Secondary school appeal. Sen. Please help.

[Rebeccarose123]

Hi
So DS was refused a place at his first choice due to

(a) there were more applications than places available andother children had a higher priority against the published oversubscription criteria and/or (b) they are grammar schools and your child has not been assessed as suitable for admission to a grammar school.'
(b) grammar school does not apply to DS so its reason (A)

DS has a diagnosis of
-Autistic spectrum disorder
-Global development delay
-Emotional difficulties
-Hyperactivity
-Attention difficulties

Academically he is 'as expected' but he is offered extra time to complete the work and he does have TA support on a one to one level for topics he struggles with such as PHSE and then during lessons within class in general. The current school offer fantastic support for DS.
DS's needs show themselves more on a social, emotional, communication and language level, which link to ASD.
He has an IEP and IBP but no EHCP.

There were 76 appeals last year for the academy in question and 7 were successful.

Has anyone ever been successful in winning an appeal based on SEN needs? My case heavily focuses on DS suffering more if he didn't get a place than the academy would if he did.

I have made a list of reasons why 1st choice school meets his needs more than any other school and although the points are valid and are strong, I don't know how significant they are in the eyes of a panel.
Evidence I have so far is a paediatrician letter proving his diagnosis, a letter from the head teacher, a letter from the senco officer and a letter from DS class teacher. Letters from current school are not just generic templates, they go into great depth and fully support why 1st choice meets DS needs over any other school.

Any advice or previous experiences would be much appreciated.

@prh47bridge I see, thankyou.

@PanelChair that's very helpful, I will definitely find a way to group my phones together. Thankyou.

@AlunWynsKnee that's reassuring thankyou. I have attended an appeal panel before regarding a completely different matter for my DD, so I feel confident in the respect of talking and putting my case forward. I just hope I am able to provide the evidence they will want.

Sounds like a good case. And yes, agree about grouping your points by need!

As an aside, speaking as SENCo, your first choice sounds like a brilliant school. Would you mind PMing me the name so I can have a nosy at how they are doing what they’re doing?

Thanks!

Hi, thankyou for your reply. It seems more people think I have a good case than not so although it doesn't mean much on the grand scheme of things it does give me alittle confidence that I haven't been shut down by anyone

Yes it is a good school but to be honest the 2 other schools were viewed are good schools in my opinion, it really is down to the academy meeting DS's needs compared to the others, that's the reason for are appealing it.
Lots of parents like the school, it is very sought after but honestly I just want a school that caters to DS's needs, regardless of how great it sounds as a whole on paper.

I certainly think your appeal has some substance (I’ve heard plenty that were weaker) but, as I’m sure you know, the appeal hearing is about weighing up your case for your son to be admitted against the school’s case not to admit (ie the balance of prejudice). That’s why it’s also worth looking at (say) the number in each year group, because if the school has gone over its published admission number in previous years you can argue that there would be no great difficulty in admitting your son as an additional pupil.

It’s so annoying that it’s almost like ‘computer says no’. ASD has the word spectrum in because that is what it’s it is, and every child with it is different. It’s so annoying to see in 2020 parents still having to fight to get a suitable place for their child. I don’t have a child with ASD but I’ve worked with children and adults with it all my working life, and one thing I do know, is that the right or wrong high school can have a long lasting effect. Good Luck OP

I think you have a case.

@PanelChair ok thankyou. I really appreciate your advice. I spoke with the admissions manager of the academy when we found out DS had not gained a place, she told me she felt we had a stronger case compared to the average and that it's worth appealing but ofcourse she has no idea how successful we would be.
She also gave me the following information

Appeals for year 7 admissions

2014- 66 appeals heard- 8 upheld
2015- 58 appeals heard- 7 upheld
2016- 60 appeals heard- 4 upheld
2017- 67 appeals heard- 6 upheld
2018- 63 appeals heard- 5 upheld
2019- 72 appeals heard- 7 upheld

Does this mean much?

Also I will look intothe number in each year group, and if the school has gone over its published admission number in previous years.

Previous years’ appeals don’t mean much - because they all turn on their own facts - unless they have led to year groups going over PAN. In that case, they do help you, not so much because they’re a precedent for your appeal (they’re not) but because they enable you to chip away at the school’s likely argument that admitting beyond PAN would be detrimental to the school and its existing pupils.

Did you apply for the three schools you viewed or only for your first choice school? Are the other two schools similarly oversubscribed? Just wondering why you ended up with a school you did not apply for when it is advised to always put down a banker school rather than end up with a school you had not even visited.

Thankyou @PanelChair

I do have this info on PAN if is it's any use.

PANS FOR YEAR 7 ADMISSIONS
2014- PAN 210
2015- PAN 240
2016- PAN 210
2017- PAN 250
2018- PAN 230
2019- PAN 230
2020- PAN 230

You don't want the pan - that's how many they are supposed to take. You want the cencus data which is the actual number of kids in a class on a certain day during the year. www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers

The obvious think to point out from those pan picture is why it's gone down from 250. Have any classrooms been taken out of use? If not it indicates the school can in fact take more.

Yes, you want to compare the PAN with actual numbers, because the school will almost certainly argue at the appeal that it will cause problems to admit additional pupils, but if some year groups in the past have gone over PAN you can argue that the school clearly has the ability to cope. If the school dispute this, you can ask what accidents (say) have been caused by overcrowding in corridors - often, schools can’t back up their claims.

