panel might be justified in reaching such a conclusion. In the absence of any such statement the panel should not jump to conclusions.

I wonder whether assurances were given about sorting out the bullying problem at the other nearby school

No such assurances should have been given unless the OP was present at the time. And the appeal panel should, in any event, have ignored any such assurance. The other nearby school was not represented at the hearing so any assurance from anyone who was present would be meaningless, and the school concerned was not part of the appeal as it was neither the appeal school nor the offered school.

I think the latter point depends on how well documented it is that there are bullying problems at the other school. To be honest, it does happen that parents make up or exaggerate that sort of problem (and I want to emphasise that I'm definitely not saying that OP is). However, if it were a case of, on the one hand, an appellant saying there is a bullying problem and, on the other, an admissions authority saying there isn't, with no evidence either way, a panel is going to tend to find in favour of the admissions authority.

No such assurances should have been given unless the OP was present at the time

But as OP hasn't suggested that she has given us a word-for-word account of everything that was said I'm not sure we can assume this to be the case, which is why I asked. In my experience one of the first responses of admissions authorities to allegations that individual schools don't deal well with SEN or bullying etc etc is to say that all local schools have spiffy SEN and anti-bullying arrangements.

Don't get me wrong, my feeling is that OP should have got in on the first allocation assuming that the LA had all the relevant medical evidence, but I'm trying to think about the sort of justification the appeal panel may put forward for their findings.

Can i just clear up something. OP when you say the woman from the DofE are you meaning the person who presented the case for the school, someone from the Local Authority or someone literally from the Department of Education.
If it really was the latter then you absolutely need to bring that up with the LGO. They can only be there as an observer and to be saying anything is totally wrong.

I must admit that since the OP referred to "the DofE" I assumed she was referring to the LA's Director of Education but I should have checked.

Hi everyone

Thanks for the replies, please excuse me I've sort of hit a wall mentally & physically & not even sure I can string a sentence together right now, so please excuse typos etc & my missing anything you ask - I also EDS amongst other thinks & the stress of this lat fe weeks & shock if yesterday, along with DD being very ill right now has hit now me like a ton of bricks

Yes by DofE I meant director of education - though they might be the assistent DofE, they were sat next to school reps at plenary & next to me at our hearing - LAs representative

I checked with SIL who turns out was in the ball & was watching for things like that - they arrived in the room at the same time as us - SIL reckons they left just behind us, but took a few moments to shuffle papers together etc so was still sitting at the desk when I looked back into the hearing room, but SIL reckons they followed us out withing a couple of minute -

the lay out if the building meant that when we headed to the way out, we stopped so that I could catch my balance/breath, they would have had to pass us to get out - SIL stopped & chatted fir about 5 minutes or more inside the building & the DofE didn't pass us until we were just about to leave - hence why I though they left the room after us - SIL reckons they did, but not by much - can't be sure where they went for those extra few minutes though, but can't now say they were in the room for long - SIL did also say that she looked directly at the DofE, who looked back, so knows SIL was watching her - though neither SIL or I knew it was breaking any rules.

The allocated school is over 3 miles away, 3.3 I think - this means we do get help with transport, but it's a free bus pass - good friend whose DS has Downs Syndrome had to fight tooth & nail for a cab for him for a similar distance when he started last year - they were having to pay for it initially - so we wouldn't have a hope in hell of our LA providing a taxi for DD.

There's not a massive distance between the bus journeys for both schools, but over 10 minutes is enough to make a difference to DD as she gets very travel sick & also gets anxious & that can kick off IBS, she panicks about being late etc, so a bus ride at all will be difficult fir her

with our more local school it's only a 10 minute cycle ride or 30 minute walk, as opposed to a 35-40 minute bus rude & ideally when fit DD would cycle - I was really grilled on this point & aggressively so by one of the panel - I'm not sure I did as well as I could have TBH, they seem to have a hard time believing I would let DD cycle on her own & I also suspect they didn't understand that DD needs to be superfit in order to help her stay healthy, so walking or cycling is better for her.

But this is only part of the argument for the school - the allocated school is a "needs improvement school" an "Academy" too, according the Ofsted report bullying is dealt with well - but we know that's not true - DDs older friend was sent there last year & hated it & cried on DDs shoulder over how unhappy she was, she was racially bullied from day one & it wasn't dealt with at all, they brushed it under the rug - she moved schools as soon as she could get a place elsewhere - DD cried her eyes out when she found out that was the school offered to her.

