Secondary School Admission Advice please

[CrazyRachel]

I am currently applying for secondary schools. We have enough church attendance to hopefully get into our local faith school.

However, we are thinking of applying in medical grounds aswell based on a special educational need , but without an EHCP. My husband thinks this will weaken our application as the school might prefer not to have accept a child who has additional needs where they don’t have an EHCP. However I want to try everything to get into the school.

I do have a letter signed by a doctor supporting my application, but can’t decide whether to use it in the application. Should I submit it or not? The HT thinks the reasons I’m using for medical grounds are quite weak, but I feel I have nothing to lose.

Do they name the school as being the only one able to deal with the medical issues?

It won't weaken your application, but if the HTbis right and your grounds are weak it won't strengthen your application either. It just means a panel of governors (probably including the HT) will read your documents, reject your claim for medical need, and then consider the application under the church criteria instead. You're right that you have nothing to lose, though the HT might privately roll their eyes that you didn't listen to their advice and decided to waste their (precious) time.

Obviously you haven't said what the need is, so nobody here can confirm whether your grounds are weak or not. But "medical grounds ... based on a special educational need" sounds a bit odd. You need to be sure there is a medical or social need. If there is a SEN without any medical/social angle, it won't meet the medical/social criterion.

And CatGrins is right, the doctor's letter will need to say "CatGrinJunior has this exceptional medical need that only school X can meet, because ...".

The bar for for the word "exceptional" is high.. Most schools don't admit more than 1 or 2 a year under the exceptional medical/social need criterion.

And CatGrins is right, the doctor's letter will need to say "CatGrinJunior has this exceptional medical need that only school X can meet, because ...".

The bar for for the word "exceptional" is high.. Most schools don't admit more than 1 or 2 a year under the exceptional medical/social need criterion.

medical grounds would require evidence that no other school could meet the needs not just that it’s your preference. Is there a reason this school can meet needs in a way no other can?

If you meet the admission criteria through church everything else is pointless. I’m not sure anyone even reads that but unless they don’t meet other criteria. It sounds weak to me.

If your DD would qualify on faith grounds anyway then it would be totally illegal for her not to be given a place because the school didn't want to deal with the medical issue. You cannot damage your application by including this extra information. It can either by totally ignored and have no effect, or could have a positive effect, but cannot have a negative effect (or if it did then you would 100% win on appeal).

If she wouldn't qualify on faith grounds, or loses out on a tie breaker (for our local faith based senior school, there are typically about 250 applicants who meet the faith criteria and c180 places so they go on distance as a tie breaker) then your medical evidence would only have a positive effect if the school's published admissions criteria is specifically worded to allow places on special medical need without specifically wording it as referring to an EHCP. They have to follow their admissions criteria to the letter, because if your child is given a place then they need to prove that this was fair, correct and in accordance with their published critera, otherwise some other child will have a valid case for appeal against them.

If there is a specific medical/social criteria, it will be clearly explained what evidence you need. Such a criteria are specifically designed for situations where there is no EHCP - if you had an EHCP, you could name the school in it, and would get a place automatically that way. If there is no specific separate criteria, supplying this evidence would be a waste of time as it cannot be considered.

Trying to apply under this criteria won't harm your application in any way. If your evidence is weak, your DD won't be accepted for consideration under that criteria, but will be considered under the faith criteria that you do meet.