If appeal is unsuccessful......

[sleepingbeauty100154]

Hi, thinking ahead here and just an outline: we have been offered 2nd choice and are appealing 1st choice under medical grounds. We are also 4th on the waiting list for 1st choice.

Having looked further into choice 2, I cannot believe I have overlooked a few things with regards their policies on children with medical needs (or lack of policy in this case!). It actually looks like choice 3 would be more appropriate for her if we were unsuccessful. We have today asked for daughter to be added to waiting list for choice 3 - I don't even know if we're allowed to do this seeing as we have a higher up offer??

So my question is firstly, can we go onto the waiting list for choice 3 even though we had an offer for choice 2? Will we be at the bottom (I've looked and we are well under the last distance offered for the last 5 years and the other criteria is the usual looked after children/ siblings/ medical need etc which I'm assuming the places will already be filled with these children?)

And also what would happen if we withdraw our place at choice 2? The more I look at it and ask questions (yes, I should've done this before but I had 6 months of my mum losing a horrible, short battle against cancer and my life was a mess) the more I feel choice 3 would definitely be better for daughter is we aren't successful with appealing choice 1.

I'm kicking myself and feel so guilty that I'm letting my daughter down. Plus time is moving so slowly, this is consuming me!

Thanks for any input

You should be able to go on the waiting list for any school, as you can apply for any school at any time. You won’t have been added automatically as you received a higher preference, but you should be able to ask to be added now (or if they have spaces, just be allocated one).

Waiting lists legally have to be held in accordance with the admissions criteria. So your place on the list will be determined by how close you are/whether you meet any higher criteria (and you can go up and down lists as other people withdraw or join). If you are quite close and would have got a place, it’s likely you will be reasonably high up the list.

Do not withdraw from your allocated choice- it will not speed up any appeal or waiting list process, and will just mean you don’t have any school place at all. So unless you can and would home school indefinitely (or go private), keep it as a back up.

My understanding is that your child's position on any waiting list follows the admissions criteria for the school(s) and that where you placed those schools 1,2, 3 on your application form is not relevant.
You do need to accept the place at school 2 until you either win your appeal or receive a waiting list offer.

I agree with the previous posts. However, if a DD cannot attend school for medical reasons the LA have a statutory duty to provide alternative arrangements. Therefore if an appeal isn’t successful and come September DD cannot attend school 2 they should provide alternative education. Although they are likely to ask why you applied and didn’t ask questions in the first place.

There will be a policy about pupils with medical needs even if it isn’t on the website and just reproduces the government guidance.

Don't withdraw your place. It won't help and can look like you are trying to force the appeal. Ask to go on the waiting list for school 3. You may be able to apply and if you don't get a place then appeal that school, but I'm not sure on that. Good luck getting a place, fingers crossed for the waiting list.

Every school has a medical needs policy- it is a statutory requirement. Have you requested a copy?

You need to accept the place for offered school, so that you protect the place. You cannot just leave it hanging there neither accepted or rejected because the LA will at some stage after a couple of letters withdraw the place.
You can appeal for both the preferred place and you third preference school. The LA may question why you are appealing for 3rd preference school but you just need to tell them "change of circumstances".
I would actually not assume anything about your offered school in relation to medical issues. Most schools handle medical issues with no problems so talk to the school about your / your daughters medical needs and see what the school say.