Only 2 of her old school have been offered places there, none from her new school. - the others sibling is at a school in completely the opposite direction & they are appealing for a far less popular school & should win
Meaning DD would know no one - the panel quizzed me on how well she had settled into her new primary school - she has settled in amazingly well - it's a similar feel & ethos to the school we want - I stupidly didn't emphasise that she also knew kids in her year there already - with hindsight they were likely pulling apart her anxiety issues - so kicking myself

Allocated school is also a sports specialist - but it's contact sports which are bad for DD - it's also since been done up & made into an Academy, got an old style stricter feel to it - strict uniform code, tie etc & there seems to be nothing artistic about it at all - DD is considered creatively gifted - she is academically too, but she is a very creative kid, music art & creative writing are very much her passion - all strengths of the school we appealed for, who also have the right type of sports facilities, swimming pool, gym, etc etc

After all she's been through at her old school, culminating her being so ill & scarily fragile emotionally & us having to pull her out of school & then change schools part way through year 6 due to bullying & too frequent accidents - I just can't put her through that again

Sorry I'm rambling as I'm so exhausted

I have now rang admission back to see where DD is on the list - turns out we don't have a list, but that is an allocation pool too :( - 1 DC has a sibling priority & 140 like us a catchment priority - I have asked how to have DD changed to medical priority & was told to email in withstood supporting evidence - which I have now done & will follow up with calls on Monday, but feel very deflated at the moment

I should add, we were warned at the plenary hearing & at the beginning of the appeal process to concentrate solely on why the school we appealed school was the right school for DD & to not in any way mention or put down our offered school

The question with the DofE is whether she would have been able to say anything to the appeal panel without your knowledge. If she simply gathered her papers and followed you out within seconds that is fine. If she shuffled her papers while you left the room and then had some time alone with the panel before leaving that is not acceptable.

I am unclear if the DofE was presenting the case to refuse admission. If she was that means she would be entitled to ask questions but she should not interrupt while you are making your case. She should wait until the appeal panel invite her to question you.

From the information you've given so far the medical argument is the strongest part of your case and should have been enough to win the appeal on its own.

You should not have been told not to mention the offered school, although I suspect it was well meaning advice to stop parents spending time running down the offered school. You shouldn't be negative about it but it is perfectly acceptable to point out that it hasn't got things your daughter needs and to argue that it was too far away because of your daughter's medical condition.

Thank you - yes she could have said something to the panel & not be heard by us, but it would be difficult to say with certainty - we were in a corridor running of the hearing room when I looked back - at that point her face was up & facing the panel, not shuffling papers, she was smiling towards them & I could see her mouth moving, but she might just have been saying goodbye - it was fleeting - I didn't pay full attention as I didn't know it was breaking rules & I was feeling quite ill by then anyway - by SIL account she followed us out straight after that, but I had my back to the door - she disappeared on route to the door though & then passed us when we stopped

She didn't ask questions - her role seemed to be there to fill in facts & figures, eg: when asked how many DCs from DDs new & old schools were allocated the school we were appealing for she gave figures which where 12 & 19 I think & they then asked how many at the school offered & she said 2 - the allocated school wasn't mentioned until the DofE interrupted the earlier line of questioning aimed at me about how DD would cope with overcrowding -

I used the plenary hearing comments I had noted to remind them, that the school HT had agreed when questioned, that there was a low accident rate & the overcrowding was well managed & as also mentioned at the a Plenary, that generally all city schools are overcrowded - she then chipped in that our allocated school (which we turned down straight away) wasn't over crowded & that there are plenty of spaces there too -

it was after this that our allocated school was brought up more often, though only a few times - but I stupidly didn't argue those points as felt I was sticking to the rules I was given - it was more distance & journey to both schools & the overcrowding issue & the panel then asking questions as to how many of DDs old & new class mates were sent to both schools - which I thought would come into it at all

I think you are right, I will bring this up with the LGO, as I was unprepared for any comparison of the 2 schools & it was down to the DofE butting in that this became an issue

Thanks for your help

Should have read - Would not come into it at all

One of the things that really worried me about our allocated school, was that there are attendance issues - Ofsted mentions it's improving, but still not good but that the school are working hard at putting that right -

after what we went through with DDs old school that scared the hell out of me - everything became about keeping DD in school, whether she was well enough to be there or not - they would rather she was in school feeling awful & sitting making cakes in the nurture room, than resting at home as she really needed to - the pressure on me to take her in & on her to be there became immense - yet she wasn't falling behind with her work & they weren't teaching her anything - it was all about keeping up the attendance figures -

I ended up having to drag DD to our GP every time she was too ill to go into school, just to cover my back - I had our GPs full backing & more so, especially as a lot of DDs illness & injuries were a result of school accidents & bullying - yet we're take attendance seriously & DD was never ever late for school - if she was home ill, it was because she was very ill - other families took the pee & we suffered as a result

New school has no attendance problems & they have been great this week when she has been ill, she's had to argue to stay there to of her SATs as they were putting DDs needs first.

