Paper Appeal - Expert help please

[Thischarmlessgirl]

Hi, I’m currently appealing for my sons secondary school place, I am appealing for two schools. The first is an academy and handling their own appeal process, the second is being dealt with through the council. I received a letter today, after submitting the paperwork last week to say that due to Covid Face-to-face appeal hearings cannot take place in decisions will be made on the basis of written documents only provided by the parents and schools.
I’m not very happy about this as I don’t understand why we aren’t using video conferencing or at least telephone conferencing as how am I going to respond to any questions or ask any? Also how are the panel supposed to confer.
Can any of the panel/appeals experts please help.
Thank you

@prh47bridge
@admission
@panelchair
And any other experts please

The honest answer is that the admission appeal guidance in place for the current situation does allow for just written appeals to be heard. That is clearly not what was intended and most schools and LAs are operating a video conferencing system.
If they are operating a written paper system then within that system then there has to be some kind of system for asking questions and getting answers back. I would ask exactly how the system will operate and how questions can be asked.
The panel would normally make decisions using some kind of conference facility, so again I would ask how this is happening as if they not, then how is the decision being made?

@admission Thank you, I’ve read the updated guidance which says a paper appeal should be a last resort, I don’t understand if the panel can meet over video conference or telephone conference why the whole appeal process can’t be done that way and this is something which I will ask the local authority tomorrow. I know they use Teams internally at the council, Surely it’s less labourious for the panel if we could just get it done and dusted rather than all the backwards and forwards.
The letter today says that they would let me know in due course what the actual procedure will be.
Maybe I’m being cynical but I just feel a disadvantage not being able to represent my case if not in person then via video or at least telephone

Agree with Admission. As you've read the guidance, you already know that paper appeals should be the last resort. The guidance is clear that appeals should be by video or telephone conference wherever possible. Given the availability of appropriate technology, it should, in my view, always be possible to hold a hearing in this way unless the parents do not have access to an appropriate device. You should ask the admission authority why a telephone or video conference is not possible.

@prh47bridge I will do tomorrow, it seems ridiculous not to offer video/phone first, the whole process with our local council feels so obstructive, they couldn’t make it more difficult!

I can’t add anything to what admission and prh47bridge have suggested. I’m guessing that Teams might be problematic if parents don’t have access to it, but there are other options and you should say clearly that you want one of those.

Is it Kent by any chance?

@GingerAndTheBiscuits No Buckinghamshire

My LA (Wolverhampton) is managing video appeals very well using Teams, and if parents haven't the appropriate technology they can go to the Civic Centre and use the facilities there.

LA have said No, they trialled video/telephone and weren’t satisfied so paper is apparently more reliable and fair. I’m not convinced!

It would be interesting to know what the problems were but I suspect it would be difficult to challenge that.

Regrettably it is easy for the LA to say they were not satisfied that a virtual process was appropriate, especially if the relevant people do not want to do it that way.
I do not think you have much choice but to abide by "their rules" . I would certainly as part of the admission appeal process make the point in the papers that you have concerns that the appeal process is flawed by not being virtual as you do not have the opportunity to question face to face the school's case. I would love to know what the reaction of the ombudsman would be to this.

@admission thank you, I’ll definitely put that in!