Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Appeal on bullying grounds and welfare

26 replies

Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 13:29

Hi all.
We are preparing to go to appeal for our daughters secondary school. Schools in our area arnt the best but the one we applied for is very good and too us we have no other option. We fall just short of the boundary lines for the school. We are basing are appeal on grounds of bullying and welfare. Our daughter has had trouble with pupils in her current primary who are going to the allocated secondary school and pupils who our currently attending our allocated secondary school.
She has been victim of bullying and threatening messages from both sets of pupils. This escalated over the half term with us having to file a report to the police regarding incidents involving the pupils towards our daughter and our family members including threatening behaviour towards a 75 year grandad. She went back to school but we had to collect her as she was suffering a severe panic attack in which we had to call an ambulance as she couldn't speak a correct sentence and simply was scaring us to death.we have since removed her from the school and preparing to go to appeal stating that we are not prepared to let her near these people when she goes to secondary.
We are getting police reports, doctors/ambulance reports and asking the school for anything they can give us.
Any help or experience would be grateful as this is such a worrying time.
Thanks

OP posts:
admission · 03/05/2017 17:48

Saying some pupil is a victim of bullying has now become more or less a staple reason for an admission appeal, so panels will not give this a high weighting unless you can come up with some very concrete evidence of the bullying.
From what you say this would apparently be a case where you can adequately prove the issue exists. More weighting will be given to your filing of a police report and especially any reports from the police and medical reports rather than other information. The other difficult situation is that the panel needs to be convinced that the pupils who are dealing out the bullying are going to the school that you have been allocated. Again any police report naming names would be useful to be submitted.
I would however as a safety measure also try and make out a really good case for being given a place at the school you want because that is what the appeal is about, not the poor school you have been allocated. Some of that can be around good pastoral care at the school etc

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 18:22

Thanks. The police have on record the pupils and the schools police officer who deals directly with the school has been informed by the primary school. My daughter was also threatened by one of the girls sister who is 20. She is so anxious and worried about going to this school. It will be hard to show evidence of these children going to the allocated school as we arnt entitled to that are we? We are going to say that the school we want her in has really good welfare support and what I've read on the allocated schools website just doesn't fill me with confidence

OP posts:
SuburbanRhonda · 03/05/2017 18:26

Our daughter has had trouble with pupils in her current primary who are going to the allocated secondary school

It will be hard to show evidence of these children going to the allocated school as we arnt entitled to that are we?

So do you know these children have been allocated the same secondary school as your child or not? Confused

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 18:30

We can probably prove they are currently in the secondary school through Instagram profiles as the kids seem to put what class,school,year they are in. Surely these appeals have to give the panel to investigate?

OP posts:
PatriciaHolm · 03/05/2017 19:04

Your appeal is for a school, not against one. Appealing on the grounds that your daughter's bullies will go/already go to her allocated school is very weak grounds as it doesn't make any point as to why she needs to go to the specific school you are appealing for (as opposed to any other local school other than the one you got).

Also, all secondaries will say they have robust anti-bullying policies I'm afraid.

You need to focus on why she needs to go to this school specifically. Are there subject it offers that she is talented/interested in? unusual clubs/sports she is interested in that it offers?

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 19:18

Well the school offers a better civilised set of children for a start. The welfare of the child needs to come first and being forced into the allocated school can have huge reprocustons to her mental health and anxiety that she has recently developed since moving to the school

OP posts:
PatriciaHolm · 03/05/2017 19:30

"Well the school offers a better civilised set of children for a start."

If you get antagonistic about the allocated school, you risk alienating the panel - you never know, one of them might know someone there, a child or a teacher. (I sit on appeals panels.)

As I said, you are appealing for a school. You have lots of evidence about the bullying, which will definitely help, but that won't on it's own persuade a panel she needs this specific school you are appealing for.

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 19:33

I guess it's easy to find answers to why you shouldn't go to a school but harder to prove that a school is right.

OP posts:
ifeelcraptonight · 03/05/2017 19:38

A better civilised set of children makes you sound like a snob. Sorry.

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 19:43

You didn't really think I was gonna say that did you?

OP posts:
PatriciaHolm · 03/05/2017 19:44

You wouldn't be the first parent to think saying something like that to a panel is acceptable, unfortunately!

