Won primary place on appeal, can I use same grounds when applying for secondary school? Please read :)

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My child is only in Year 2, so a few more years to wait till applying for high school place.
Couple of questions I've been wondering in the meantime, would be great to hear from anybody who has been in similar situation. Or even anyone who works within school allocations or has served on appeals panels.

I won primary school place on appeal. The grounds were all around safety issues (risk and threats of abduction of my child by estranged husband). Husband was from a country with no extradiction treaty in place, basically meaning no hope in hell of getting my child back if they were abducted to his native country. Child is also eligible for citizenship of that country by default, so if abducted to there, they would automatically be considered a citizen by that country's government.

Also, various issues of domestic violence, threats to kill. Since leaving that marriage my estranged husband has no clue of our current whereabouts. Moved to a completely new area to escape him. Have basically lived in hiding ever since.
I get the occasional abusive message from him nevertheless. But, I've done everything possible to keep child and I hidden from him. He just has an email (rarely checked email address for me. I keep the nasty messages in case ever needed as evidence, but I never reply or engage with him).

Obviously I provided all the relevant police and court paperwork and copies of relevant restraining orders etc as part of the primary school appeal.

When I left the marriage, I withdrew sponsorship of his UK visa meaning that, more than likely, he'd not be allowed to stay in UK but he repeatedly threatened that he'd get back in "one way or another" or would "send people to get his child".

No idea of his current whereabouts or even if he managed to get back in UK (IF he ever left).

The primary school appeal panel agreed that my child should be granted a place at the school nearest to home (5 minutes walk) - bearing in mind I need to keep child close to home for safety reasons. School offered had been 2 bus rides away on the other side of town (in a neighbourhood my husband knew well and had friends living in).

When it comes to applying for the high school I'd like for my child (literally just across from the road from primary school they attend), would it be worth mentioning all of the above situation and providing my police/court/legal paperwork?

Would it be taken into account?

Primary school staff have told me that, when it came to applying for primary place, if I'd just mentioned all this in the first place (instead of waiting till appealing), my child would have 100% been offered a place but, tbh, it didn't even cross my mind to include it all with the primary application. I just (naively maybe??) took it for granted that they would give my child a place as we live so close to the school (5mins walk).

Any parents or appeals panel members with any experience?

Thanks for reading xx

I think I would research the last distance offered for the secondary school first, you should be able to get this information for last few years from council/ education authority website. As you live so close to the secondary it may not be necessary to submit the other information. As secondaries are bigger the tend to offer places to children who live within a bigger circle. I am not an admissions expert but as they considered those grounds for primary I don’t see why they wouldn’t for secondary.

Ps - I should have added that the high school in question is a "feeder school" anyway, but children from feeder schools are only at position number 5 on the high school website's published list of priority criteria.

Firstly do you have reason to think that your child won't get into the high school? It sounds like you're very close indeed so stand a good chance of getting in without any additional information. Secondly it can't hurt and there's always an opportunity to send extra information in an application. Primary schools (as you probably know having gone through an appeal) are extra difficult to appeal to because of Infant Class Size restrictions but Secondary schools have no such regulations so are more willing to accommodate students. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.
Reason for thinking my child won't get high school place (at the school I've mentioned), well there's no absolutely concrete reason I believe it wouldn't happen... BUT I've heard horror tales in last couple of years in local media and through other local parents etc but children who live within 5 minutes walk being refused places and being allocated schools miles away.... involving multiple and time-consuming bus journeys etc.
Also, the school places heavy priority on applicants with EHCP plans, SEN issues etc. My child doesn't fall into any of those categories.
Priority number 2 (below the EHCP and SEN one) is "exception social circumstances" - so potentially might fall into that category but I don't want to be complacent about it in case I'm mistaken.

I would advise the secondary school as a safeguarding issue whether you are sure you would get a place or not. If tge school are aware they can put things in place such as never having photographs of you child used in the school setting, not giving information to someone saying they are rge child's father etc..it will be for your benefit.

Look at the admissions data. There won't be that many EHCPs etc. If they have an exceptional social category you might be able to apply in that one. Take some of the 'I didn't get in from 5 mins away' with a pinch of salt unless you know them personally. People make assumptions and mistakes when applying, which costs them a place, but they don't always realise this. For example not putting the feeder school on the form or applying too late.

Ultimately OP is it your catchment school? And if it isn't, which school is, and how far away is it? Because if another school IS your catchment school and is also fairly close then why does it have to be this particular school? Something tells me the sch you want is a highly sought after sch, bet it's not the local dodgy comp.
If you live so close to the secondary school that you want, surely it must be your catchment school and not an issue anyway?

They don't fill an entire secondary school intake with EHCP and SEN kids to the exclusion of those living just a short walk away.

You've mentioned priority 2 being exceptional social reason category, and priority 5 being feeder school.... What are 3 and 4? Siblings? They won't fill a year on siblings either so surely you'll get in on distance being close?

I think this is exactly what the exceptional social circumstances sort of thing is for.

You need to apply with supporting information showing why this is still a threat to your DC and why the mitigation you seek is still relevant (needs of and risks to a child are very different between the age groups).

You may need to establish his whereabouts for your case to be water-tight

Then if the place is refused, it will be time to think about what to out into an appeal.

You cannot appeal until after a refusal and it seems perverse (in a general sense) not to make the strongest possible application in the first place.

I agree with moose. Contact the school anyway. Get it all recorded so there's no doubt.

This is all somewhat irrelevant to the actual question, but by the time your child is secondary age they would usually start having more freedom, e.g. to go into town with friends.
If you are going to say they have to go to very close secondary school due to safety issues, what are you going to do about letting them 'grow up'?

If there is still a real and present danger, would it maybe be better to consider moving areas entirely to somewhere your husband and his community have no links, and then you would be able to let your child have more freedom in their teens?

All schools have to prioritise students where the school is named on the ECHP, but this would be <10 students per year in an average secondary, maybe even as few as 1 or 2.

I think you should include the supporting information when you apply, as it may put you in category 2, but again, this will be a very small category. I think it's unlikely you won't get in- but I understand worrying about it.

However, as @TeenDivided says, by the time he is secondary age, you really won't be able to keep him within 5 minutes of your home, or from going into the town centre with his friends.

I know you shouldn't have to, but would it make more sense to move to a different town altogether?

Its possible that this person lives on a Borough border which might mean the school that is 5 mins away is in different council area to where they live therefore their default school is not necessarily the closest.

I can't imagine the amount of anxiety you must face each day with threats of kidnapping. If you don't feel awkward about sharing your situation with the school authorities then definitely add an appeal to your application in first place. Hopefully it'll work.

If you want to apply under the “exceptional social need” category, you should flag this up on the application form. Don’t assume that the school or LEA (whichever is the admissions authority) will know.

In most LEAs, your application would then be referred to a panel, which would decide whether your child met the criteria for that category. The potential problem here, I think, is that the panel/admissions authority is likely to be looking for evidence that your child is still at risk of being abducted; the evidence from your primary application will be several years old by then. Harsh as it sounds, I think the panel/admissions authority may be sceptical about arguments that a rising teen needs to be within five minutes of home and (you imply, but forgive me if I’ve got this wrong) escorted to and from school. As others have said, that’s a very unusual level of supervision for a secondary pupil, so you’ll need to be ready to explain why it’s necessary and proportionate.

The considerations would be similar if the matter went to appeal.