Y 7

[anitabullock]

My granddaughter is leaving primary school to start secondary .we have been offered a school 41/2 mil away we have been to appeal and they won’t over turn it . This is the only school we applied for . We had just moved into the area and didn’t know schools .plus her mom is quite a poorly lady after the separation from her abusive husband . This left all of her children with emotional problems and worry’s . Especially that mom has been in hostpital too my grandchildren have councilling within school .what Cani do to get a school nearer home where they will feel safe

Do you mean 4.5 miles away or 41.5 miles away?
Do you live in a big city, why is 4.5 miles so far?
Is she offered free transport to get to the school that far away?

Is she on waiting list for all nearer schools? Why did you only apply to one school? Many children travel for secondary , whether 4.5 miles is the norm will vary but in a rural area probably not unusual.

Ok so firstly look into how to get to the school she has been allocated. Over a certain mileage, some Local Authorities have to arrange/pay transport.
For you granddaughters sake, stay positive about this. Do the journey with her a few times if you can.
maybe phone school and ask if she can be put into a form group with kids from the same area.

Then phone up the schools nearer you and get on the waiting list. Even the most oversubscribed schools get spaces in the first few weeks of September.

she moved house last october with her family to get away from domestic abuse .mom became really poorly and i had to take over the famlly there are 6 kids within thier family and it is hard to keep track of all when your a pensioner like me .through this it meant that i had to fill in the form .we didnt and still dont know the area very well . the nearest school that i saw was just a street away .
we appealed the school she was offered it is 4.5 mile away . my grandaughter has anxiety problems and has counciling within her currant school.
she worries dad will find her and take her .also she knows her way to school now but gets lost else where .mom is having problems going out of the house and relies on the older brothers a lot but they all have work and school too .ss put them to be young carers for mom . this is not an easy thing going to secondary and trying to do what is write for my family .i live 3 mile from my daughter and i dont drive and i have to rely on my bus pass to get from a to b

So she missed the application deadline. Was it treated as late? So got allocated whatever nearest school had availability. Did you highlight the social and mh aspect if there is a category for it? You don't appeal against a school placement but for the one/s you want ie. The one a street away, Is she on the waiting lists and if so in what position? A secondary pupil is normally deemed able to get themselves to school by public transport so if they are offering free transport she would be expected to be independent.

I think you are worrying about nothing. 4.5 miles is a completely normally school journey it’s not far from home. 2 buses for children with asd and other SEN is very normal at secondary level.

You need to ask to be on the waiting lists for all schools closer than 4.5 miles. Applying for just one school was a really risky strategy.

I think it's unhelpful to say that 4.5 miles is a straight forward trip when you don't know the situation with regards to where this girl lives. Not all areas have roads with pavements, public transport, easy road for bikes.

Have you tried this ?

www.gov.uk/help-home-school-transport

I've decided to write to education and ask them if they can help and Explaining the situation at the time of applying let's see what happens

I'm not sure what that will achieve. You need to understand the system better first. You mention an appeal but it is not clear whether that is just asking for a change of offered school rather than an actual appeal hearing for the preferred school/s.

If it was not, you need to request one. Details of how to do so should be on the letter which came with the offer.
Ask them to check she is on the relevant waiting list/s and for her position.
Ask if any social or medical circumstances would apply to preferred school/s ' admissions policy (although guidance would be available online/in the application booklet if so)

Logistics alone will not win an appeal but if the preferred school has, for example, more appropriate pastoral care(ideally with evidence of such a need), subjects and activities which she is already engaged with or excelling at, established friendship groups given her recent history and relocation it stands a better chance. You would have to be prepared to make the case though and it may now be too late for September.

You might also want to ask mnhq to update your thread title, to include Appeal . There are some appeals panel experts on here but they may miss your thread otherwise