Original poster
Boxneeds · 03/05/2017 19:58

We have other family members who go to our preferred school who also suffered bullying at our allocated school but then managed to get a placement. We and the our Gp are concerned about our daughters mental health and what could happen if kept in the same environment with the children who are picking on her and threatening her. I have a history of anxiety and depression that runs in the family and we fear that this could trigger not just short term but long term pyscoloigal issues.

OP posts:
swingofthings · 04/05/2017 11:46

Are you going to keep her from school until the end of the year? Did the police conduct an investigation and provided an outcome of it or is it just a case of having a report of what was said to them?

Original poster
Boxneeds · 04/05/2017 16:40

The police were investigating and I am ringing them tomorrow so will hopefully get some report.at the moment we feel as we have no choice but not to send her to the allocated school .

OP posts:
HelsinkiLights · 04/05/2017 17:04

Box you may find the following website useful:
www.parentalchoice.co.uk/schoolsappealprocess/

Don't forget to concentrate on why your preferred school would be a good fit for your daughter.

Fingers crossed that you will be successful.

Btw I hate the type of insecure families who feel that they have to make a song & a dance about someone inadvertently insulting one of their own.
A 20 yr old 'adult' should be ashamed of themselves threatening a child. So immature & pathetic.
Having grown up in a very rough town sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and find an even harder/dodgy relative/friend to get the other family to back off.
Now before I get accused of inciting violence the examples I've seen & heard of have been more of the suggestive/warning side.
But on a more practical note it sounds that your DD would benefit from a martial arts class to raise her confidence & also to project a confident persona or as we said in my home town "stand tall, look extremely hard & don't take any crap."

Original poster
Boxneeds · 10/05/2017 07:31

We want something from the school backing up what has happened. What can we ask them for and should they help us

OP posts:
AwaywiththePixies27 · 10/05/2017 07:41

It will be hard to show evidence of these children going to the allocated school as we arnt entitled to that are we?

I'm not sure but I'm sure someone with better advice will be along soon. We moved DD last year, because she was being bullied badly, again as admission said, this is a staple reason for school transfers requests and you do usually need concrete evidence to show the impact its having on their emotional health. We had this as we got DDs counsellor to write a letter. You sound like you had a wealth of evidence to prove its going to be detrimental to your DD so you should be okay. I'm still sorry you all had to go through all that. Flowers it was only when DD started her new school we truly realised how much the bullying had affected her Sad she's like a completely different child nowadays.

She moves up to SS in September and inwas petrifled she'd have to go up with all the kids that had been relentlessly bullying her. Thankfully we got our first choice (which is way out the way of all the bullies). You might not be able to check where they're going unless that secondary school is the feeder school to their primary one I assume? But I'm sure they will have a way of checking for you.

Good luck in your appeal. Brew

HappyFlappy · 10/05/2017 07:44

it sounds that your DD would benefit from a martial arts class to raise her confidence

Helsinki's given excellent advice here - not because your daughter might need to fight her way out of anything, but because it has been proven that mastering ANY physical challenge (e.g. rock climbing, , triathalon, etc - not just martial arts) raises confidence and helps with anxiety and depression in children and young people.

I haven advice to offer, I'm afraid, but just wanted to let you know that your story touched me and I hope it will convince the panel that your preferred school will be the right one for your daughter. Your poor daughter must be terrified, and you must be ill with worry. I do hope that you succeed.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 10/05/2017 07:44

Meant to say I did realise you're not asking for a school transfer just that you're appealing against the ss place but my point remains. It sounds like you'd have a really good case though.

Original poster
Boxneeds · 10/05/2017 08:20

The primary school is a feeder to the secondary yes. It seems the primary school this took place at doesn't want to help as all we keep getting is "someone will ring" but they don't. Just hoping doctors and police will be good enough

OP posts:
DriftingDreamer · 10/05/2017 16:45

Is she still at the primary or are you homeschooling now as so serious?

Original poster
Boxneeds · 10/05/2017 17:25

We moved her after a few days to her old primary. Couldn't have her go through anymore just before her sats

OP posts:
Tissunnyupnorth · 10/05/2017 18:43

I'm really confused. Is your DD in year 6 and you have moved her from a (feeder) primary recently to a different one? You moved her from her primary because she was being bullied by a group of children, the same children who are going to your DD's allocated secondary school?

Original poster
Boxneeds · 10/05/2017 18:58

Yes that's correct

OP posts:
peace0608 · 23/05/2017 18:47

Well just to let everyone we won our appeal for my child and to share the good news with you.
We did it so you can too!