Any appeal help- no special circumstances or solid evidence

[allcrossednow]

Please could anyone advise what help/evidence I can request from our current school (& anyone else you.can think of!) to support my appeal application? I was thinking of asking my son's teacher if they could provide an impact statement highlighting why 'in their professinal opinion' they support our choice for the chosen school & believe it to be better suited to him & his learning styles & current academic level etc over the one allocated.

None of our 3 choices or catchment given- was allocated a dismally, very publicly failing school with an outstanding petition from its current 6 form students to remove it's academy status for failing them with little funding & lack of basic resources.

Does anyone know if a school/teacher would be happy/allowed to do that? I don't want to ask if it's not the done thing! Especially as I rarely see her other than parents eve because my DS walks in & out of school himself. I do know her well enough though she has had him a previous year too & only has high praise for him so would think she would be ok to ask.

We basically fall in to the 'other' category of criteria for all schools with no extenuating circumstances. I can demonstrate why the chosen school is the right choice based on my child's interests & academic ability. The school's own ethos is very academic driven with high achieving across the board being their focus. So I hope that basing most of my case around that will be ok. (I am in no way a tiger mum or wish to come across like my child is brilliant because I say so)! That is not us I just wish to make a solid case with little to no professional backing & do the best for my child as who really would set their kids up to fail from the off when there may be the slimmest of hopes. He will drastically full behind at the allocated school within weeks if he isn't given good role models or working to the current standard he is used to.

Would also like to say we are mainstream not private. Very hard to get across on paper that he is not a little genius who I am pining over. He's just an average child who enjoys to learn & does well at his expected level & slightly above but is highly thought of by all teachers, peers.

He has a recognised certificate from Trinity London College achieved last year in musical theatre along with an in depth report from the principle of the academy of arts he has attended for 5 years. I am hoping that would be a solid piece of eveidence- detailing west end work & local theatre experience? As the chosen school has a great department for music/drama. Along with many supporting extra curricular clubs which he would thrive in. He has a keen interest in several of the other clubs too. Some of which are not available at the allocated school.
(Also not sure if it would be relevant but the arts academy he attends actually uses the school site on weekends, so my son is familiar with part of the school & the travel route).

I have no help to draft my case & just feel at my wits end that in reality we get very little choice on where our kids are given if we have nothing other than "this is the best fit for us".

Any help appreciated. Apologies for the length wanted to give as much info as we have. Thank you for reading if you got this far!

Sorry,no. I don't think you can ask a teacher to say that. They will be able to confirm academic levels, interests and achievements but can't say that one school is better than another. The presumption has to be that all schools can provide the necessary level of tuition and challenge ( whether they actually believe that or not!)

I am in the same position as you, no school place offer at all (despite being in catchment for the 3 choices), just told to apply for another . The other that does have places is in special measures (recent)and I just feel sick at the thought of him having to attend there. I would describe my child similarly to yours and I know that with out a encouraging and nurturing environment he will get lost in the system and go back wards. The school has a reputation of teachers not turning up for class, let alone the pupils.
I feel so penalised for not having older sibling or the funds to move house, how is this fair ?
We are 7th on waiting list and 4th on another but given the reputation of the special measures school i just cant see how how the other school will get places declined. Sorry to crash your post , but 3 days on an I am struggling to think of reasons for appeal given everyone keeps saying we can't use the reputation and of stead report of the other school as the reason? I can remember the last time I felt such an emotional wreck.

You need to show evidence of how the school you want for him can provide things that your son needs when the other school doesn’t provide them.

So of for example as you say, he’s got a great talent for Performing Arts, does the school you want have an after school PA club/opportunities to perform/offers GCSE or other qualifications in PA that your allocated school doesn’t?

This sort of thing builds the appeal.

In the same position here. None of our 3 catchment schools, way down the wait list, we have a school 2 buses away... That’s how oversubscribed my area is. Bloody ridiculous really.

I’m single and have 3DC to get to 3 different places and get myself to University all before 9am. I am not looking forward to September at all.

You can ask your son's teacher but they may well say no. Even if they will write a letter, it probably won't carry much weight with the appeal panel.

