What do you do if you don't want the school you've been offered ?

[fogginghell]

My head is in a spin.
Our worst fears have been realised and dd has been offered the local comp that has a reputation for bullying and unhappy children leaving mid term.

Please can someone just give an outline of what to do if you're not happy with your choice. I know I can appeal and I've gathered it's a lengthy process. What I need to know is , what should I be doing tomorrow , who should I be calling , what information can/should I be gathering for the appeals process ? I just don't have a clue where to begin, who I can speak to and what information I need to move forward with an appeal.

Also She's been placed on a waiting list for her first choice , can I call the school and ask what position she's in and how fast the waiting list is likely to move ? Can I call the other school and ask to be placed on the waiting list for those too?

It all seems so complicated and painful and apparently only a 25% chance of winning.

Just so gutted for my dd

I am so dreading seeing her little face when I tell her she's got the school of her nightmares.

As far as I know you can only appeal if the admissions procedures have been incorrectly followed.
Was this school one of the ones on your list?

You can join a waiting list, request a place at a school which still has places or appeal. These are the options given on government sites. However from experience unless you have another child at a different school, or a clear bullying example, it will be refused

If I was you I’d be concentrating on putting a positive spin on this for your daughters sake, she’s probably going to attend this school regardless of appeals and you hating it won’t help her. She must have neighbourhood friends also going there?

The waiting lists won't be in place yet. They have no idea who is accepting what yet. Admissions should deal with waiting lists and will be bombarded with parents asking the same questions as you.

Reasons to appeal are

1. The policy/procedure was not legal ( You must prove this)
2. An error denied you a place you should have received
3. The decision to refuse was perverse.

You appeal for the school you want. They don't care why you don't want a school sorry. All schools are deemed as suitable to educate any child.

Having a child at a different school should make no difference to an appeal unless multiples are split.

I know it was a long time ago, but this happened to me in 2002.
My parents skipped the appeals process and went straight for the local MP.

I should say they were successful, but I didn't have a secondary school place until the middle of July and it wasn't even one of the ones they wanted me to go to.

MPs have no power to alter the process or bring any power to bear on an appeal sorry

@Hercwasonaroll having a sibling at a school rates high on the calculations due to school runs. I worked in admissions some years back

And that's why I made it clear it was almost 20 years ago @cabbageking. I don't know if it would have any baring nowadays, but isnt it better to hear of a route that was successful in stopping a child attending the school the parents didn't want, however long ago it was?

@Toomanygerbils You can only appeal if the admissions code has been applied wrongly. Some schools have got rid of the sibling priority. OP would need to look at the admissions criteria for her preferred school and see whether it has been applied correctly to her application. Just having a sibling doesn't automatically put you up the list. Also if she has a sibling but all other students that got in are higher up the priority list eg looked after children or students living within catchment then OP isn't entitled to a place.

But you didn't get the school you wanted to go to? You got one your parents didn't want?

@OhWellThatsJustGreat Not really because the appeal process has changed so you are filling OP with false hope.

No I didn't, but it was still a brilliant school, just not one on anyone's radar as it wasn't walking distance as the 2 schools they had wanted me to attend.
I had to take a bus for half an hour, rather than walking half an hour into the city centre and taking 2 different buses if I'd taken the place offered just because I am Catholic, it wasn't even a school they had put on my options, I was literally only accepted based on my faith, which I don't even practice.

So I would say its still a successful story because it got me a school place at a decent school, and that makes it an option for the OP if their MP in this day and age would take up the case.

@Hercwasonaroll OK, my apologies, I didn't realise it was so different now, I though an MP would still have some baring in making changes for their constituents. But if its not the case, sorry @fogginghell for fining you something useless.

Thought giving

I never said it would mean an automatic acceptance “You can join a waiting list, request a place at a school which still has places or appeal. These are the options given on government sites. However from experience unless you have another child at a different school, or a clear bullying example, it will be refused” “having a sibling at a school rates high on the calculations due to school runs. I worked in admissions some years back” this is what I said.

It does work in your advantage though. Also the people making these decisions are human, not computers. Have you ever sat through a panel deciding on which child out of 20 to give a school placement to? I have many times, and it does sometimes come down to human weakness and a personal story

having a sibling at a school rates high on the calculations due to school runs. I worked in admissions some years back

Having a sibling doesn't necessarily rate high, the admissions code for each school can be different.

You admit your knowledge is from a few years ago. The appeal process has changed somewhat. Only errors in administering the code are allowed.

@Hercwasonaroll so do you sit in admission panel meetings? Just curious as to your level in local government?

Your advice is incorrect.

Nowhere have I said I sit in the meetings. However you have said your experience is from a few years ago. The process has changed.

As far as I know you can only appeal if the admissions procedures have been incorrectly followed

This is not the case.

OP:

1. Accept the place. Accepting does not disadvantage you in any way at all. Not accepting could leave you without a place.
2. Go on waiting list. You can also now apply to go on waiting lists for other schools too, that weren’t on your list.
3. Appeal. People are posting the appeal info about primary school. At secondary you can appeal on the grounds that your child will be more disadvantaged by not attending than the school will by allowing her in. More about appealing in a minute.
4. Don’t panic. There is loads of movement of waiting lists, first of all after the acceptance deadline, and then steadily through the summer.

Appeals:
You appeal FOR the school you want, not against your allocated school. Make the case as to why your chosen school offers what your child needs in a way that the allocated school does not. So, if your child is good at gymnastics, goes to after school clubs etc and the school you want had a gym club and team, she will be disadvantaged by not being given a place. Or the same for a language she wants to study, other subject, music specialty, known support for dyslexia, whatever.

There will be loads of expert appeal advice on this board over the next few months.

You can appeal to more than one school.

There is no mad rush: you will probably get a notification about the appeal process, and be asked to say whether you wish to appeal by a certain date, and then Later a date by which to submit your appeal. If you think there has been a mistake, e.g you live on the doorstep of the school and admission is by distance, tell them immediately.

You probably can’t find out your waiting list position until after the acceptance deadline.

@fogginghell, I’m sorry we’ve gone off topic here in a pointless argument. The best advise I can given you is to skip all rules and email the director of the county council’s children’s services department direct arguing why this placement would be a detriment to your child, use as much sympathy talk as you can. I would have hated it when I worked there as I would have been ordered to sort it and make you a place, but hey I don’t work there anymore!

@Hercwasonaroll it’s a factor and when being presented as a case works as a pro. What human being wouldn’t argue a parent shouldn’t have to drive miles between schools for drop offs. I see no point arguing this further. I don’t see why you’ve wanted to argue with me from the outset when I’ve wanted to help OP, really don’t understand? Why I’ve offended you I’ll never know but good luck and best wishes

OP: see www.gov.uk/government/publications/admission-appeals-for-school-places/advice-for-parents-and-guardians-on-school-admission-appeals

TooManyGerbils The OP , and everyone else in her position, will need to go through the processes outlined in the schools admissions code. No amount of ‘skipping rules’ and emailing LA personnel direct will help unless an obvious mistake has been made.

@ShriekingBansheela Facts are lovely, so cute. Do you really think it works this way? Do you think a complaint goes away on its own or are we as staff made to make adjustments? Honestly you are so innocent if you think the previously correspondence doesn’t effect the decision. Also if you think a computer makes all the decisions. Frankly you are looking at people in a small meeting room deciding on pros and cons of one child vs another getting a place