And, yes, it’s worth probing how the PAN is calculated and how that translates into class sizes. It looks as if the 250 might have been a bulge class, but what I notice is that the PAN used to be a multiple of 30 but no longer is. Arguments about not being able to accommodate additional pupils are weaker if (say) there are 28 pupils in a class but the science labs are set up with 30 spaces.

OP, would your GP be able to write a letter?
“Xx was referred to a paediatrician because of xxx, diagnosed with xxx. As a result if this his MNers at school were met and he was able to be signed off from the paediatrician. In my opinion if his needs are not able to be met in secondary he will once again not thrive. In my opinion xxx school meets his needs as;
Cite important points
And I believe that this is the dcho that can best meet his needs”.

Enclose the paediatrician letter too.
And a SENCO letter.

We got a place on SEN (physical disability) grounds without an EHCP and I provided our GP with a draft of the letter in Word. They are busy people and as I understand it, it is important that the letter states that it is the opinion of the professional, and does not say ‘his parents tell me that this is the best school for him’.

Good luck. It is not straightforward when your child has additional needs but dies not fit the criteria for an EHCP.

‘Needs are met’ not ‘MNers are met’!

Thankyou everyone for your responses.

I have been writing my written appeal since we last spoke, taking onboard the advice given to group my points together and I'm wondering if anyone could offer me any advice regarding the following.

I have read on various different websites/forums that the written part of the appeal process should be keep as brief as possible and there is no need to write anymore than an A4 page.
I'm finding this a struggle, I don't wish to overwhelm the panel but because of my sons needs it's a complex appeal.
As the appeal heavily focuses on prejudice, its important for me to explain the reasons the school meet my sons needs over offered school.
I'm unsure how I would briefly do this.
I do not want to leave out vital information and be on a time limit in the meeting, limiting how much I can say.

I have also read that the appeal form and information I state in writing is not as important as the verbal appeal I give at the meeting and somewhere even suggested that panels don't take much notice of the written appeal if they have many appeals to consider (last year the school had alittle over 70 appeals, the school is highly sought after)
ofcourse I have no idea how true any of this is

Please could anyone offer me any advice on my written appeal and what is seen as acceptable.

Finally on the academy website it states the following
'Your appeal should state your reasons for your request and any additional information/documentation/appendices should be submitted five days before the appeal to allow time for it to be copied and distributed to all the interested parties'
But then it also states
' the school is heavy oversubscribed and it is important that you prepare your case very carefully taking note of the guidance will be sent to you'

Given the above would it better better to submit the appeal form and in the information box state 'Details of case to follow' and wait for the schools guidance to be sent.

With the whole COVID-19 pandemic and the struggles that is bringing to us as a family, added to stress I was already feeling due to the appeal. I feel like my brain is going to explode so any additional info anyone would be able to offer me, will be hugely appreciated I just want to get it right

I've seen very few appeals where the parents' case was a single page of A4. That's very short. However, I was recently involved in a case where both the parent and the LA put in cases that ran to over 70 pages. That is excessive. At the other extreme, I've seen written cases that consist of a few bullet points with the parents saving all the detail for the hearing.

Don't ramble, stick to the point and make your case. Don't try to force it down to one page of A4. That isn't necessary. But remember that the panel have to read all the cases. They won't thank you if your case is overly long.

I wouldn't go so far as saying that the panel won't take much notice of your written case but it is probably true that what you present in appeal is more important. They will read your case so that they know what the appeal is about but they will make their decision after the hearing, so that is going to be fresher in their minds.

There is nothing wrong with submitting only a very brief case or even no case at all at this stage and following up with your full case later.

When I sat on appeals we always said "Is there anything you'd like to say that isn't already covered in your written submission?" because we did read every page and discuss it in detail prior to the hearing.

Different admission authorities make different statements about what appellants should and should not do, so it is no surprise that people are confused and you can see slightly different versions of what to do.
You need to balance out the needs of yourself and the panel. When you send in the initial appeal document, then you do not have to say very much. In your situation I would be tempted to simply say that you believe that you have significant SEND evidence that school A is the best school for your child.
In terms of the appeal, you will receive a date for the appeal and everybody involved (admission authority, clerk, panel and your as appellant) will receive what written evidence there is available approximately a week before the appeal hearing date. You need at that stage to be explaining more detail of your appeal, so that all aware of the issues involved. For that reason it is not good practice to leave submitting your appeal till after you receive the admission authorities case. Follow the date guidance from the admission authority.
If when you see the admission authorities case there is something obvious that helps your case then you should send in a second document and that will also be considered by the panel.
The other reason in my opinion to get the information seen by the panel at the first opportunity is that where the case is complicated the panel members do need to think about the issues involved. Giving them sufficient time for that will always be sensible and quite often help them under stand your case better.
The other reason for submitting in writing before the day of the appeal is that you have the time to hone your appeal statement down to everything you want to say succinctly whereas on the day there is a fair chance you will forget a crucial piece of the case or go blurting on about things that are not that relevant.

On the day of the appeal I would take some written notes with you, say that the detail is in your written submission but that the salient facts are.......... If the panel have questions they will ask them but sometimes not getting much in terms of questions could be a good sign as the panel understand the issues involved,it having been well explained in your written evidence.
Having said all that, I would go with what you are comfortable with as long as you submit written evidence prior to the appeal which the panel will have a chance to study at their leisure.