If the school is right for your child's interests I would pursue that as the main part of your case. I would be very careful with saying anything about academic ability. That has huge potential to backfire. But the stuff about music/drama and extracurricular clubs is good. That is the kind of thing that can win your appeal.

Teacher: no.

But your son’s commitment to and achievement in musical theatre is definitely a possibility. Does your preferred school offer extra curricular activities or drama productions that would support this? Do they have a well equipped theatre? In both cases lacking in tne allocated school? It seems yes, and he does have awards / certificates, so go with this.

I would focus on this rather than throwing in everything that might make it sound too close to “ I Don’t want him to go to a crap schooool!’

@spanieleyes Thank you, maybe my point with the teacher wasn't as clear as I hoped. I don't want them to write that the school is better than the other. I would like her to state that due to my son & the style/personality/potential he has for learning he would require a school that has the attributes & ethos of the school we are appealing for. I feel that is slightly different, but appreciate your opinion & agree maybe they would not be able to do that anyway. Which is why I was checking for advice here first incase anyone knew or had done similar. I am just clutching at straws trying to find any supporting evidence to structure a good case. I don't want ro go to appeal, lose & weeks later realise there were things I didn't use that I should/could have.

@Rabstar
I am so sorry to hear you are in the same position, it's so daunting isn't it. I have been extremely emotional & distressed with worry about what will happen. Our allocated school has struggled for several years & just been left to get steadily worse. The permanent head quit 2 years ago after lots of staff members resigned & had walk outs due to the severity of the issues. Then they had the deputy for almost a year, then an interim head for 6 months & have only recently appointed the new one. There still is no action plan or new direction mapped out for us to have much hope in. We have no idea what the school is about anymore or how they plan on turning things around. Its terrifying that this is even allowed. Like everyone has just washed their hands of it.

So please feel free to jump on, we all need as much help as we can get.

@ShaggyRug Thank you, yes the school we are appeal for does have those clubs & subjects to support his interest. So I am planning on building my case mainly around that hoping that is enough as it's all we have! It's the side of town not many people move & we lost on out of area but are only 6mins away 10mins away with traffic. So will try my hardest.

@InsomniaTho sorry to hear you are also in the same boat. It does sadly seem like so many people are. There seems to be alot of new builds estates being buiod locally with a designated primary in areas. But no provisions for the secondaries. I wish you all the luck

@prh47bridge thank you. I shall continue to build around his interest in the arts as much as I can.

The problem I have with the not mentioning academic ability is that is exactly how the school we are appealing for describes itself? Their website/prospectus all describes the type of students they want to have leaving their doors at the end of their education as "high achieving, confident individuals whose education equips them to progress to university etc... our teaching enables students to achieve the highest academic standard" & more of the like.

How do/can I best demonstrate that is the right school if I cannot state he is that child already & that is why he would fit because he needs that environment to continue to flourish? Why is it so hard.

@HotpotLawyer thank you, I will certainly build around that as much as I can. I have no idea how an appeal hearing works & I'm slightly worried just one point will take 2 minutes to explain & just make me look ridiculous for trying! I wouldn't mind but this school is only rated 'good' itself so by no means should it be this unattainable for the average student. It's just the lack of open choice we have several faith schools locally & the town is kind of split so I have only the option of my catchment which is not perfect either (& was itself oversubscribed for the 1st year mainly I would guess because of the other) or the allocated failing one.

It's difficult because every school will be aiming for "high achieving, confident individuals whose education equips them to progress to university etc.. It's just that some are better at it than others! That's why you need to look at the wider opportunities your preferred school can provide. Unfortunately no appeal will win based on academic achievement, you have to find other reasons.

@Wearywithteens thank you, as stated I genuinely have no idea what to do/not to do for the best. What is right/wrong. Eldest child so 1st experience with this. I'm hoping for a miracle.

I understand they wouldn't take much notice & did think as much. I really wanted her to concentrate more on a general aspect why he needs to go to a school that would nurture his potential (I think the more I write the worse I sound but I promise he is not my little 'angel' who does no wrong & deserves a place above & beyond others. It is just the only one here that is likely to get him through school with a good chance. We all know boys are usually the hardest to keep on track as they grow so I am trying to limit the risk of him giving up & I thought we had to demonstrate why it would prejudice his education more than the school having one more child) over a personal CV for him if that makes sense.

