Appeal advice and help, please

[TheWoollybacksWife]

My DS has been allocated a local school and I'd like some help with lodging an appeal/appeals please.

The three schools on his preference form were all academies.

Schools 1 and 3 from the same academy trust and they allocate places randomly within stanines after a NVR test.

School 2 is a faith school. I have checked with the school this morning and DS's application was correctly classified as criteria 2 (of 7) and he missed out on a place on distance (over a mile). He is 12th on the waiting list. We are not in a grammar school area and I do not anticipate much movement on the waiting list.

Schools 1 and 3 and his allocated school are in the town we live in. School 2 is in a neighbouring town - we are on the brink of exchanging contracts on our new house to move to the outskirts of this town. There are two other schools in this town. Neither of them have any places according to the LA allocations data. It will be a twenty minute drive (8 miles) from our new home to the allocated school. The LA assumes that you accept your place unless you actively reject it. I have no intention of rejecting it but I don't want to let this go without a fight.

What do I need to do? Is the change of address a red herring for now?

Thank you both. I'll speak to County Admissions tomorrow and find out who is administering the list currently.

I have a bit of a query, particularly following the waiting list information. I must say there is great advice on mumsnet!

We got offered our 5th preference which is a good school but not what we wanted. Those above preferences were faith schools, whose criteria we met but the number of applicants was so huge that we didn't get in. 2 of those run a random allocation for the category we fell into and one of those we would like to appeal. I have had the info stating that in the random ballot done by the Electoral Reform Services our DS ended up with last in a list of hundreds. So effectively he is last on the list.

As I understand it to appeal I need to look at why this particular school is best for my DS and also look at the detriment to him versus the detriment to the school in admitting another pupil issue. Are you allowed to go on the basis that it is a faith school and you want a faith school for your child?

In reading all the waiting list advice I am really confused now. The letter from the school states "Currently there is no waiting list - just the rank order of applications. The waiting list commences after the appeal process is complete, which is usually early June." Further they then say that the list is in the ranking that came from the ballot, which I understand, but given what was said earlier in this thread about the Admissions Code and fairness to those who apply late and they need to go on the list, does this not mean that the ballot should be re-run? I know the other faith school using a ballot does this for each place that comes up. I guess with this I am clutching at straws that there is hope of pushing for a further ballot so that my DS is, hopefully, no longer last on the very very long list!!

Wanting a faith school is a pretty weak case for appeal. That is about what you want. It doesn't mean your son will be disadvantaged by not attending a faith school. Look for other things this school offers that are missing from the allocated school.

In my view the letter from the school is wrong. They should not wait until appeals are finished before allocating places off the waiting list. If that is what they are doing it smacks of keeping rejected places open for appeals which they must not do. If they allocate any places before appeals take place (or, indeed, after appeals) they must have a fresh ballot.

Thanks prh that is helpful. A fresh ballot does sound fairer too. There are other things the school offers that would mean it is better for my DS so will focus on that. Just found their previous appeal figures and unsurprisingly there are loads of appeals but numbers upheld vary between 2-10 so looks like there could be scope. Is going over PAN previously evidence that it isn't detrimental to the school? I guess you could correlate between the increased numbers and the output in terms of results to show that there is no detriment to the pupils of increase in number.

Yes, if they have been over PAN before it helps as you can argue that they have coped with higher numbers. I wouldn't bother trying to correlate with results. It is unlikely to prove anything much. All kinds of factors come into play which make it difficult to draw any conclusions one way or the other. They will almost certainly mainly claim practical difficulties if there are additional pupils (overcrowding in the corridors, difficulty giving them all lunch, not enough equipment - that kind of thing). The fact they have been over PAN before suggests that they can cope without serious difficulties.

I have emailed the school asking the questions outlined above and I have had a response.

Would any of the admissions experts care to look over the emails and help me understand what I need to do next, please?

Yes, I'll be happy to take a look.

Thank you. I have PMed you.

I have contacted the school today to ask about waiting list movement. My DS is still 12th but they have had acceptances from everyone that was offered a place so they won't be offering places to anyone on the list. They did confirm that they definitely don't update their list until after the appeals so I don't know if I should refer this to the Schools Adjudicator.

We are thinking about an appeal and have until mid April to submit one. We just need to think about what we can base it on.

We have a meeting at a local private school after Easter and will be happy to send him there but the whole process is uncharted territory for us so we have no idea if it is as simple as they have a place + we are happy to pay the fees = he gets in.

Agree with Tiggytape that you should refer their handling of the waiting list to the Adjudicator. Even if it doesn't directly help you it is the right thing to do.

Just to add to Tiggytape's comments regarding your appeal case... There is no way of knowing how strong a case you will need to win an appeal. Sometimes the school's case to refuse entry is so weak that almost any appeal will win. Sometimes it is so strong that no appeals will win no matter how obvious it is to everyone that the child really needs to attend this school. But an appeal is, if you like, a one way bet. You have nothing to lose by appealing. If the appeal fails you are no worse off than if you hadn't appealed. If it succeeds your daughter gets a place straight away.

Sorry - that should be your son, not your daughter.

Thank you both. I will do the referral - I think I just wanted reassurance that it wouldn't be a vindictive thing to do.

I'm going to complete the appeal form after Easter and submit it. I know the only thing we have to lose is the time and emotional investment. I just need to scour the school website and newsletters for information to help his case and get data on previous years admissions.

@prh47bridge we have been told by the legal team at the Diocese (faith school) that the Admissions Code is now less prescriptive and as long as schools open a waiting list at some point after 1st March then they are complying. This school holds a ranked list based on original entry data until after the appeals and then opens a waiting list.

They have also told me that this isn't relevant to my appeal. I have submitted an appeal without mentioning the waiting list issue but thought I could add it to our case or at least discuss it on the day.

I'm thoroughly confused by everything now.

They are correct that the Admissions Code does not specifically state when the waiting list must start operation. However, the definition in the glossary states that a waiting list is, "A list of children held and maintained by the admission authority when the school has allocated all of its places, on which children are ranked in priority order against the school’s published oversubscription criteria." The "when the school has allocated all of its places" bit strongly implies that it starts operating as soon as initial allocations have been made, not at some later date. It is therefore my view that the legal team at the diocese is wrong.

A reference to the Schools Adjudicator would sort this out definitively as they can only be overruled by judicial review. If you haven't already referred them, please do so. I agree that it won't make any difference to your appeal but they need to be brought into line (assuming I am right about the Admissions Code) before they disadvantage anyone else.