Secondary school appeal for an in year application

[Throughtheforest2]

Hi
I was hoping there might be someone on here who can help share their experiences / any guidance on the appeals process.
My DSC is moving in with us from another country and English isn’t their first language.
There’s only one school that has spaces in year 7 (they’re 12), it requires improvement, and already has way above the National average in terms of children with additional needs and English not being their first language.
We applied for our catchment school (which is rated good, and is way below the National average in terms of children with additional needs and EAL), which was showing as having spaces on the council’s site but we were then told this was an error and that they are above their PAN so had to appeal.
So we have a hearing with the council soon to try to get them admitted based on a number of grounds.
DSC is number one on the year 7 waiting list for that school so hoping that works in our favour, as the school has a high turnover due to a high number of RAF families locally. And we keep making the point that they need stability as they will be going through major cultural and family changes. (Country they’re coming from is very old school / regimented in terms of education)
I’ve done some reading around the Fair Access Protocol and wondered if anyone had any experience of this being applied for children moving to the country and not having been in an English school before.
It seems to be aimed at children with challenging behaviour but there is also a section about children that haven’t been in mainstream school? I’m wondering if it could help at all or will be dismissed outright.
DSC will be here by the time of the hearing with no school place and we just can’t put him in the requires improvement school based on all we’ve heard about it (it’s been requiring improvement for a very long time with various headteachers and a number of issues - no surprise that it’s the only school with places)
Anyone been in a similar situation at all or have any thoughts on the above would be super helpful.

I think the response might be that any school can provide EAL support and stability. It may even be that the school with space has better resources, targeted funding and more experienced staff to provide such support due to relatively higher numbers of EAL students. What is it specifically about the preferred one that would meet their needs or interests?

Thanks for the response :)
the school with spaces has been picked up by ofsted for not implementing sendco plans, some teachers weren’t following the additional SEN instructions they were given. There’s also references to disruptions, challenging behaviour and low levels of attendance. A very different environment from the one DC comes from, which is a worry. And makes us question how effective any SEN support will be.
the school we want is rated good, used to dealing with children that move around - c. 10% RAF families - and with getting them up to speed and has only positive OFSTED comments around provision of additional support.
The school we want is also on the same site as the schools our children go to and we want DSC to feel that they’re being treated the same as our children / being included etc.
so many little things as well, like a much more extensive extra curricular programme, which includes DSC’s favourite sport (not offered at other school) and extra English sessions offered as well after school.
need to get all our thoughts clearly set out ready for the appeal hearing but just feels a much better fit and we’re worried about the negative comments made about the school.
My MiL has said she refuses to let DSC go there! The bad reputation is not a recent thing and the school goes through headteachers quickly. This one has been in for a year so far…

You need to put a case for the preferred school though, not negatively towards the allocated one.

If you dont win the appeal, but are top of the waiting list (and with siblings in the school likely to stay there) the other possibility is that DSC spends the time between arriving and September at home, catching up on topics they may be behind with, and you keep your fingers crossed that the turn over is great enough to gave a space start of Y8.

Good luck! Remember you are advocating FOR the school you want. Not against the one you don't want (just imagine if one of the appeal panels children was at the school you dont want -you need to keep them onside).
It sounds like the spaces at undesirable school will still be there come September if a place doesnt materialise.

There is a school with a place that you just don't want. Children coming from another country doesn't feature in the fair access protocol nor can they be classed as a excepted pupil. You're unlikely to win this appeal imo.

Hi, you'd need to check the fair access protocol for your local authority as they can all be written slightly differently. Your application would have been referred to the fair access team when the place was refused if you met the criteria. As of September 2021, the admissions code changed and there is only a very limited number of reasons that a school can refuse. Challenging behaviour is one. The PAN applies only to Yr 7, so if they are top of the waiting list you may find that they get a place anyway. Best to call the admissions manager or senior fair access officer with any queries about the process. (I work within fair access but as I say each LA can do it slightly differently)

As LIZS says, your argument has to be for a school, not against one. Saying anything about the OFTSTED, reputation etc of the other school is irrelevant, and will get you nowhere at appeal (and may work to your detriment, if one of the panelist has a connection to or a child at that school.)

The FAP isn't relevant either, as it sounds as if there is a place available at a nearby school, it's just one you don't want. The FAP would only be relevant if there were no spaces in a reasonable distance.

You need to make the case that the detriment to the school of taking another pupil is less than the detriment to your DSC in not getting a place. Focus on things this school offers that supports their needs specifically - the sport, for example, is something you should definitely mention, as well as the English support. Do they offer any relevant other languages? any other clubs -for example, is there a wellbeing club that might be helpful for a child new to the UK?
Being on the same campus as their step siblings is worth mentioning too, especially in the context of the child being new to the country and not speaking the language. It's not a big thing, but it's all part of the picture.

Part of the argument will also be chipping away at the school's case for being full, which you should get before the appeal, but will normally revolve around only being set up for 30 in a form/science rooms being too small/no lunch space etc etc. Here one of the main questions is have they gone over PAN in other years, as this shows they can cope with more. if they are already over PAN in yr 7 though (as opposed to at PAN), this can make it harder to persuade a panel they can cope with more.

Based on details you have provided, appealable points FOR the catchment school might be...

1. School provides additional aftwrscEAL lessons.
2. School provides sport X which DSC plays to Y level and would like to continue so he can do Z.
3. School's instruction methods are more similar to the traditional/rigorous methods which DSC currently learns under (not sure about this one)

Can you think of any other reasons to specifically appeal for this School, do they have lessons in DSCs home language? Other EC activities, other specific subjects offered?

Agree with @PatriciaHolm and @WinterSpringSummerorFall

Just to add that waiting list positions are irrelevant for appeal. The appeal panel won't give you a place just because you are first on the list.

The Fair Access Protocol is also not relevant. The Admissions Code limits the classes of pupils that can be admitted via the FAP. It does not include children moving to the country unless they are children of refugees or asylum seekers (or fall into one of these categories themselves). The reference to children needing to be integrated into mainstream education is aimed at pupils who have been in a PRU or similar, not pupils moving from overseas.

You don’t want your kid who has eal to be with other eal kids?

As others have said, the FAP won’t help you because, even if the child was in an eligible category, there’s a place available at another local school.

Make all the positive arguments you can in favour of the preferred school, but don’t disparage the other school; for all you know, the panel members have children there,

Thanks for the helpful comments. Definitely need to frame thoughts more positively, it’s just hard to ignore the negatives of the other school so we’ll work on this as there are many positive reasons.
@OnceuponaRainbow18 nope, that’s not what I mean. It’s that the other school don’t seem to cater well for kids with EAL based on reports we’ve seen, which also seems to be supported by the stats. E.g. 45% of EAL students achieving grade 4 in maths and English, compared to over 70% in our catchment school. I get what you’re all saying about not comparing so we’ll focus on the support at the school we want but the other school’s record is concerning.

Do bear in mind that, because they have spaces, the weaker school will be taking in EAL kids brand new to the country in every year group, including year 10/11, whereas the oversubscribed school's EAL kids are more likely to have been there since year 7 (and quite possibly in the country for considerably longer). You're not necessarily comparing like with like, so be very careful about reading too much into the statistics.

I taught in a weak school where we had lots of kids coming in from other countries, and it did mean that we had good systems for them - they got more support there than at other schools I taught in. (It was rather frustrating when we did the hard work with them at the start when their English was very weak, and then they got to the top of the waiting list for another school and disappeared.)