Any success stories after a failed appeal?

[GoldenMushroom]

Hello everyone

We found out lost our daughter's appeal for secondary school yesterday (all done via written submissions) and i really need to hear if anyone's DC have managed to do ok in a school that wasn't their first choice.

DD is under referral to CAHMS for as yet undiagnosed autism/adhd and severe anxiety. We are stuck because of COVID ie unable to get the appointments we needed. Plus she has been ripped apart from her entire friendship group who she relies on for pretty much everything.

None of this appeared to matter one iota to the appeals panel. Now her anxiety is spiralling - she's already showing worrying signs around food/eating and yesterday she started literally pulling chunks of hair out of her head.

I dont know what to do. I know we are still reeling from this decision and probably over emotional but to say this panel have utterly destroyed her right now feels like an understatement.

I know im rambling now and there's nothing i can do but please please just tell me if any of your DC managed to do ok in a school that wasn't their first choice??

Thanks for reading this far...

We can admit them to any school we like, since legally all applications are to the MAT not to a specific school

No, you cannot. As 10brokengreenbottles says, parents apply through the LA for specific schools. You are completely wrong about the law. Legally, all applications are to specific schools, not the MAT.

The only question for the MAT is whether the child qualifies for a place at the school named on the CAF by the parents. If the child qualifies for a place under that school's oversubscription criteria it must be offered. The MAT cannot choose to offer a place at a different school instead.

Academies are required to comply with the Admissions Code and relevant legislation by their funding agreements. Any MAT that behaves in the way you describe is clearly in breach.

That’s exactly my understanding, too. If 0None0’s MAT really is behaving as alleged, they are in breach.

I think 0None0 may be confused by the fact that the MAT is the admission authority for all schools in the MAT. In that sense parents do apply to the MAT as admission authority, but they are applying for a specific school within the MAT. The MAT cannot ignore that.

Having seen 0None0's first post, suggesting that twins qualified for places in the same school but the MAT chose to put them in different schools, that is a clear and unambiguous breach of the Admissions Code on at least two grounds (not offering a place when one is available and taking into account information from the previous school as part of the admissions process). If the parents found out it should be a nailed-on win at appeal. And if the ESFA found out that the MAT was behaving in this way they could face sanctions.

Thank you both for clarifying, that's what I thought.

OP my DC got their fourth choice, we appealed and the appeal failed.

They are absolutely thriving I couldn’t be happier with the school

It depends on the MAT. In our case, you apply to the MAT not the school. And most schools take information from primaries into account when allocating classes. So do we. But the classes may not be in the same school. Apart fro
That, both twins aren’t Rivi g, and their parents are happy now, even though they originally didn’t want them separated

Really? Parents apply to the MAT and say “what have you got for us”?

Success story here OP
One of my dc didnt get his first choice
a couple years ago. Long story why, but it was an error on my part.
Was given a truly awful school
It was a a terrible time for us.
I appealed and failed over the summer.
He started school. Wasnt happy but soldiered on.i did not give up

I rang up several times a week to see his position on the waiting list (he was fairly high).
Reappealed and I put everything into it. Won the appeal
Hes as happy as anything now!

0None0 that's not correct, MATs can not do that.

Schools can, and do, take in to account primary school information when allocating forms and sets, but this occurs after the admissions round once places have already been allocated. You can put pupils in to classes when you don't know what pupils you have have. Such information can not lawfully be considered when allocating places.

Can you link to a MAT, not necessarily yours, where what you have posted happens?

Are you sure this is not one school with a split site?

@0None0

It depends on the MAT. In our case, you apply to the MAT not the school. And most schools take information from primaries into account when allocating classes. So do we. But the classes may not be in the same school. Apart fro That, both twins aren’t Rivi g, and their parents are happy now, even though they originally didn’t want them separated

No, it really does not depend on the MAT. The rules apply to all MATs.

Parents apply through the CAF to individual schools. They do not apply to a group of schools that happens to be in an MAT.

If you are describing a single school spread across multiple sites then yes, you can behave as you describe. However, if these are separate schools and you are genuinely behaving in the way you describe, you are in breach of your funding agreement.

We were in this situation 9 years ago op. Ds got into his 2nd choice and our appeal for 1sr failed. He went on to have an amazing time and the 2nd choice and did his A levels at a 3rd choice school. He is now at uni and doing well. We never got to 1st choice school and when he entered year 9 he said even of he got to top of list now he would not move.

Hope it goes the same way for your child.

0None0
I find your description of a MAT over ruling parental preference on the grounds of what it considers best based on "reading between the lines" really very high handed and shocking. I do hope it isn't legal.

OP we won our appeal based on similar grounds but with evidence of mental health risk from research and letter from current head and Ed psych. I am in two minds as in some ways, the allocated school -smaller, less well established - would potentially have given our child a real opportunity to shine whereas I am not certain that will be the case where she's going as it's very high achieving. However I figure a move in the other direction would be possible in future; we would certainly consider it.