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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Please help- Not offered a place

15 replies

scribblegreen · 28/04/2021 18:05

Hi everyone, please can anyone advise me on how to put an appeal together. My son hasn't been offered a school place at proffered school. We have worked hard for a year preparing him for the school in his catchment, he is autistic and not attending the preferred school will be massive and detrimental to his emotional, social, mental and educational well-being. In desperate need for help. Thank you

OP posts:

LIZS · 28/04/2021 18:37

Does he have an ehcp ?

SummerHouse · 28/04/2021 18:43

Sorry you are in this position. If no EHCP you can put together an appeal based on the impact this will have on him due to his autism. You have to demonstrate that the negative impact on him will be greater than the negative impact on the school in taking an additional pupil. Evidence might include letter from school, medical reports, statement from Dr. It would also be helpful to set out why only this school can meet his needs and not your offered school. All the best and good luck.

LIZS · 28/04/2021 19:14

Have you been offered an alternative?

Original poster

scribblegreen · 28/04/2021 19:17

Hi guys, yes he has been offered another school but it's all too strange for him, he won't cope plus he has to travel instead of walk. There is nothing familiar about the school and no one he knows is going there. He has no EHCP :( he has his heart set on the preferred school and it's all he's spoken about for a year!! I'm so lost xx

OP posts:

LIZS · 28/04/2021 19:34

If you appeal you need to identify things that school can offer him specifically by way of support or activities/subjects that would benefit him. Unfortunately no school placement is guaranteed without an ehcp so you may have inadvertently done him a disservice by letting him think so. Have you investigated the allocated school or applied for an ehcp? Are there any others closer you can go on wl for and have you done so for preferred school?

Jangle33 · 28/04/2021 21:55

Are you on the waiting list? How far down?

Thischarmlessgirl · 29/04/2021 08:07

Does he have a educational psychologist or anyone professional who will back your appeal? We are in a similar position and have submitted our appeal with supporting evidence from my DCs Ed Psych and Psychotherapist as well as the current school Sendco, teacher and head.
I’ve had some great advice from some of the appeal panel experts here.

sherrystrull · 29/04/2021 08:09

I would speak to the SENCO at his current school and explain the situation.

Original poster

scribblegreen · 29/04/2021 08:37

He is 2nd place on waiting list. We have a zoom call with senco today. He has a child psychologist. Shall I call them too? Xx

OP posts:

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 29/04/2021 08:53

You really need all the professionals to provide supporting letters but they need to be very specific and address exactly why the school is better for him. An appeal panel may think that you have 5 months to get him used to the travel so a letter from the psychologist explaining why he will not be able to do it safely or reliably might help. Or why any other specific things about the preferred school are important. You need to identify those things now and make your letter writers aware of them.

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 29/04/2021 08:57

And it's good he's 2nd on the waiting list but remember that every successful appeal will mean the school goes 1 child over it's PAN. So if the PAN is 100 and 5 children win at appeal, 6 children have to give up a place before anyone is admitted from the waiting list.

TeenMinusTests · 29/04/2021 09:59

Letters need to say 'X would benefit from walking to school because ..' and not 'X's Mum says he would benefit from walking because ...'

prh47bridge · 29/04/2021 17:36

You need to convince the appeal panel that your son will be disadvantaged if he doesn't get a place at this school and that this outweighs any problems the school will face through having to cope with an additional pupil. You can certainly use his autism as an argument but, as others have said, it will be much stronger if you have professional evidence supporting your case. The child psychologist and any other professionals who know your son are your best sources of evidence. Th SENCO at your preferred school can't help - even if they write something, the appeal panel should disregard it. Evidence from the SENCO at his current school may help but won't carry as much weight as evidence from medical professionals.

HolmeH · 29/04/2021 19:57

Do you know why he didn’t get into your catchment school? That’d be really unusual in my neck of the woods.. can you find data that shows in the previous x number of years he would have got in & hence you preparing him to do so 🤷🏼‍♀️

RachelRaven · 29/04/2021 20:03

@HolmeH

Lots didnt get their local school near me because they are not baptised or church goers.

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