Year 7 school appeal

[EmJoGe]

Hi
We have recently been refused a secondary school place in year 7 for our DD. We live a literal stones throw from the school, however we have only just moved there as our move was delayed by our chain. We missed the deadline for late applications at the end of November and so our old address was the one they applied the admissions criteria to. We have been offered a school which is much further away and doesn’t have a good ofsted rating so we are appealing. So far we’ve sought advice from schoolappealsservices.org (SAS) but I’m not convinced as I feel like he’s given us a lot of conflicting information.
I have accepted the place at the school we were offered despite our intention to appeal and have so far lodged our appeal and declared that I will provide them with all my supporting evidence in due course, which is what we were advised by SAS. I should also say that they advised us that we had a good chance of being offered a place on the waiting list but that this wasn’t guaranteed so best to start preparing to appeal. I have now started to compile a report with appendices again as advised by SAS and undertaken some freedom of information requests from council and school itself.
Last night I got a message from SAS to say they were nearing their client capacity and that we need to let them know ASAP if we required their services. I called them today and said we don’t know if we will need further assistance from them until we hear back about waiting lists but that I had already started to put together the report. They seemed surprised that I had started even though they had advised us to previously and then said they really need to check what I’ve submitted and that I need to be careful who I’ve contacted for information and what I’ve said! I told them I had only followed the advice they had already given me and they said it would be best if we paid upfront for their service and then if we don’t require them due to waiting list success then we would be refunded our money less the cost of any work they had undertaken for us in the meantime. I feel so suspicious but I’m also scared to go it alone. What do you all think? Also, any advice re appeals would be so appreciated.

I wouldn't use a third party. You know your case best. We won our school appeal. Lots of useful advice on elevenplussexamsforum. I don't know if yours is a Grammar School appeal or not but some info on there will still be relevant.

No, it’s not a grammar school but I’ll definitely take a look at that website. Thank you for your reply

I agree, don't waste your money on this. I sit on appeal panels, and it's very rare that third party organisations like this are much help.

For an appeal like this to win you have to convince the panel that the need for your DD to go to this school outweighs the problems the school would have in fitting in an extra pupil. So your chances of success will depend in part on how strong the school's case is, and how many other parents are appealing.

On the basis of what you've written, I wouldn't say you have much of a case, I'm afraid. The appeals that tend to win are ones where the child, say, wants to avoid the bullies from a primary, has special needs that this school can particularly help with, or where there is something in the curriculum/extra curricular activities that suit the child that other schools don't offer. So, by all means appeal, but be realistic about your chances of success.

On the other hand, if you now live just near to the school, chances are that you'll get a place from the waiting list. There's usually quite a bit of movement between now and September. Good luck!

You will get excellent advice on here from some very knowledgeable posters. Please don’t spend money unnecessarily - the process is designed to be completed by parents. There are very, very few situations where using a third party will be beneficial.

What are you planning to put as the main host of your appeal? Distance alone isn’t going to get you anywhere for appeal, and panels cannot and will not take Ofsted ratings into account. They have to work on the basis that all schools are equal in that respect.

I wouldn't use anyone who charges a fee. I don't know about the particular people you name, but many make exaggerated claims about their successes. Sadly, I've come across cases where parents with a strong case were given extremely poor advice which totally undermined their chances of winning their appeal. You will get all the advice you need on here.

You don't need a report with appendices. You just need to set out your case clearly. Appendices are fine if they help to organise your case, but you won't lose just because you don't have appendices!

You don't need FoI requests to get information. The school and the council are required to answer any reasonable question you ask them to help you prepare for your appeal. Making it an FoI request may slow things down.

Regarding your case, distance and Ofsted ratings won't help you. You need to find things that the school you want offers that are missing from the school you've been allocated and that are particularly relevant to your daughter. This could be, for example, subjects, extra-curricular activities, facilities - anything that your daughter will miss out on if she doesn't go to the school you want.

Listen to prh47bridge. Don’t succumb to the pushy salesperson.

There are some fantastic experts on here who sit on appeal panels who generously give their advice free to posters on here every year (including prh and panelchair above). There should be no need to pay a third party.

Quite interested to know why they advised you to be careful about who you contact for info? I assumed that the school has to (within reason) provide you with the requested information to aid your appeal as per the admissions code?

I would run a mile from these services, Tbh. Pretty much everything they have said is either wrong, misguided, or needlessly antagonistic.

There is no need for FOI, for example, as previously commented the school/Admissions authority have to give you the relevant information anyway and a polite request will get it much quicker. An FOI can take weeks.

There is no need to be concerned about who you ask things from or talk to - this is not a court of law, and you will both see each other's cases beforehand, you do not need (and cannot, other than in rare cases) introduce new evidence at the hearing that the other side has not seen.

If you want help with drafting, post here and there are a number of us who are happy to help, either on forum or on PM. Please don't pay anyone!