The allocated school screamed of the same problem, though with a longer journey to wear DD out & a bus ride to make her ill before she starts

Difficult one to argue though

I think that you cannot prove that the Director stayed with the panel and there has to be a little bit of latitude about the time some people take to move on. The important point is not how long they may have been there but whether they said anything and i think that this is probably a red herring that is distracting from the main argument - why was the weight of medical evidence not given any importance in determining which appeals should be approved and what were the circumstances of the appeals that were successful. Clearly that is information that is confidential and you will not be given it but it is information that the LGO can ask about and take a view on. So to take an obvious situation if an appeal was granted because the panel though the pupil should be with their mates and yours was rejected, it seems clear that the panel's decision making skills are flawed

Drat - I've just written a long reply & lost the lot:(

DD now stirring & still very ill, so will probably need to be brief

Thank you

You are right - rambling as exhausted from lack of sleep

Won't try & use when DofE left room, impossible to prove anyway

Will speak to LGO again on Monday & as about her butting in with comments on allocated & rejected school though - whole list if reasons why this isn't suitable school - DD couldn't even wear the uniform as it would be too uncomfortable for her - very stuffy formal uniform with shirt, tie & blazer - as opposed to soft jersey polo shirt & cardigan

In appeals code doc I found online -.it says that they "should" have rang us the next day school day with the results of hearing - they didn't
Says they "must" let us know in writing with reasons why appeal wasn't successful in 2 school days - they didn't

My gut feeling is they will use overcrowding & DDs vulnerability to injury as their reason - but DD is way more vulnerable to exhaustion/travel sickness/ anxiety flare ups if exhausted & ill etc & all of this makes her more vulnerable to injury - & according to this same doc - they "must not" discriminate disability in deciding appeals - which surely this is? - especially when school admitted they have low accident rate & overcrowding well managed & all local schools overcrowded - also 2012 had 30 appeals won, do very overcrowded & still managed well.

I also found this...

4.7 An appeal panel’s decision can only be overturned by the courts where the parents or admission authority are successful in applying for Judicial Review of that decision.

Does this mean we can get legal help to put this right ??

Realise I am out of my depth anyway as just too many dodgy goings on & I've just lost all faith in our LA to act fairly, so have decided to get legal help if LGO manage to force another appeal hearing anyway - can't afford it, but realise I can't afford not to:(

It's annoying, because if the appeals dept had returned my calls, I had the chance of using someone recommended by a lawyer friend anyway, but didn't know if it was too late - they ignored my message

Can I just ask please - if this is the correct appeal code - ie in date & covers all ove. England ??

Thank you

HERE

Thank you tiggy thats great info & link & reassuring

You are probably right - I did say to the LGO that I can only guess that they haven't read or understood DDs medical condition properly

Though that said, I know it's a difficult condition to understand - had enough misunderstanding with DDs old primary school:(

So I made it as clear as I possibly could, so did her consultant - her letter was brilliant. They did lose the DWP booklet I sent with the original application form - but at the stage of sending off appeals evidence I didn't know that they would send the application evidence too. So I sent a...

. HMSA in schools booklet that explains it all very well
. An NHS print off explaining. POTs & autonomic nervous system disfunction - which consultants letter clearly SATs DD suffers with as symptoms, even documents how she diagnosed it
. NHS print off explaining the condition

Plus all the medical/OT letters, LA equalities report that rates is the top school county wide for effectively dealing with bullying & supporting letters from friends with DDS in school, backing the fantastic pastoral care there & good effective anti bullying policy - plus a lovely letter from the Dad of DDs good friend who has a sister there & is going there too

As a result I wasn't too concerned by the missing booklet - wasn't happy, especially as the guy I spoke with was quite dismissive, didn't offer any help finding it, or that I could resend it, but put that aside as I'd sent so much else that explained DDs problems.

I was very puzzled as to them including copies if my emails & replies when first trying to get help from our MP through - I was advised to do this by a local friend who had exactly the same problem when using her MAC to fill in the online form & her different MP sorted it out for her without appeal - In her case it resulted in her DD getting 2 school offers & they then retracted the good one

so it made sense to try as I still believe there was an issue with them assessing the wrong application form, as we got an online offer in an incorrect version of DDs name - they denied this & stated that her application was rejected as all schools have good pastoral care
I dropped this argument though, as I realised it was getting me nowhere & probably - I have inside knowledge that I can't use without getting a friend in trouble, that there is an issue here though

But as dropped it, I don't understand why the email copies between myself, MP & DofE & MP were submitted as evidence - when I didn't submit them as evidence - again this wasn't taken seriously when I mentioned it

But maybe it's normal ??

Can I also ask please...

With the school waiting list, which I was told on Friday when I rang admission is also an allocation pool - bar 1 sibling link DC there are 140 DCs in that pool - I want DD on that list as Medical need, which would put her ahead of the sibling link. DC I have emailed copy if consultants letter & GP letter confirming my own medical problems, which also supports family need for close school

Will they also only accept Statemented DCs as medical need for position on this list - if so is that legal & is there a way around it ??