Hoping it would highlight (in not so many words) that he needs a school with clear direction & focus.

Then I would just hope the panel themselves would obviously understand the predicament of the allocated school & come to their own conclusion based on their knowledge of both that he would fail miserably & probably lose interest in school quite swiftly if he attends a school with little leadership.

@spanieleyes thank you, it really is a minefield & I'm sure they know that. I just for the life of me then cannot understand how our group of 'other' are supposed to succeed with these appeals.

Agree with spanieleyes. The other problem is that it can come across as you saying, "my child is clever so needs a good school" which is not a good argument and can antagonise the panel. Also, some panel members will think, "if the child is that clever they should be able to do well at any school". Talking about music, drama, etc. is much safer ground and more likely to win your appeal.

@prh47bridge yes I can see that happening with that line too. I don't mean to sound like that at all & as I say that is not what I think of my child! I am really trying to figure out a case & avoid those pitifuls but prove why he fits with that school around their own language with more that 1 point. Otherwise it's probably a meaningless venture if I'm going to be laughed out becasue they have a suitable drama dept & afew clubs.

I'm just trying to use this as a sounding board. But in all honesty he is not "that clever" that he would do well in any school (that is the reason I am fighting) he is just your normal, student who enjoys learning & does well by no means genius status!

So hard to get that across in this instances & this is the problem I am either going to over sell him unintentionally or under do it.

Thanks for all the advice. I feel like I will get through alot of paper the coming week!

A drama department and a few clubs may sound weak to you but it is exactly the kind of thing the appeal panel is looking for. They show that your son will miss out if he doesn't go to this school. A lot of appellants fail to establish any disadvantage to their child from not attending (or at least, nothing that the panel can consider) so yours could well be one of the stronger cases.

Great, thank you both so much for the positivity. Your responses have really spurred me on & encouraged me again. I was starting to feel quite hopeless.

I will try my utmost to pen & very good case around honesty & directness but stick with the pros & only highlight once the school we were allocated may also be disadvantaged with 1 extra pupil due to it's current circumstances. Whilst chosen school should be able to outweigh their concern as they have consistently been achieving 'good' so therefore 1 child's impact would be vastly less detrimental to them, than a school who need time to recover & support it's current pupils.

Does that sound acceptable & not too damning of the allocated school?

I will try to support that when I ask for the previous few years PAN figures tomorrow & cross check with GCSE results. Hopefully they are what I need to discredit their argument.

I think you should all be writing to mps vis-a-vis highly inadequate school provisions within your catchments!!!

It's disgusting and unacceptable that you can't get into 3/options!!!

This is very different from not just getting your first or second option.

Please kick up a stink with the lea and your mp, its a shocking situation. I wish you all luck with this.

@Smotheroffive thank you, yes you are not wrong. It's appalling & if they had even spent half the appropriate time & money helping this poor school over the past 3 years since its been at it's worst, I feel we would have at least had a far better spread of applications.

I will certainly be taking this as far as my sails will take me! Today I feel better but it sure is a mammoth & highly stressful task.

Thanks again.

I would avoid the sentence that aims to show the appeal school can cope better with additional pupils than a school which is struggling. That may not go down well. Leave the effect on the school alone for the moment. You will receive the school's case to refuse admission before the hearing. When you've got that, if you share it on here you will get some pointers as to how to attack it. You should try to undermine the school's case in the hearing, not before.

Oh yes I did mean for that to be used in the hearing apologies, I shall save my hearing speech until I have the school case, you have a very valid point.

It's all overlapping in my brain & I keep adding & editing parts that I want to get across without fully knowing what to lead with initially on the application form. And at the same time not wanting to forget a good response for the hearing! I'm flapping... can you tell.

Also just been informed I cannot be advised of any wait list information until 29th March at the earliest. I must also do a late application for any alternative schools online rather than request to be added by phone.

I will keep you posted. Hopefully have some positive news later in the week.