Think we are heading to A& E with her now - no let up with stomach after a week & she's in a mess & still in agony

I am also confused now . If you had an exchange of emails with MP and with DoE but did not submit them as evidence then how did they suddenly appear as part of evidence. Evidence is either from you or from the school as the admission authority. If you did not submit it then it must have come from the school and there then a number of questions

1. how did they get the correspondence? Did you copy the school in? If not then that has to be either from the MP or the DoE and I think you need to know that. I would question whether either should have done that without your permission
2. if they were submitted as evidence by the school what was the basis of admitting them as evidence - were they there to refute your case or what?

Sorry, currently in hospital with very ill DD, so struggling to get to grips with any of this right now & severe lack of sleep, so hope I'm reading correctly - will try & reply

Tiggy if I'm reading that correctly - that's great news - though got response from school admissions - passing my email request onto somebody medical to assess it - sorry can't remember title - tough week, tougher few days

Admissions I'm at a loss as to why emails were in the pack sent to me, that was meant to contain a copy of all evidence I had submitted - no DWP booklet, but realms of paper print outs of these emails - you know full email & reply history with each new reply/email IYSWIM - must have made me look barking mad -

I emailed MP explaining why I thought we may have been assessed on wrong forms & that DD had medical need for this school & I believed that evidence was ignored etc etc & asked if he could help - it included copy of my school application form

he emailed short note to DofE & forwarded on my email- they emailed back a long reply as to the fact they had contacted Admisdions & forwarded on the explanation to MP
He forward to me with short note - I already knew I was wasting my time by this point - so this was admissions explanation, plus DofE E explanation & MP

I emailed again thanking him, telling him I had already found out this information, explained why DD needed this school & asked if he could help with the actual appeal - 3 bullet point, point blank questions which he ignored - he forwarded this onto DofE & them to admissions

You get the picture. - lots of tooing & froing of same info & same emails - that ended up printed off several times & submitted as evidence OAS if I had sent it

I was stupid, I should have made more fyss' but I did say I was confused as to why they were there - whole print out pack I had was a mess - I queried it as it was so cofusing - doctors letters printed on backs of pages of medical info booklets IYSWIN

DD NEDS ME

Just a quick update on this...

Thanks again for all of your help, it's been a nightmare & think with all that's gone on, without your help & advice I would have lost the plot by now. flowers

I've now heard back from the LGO & they've accepted the complaint on 2 counts, -

1. that the places given away ahead of the appeals have prejudiced our chances of winning the appeal

2.That the medical evidence I submitted was not properly considered,

The case officer has said that some of the other points are under consideration too, but those are the main grounds

They rang me when I was in hospital with DD & thankfully I had taken my note book with me so Despite the hellish stressful situation I was in with DD being so ill, I managed to remember everything & raised 8 points of complaint - all of which they thought where relevant, but they are concentrating on these main 2.

I've given the case officer a copy of my list of the appeal evidence I submitted, as I no longer trust our LA to be honest/efficient at all & I wouldn't put it past them to lose some key prices of evidence, so they now know what they should get from the LA - plus DDs hospital discharge letter that states her taking so ill was triggered by anxiety & she's now under a psychologist for help with managing her anxiety - our losing the appeal tipped her over the edge with EDS related gastric issues & was diagnosed with a blockage & Collitis - & the LGO have now asked the LA for all case documents - so it's wait & see, but looks like it's going to be a long winded process

I'm also still trying to sort out DD being accepted on the waiting list, but realised the Admissions/LA haven't given us a fare chance there either & they have been stalling & not replying to emails etc.

I sent them one doctors letter only, by way of starting the ball rolling & asking how to go about getting her accepted on the schools waiting list as medical need - they sent this one letter off for assessment & due to all the stress if being in hospital with DD very ill, I didn't realise until she got out of hospital that they've stitched us up there too - I have emailed that I have more evidence etc & that I feel that them not giving us a chance to submit all of that, prejudices our chances - emails ignored.

I've tried to contact the Consultant Community Paediatrician directly, but when ringing admissions they wouldn't give me any details, so I'm not certain I've emailed the correct department - fingers crossed.

I've also now got some help via a wonderful local disabled kids group that my friend put me on to - wish I had thought of it sooner, but they have a legal team & they want to help, which after the farce we've had so far, I realise I am just totally out of my depth & feel I have let DD down badly - I just can't believe that the 9 appeals that were won had more compelling reasons to need this school place than we do

You haven't let your daughter down at all. The LA and the appeal panel have. The LGO is normally pretty quick with admissions cases. Hopefully they will get this one sorted quickly.