Secondary admissions appeal - help please

[Lemoncello13]

Looking for any advice please on how best to write admissions appeal for my daughter. The reasons I have so far are below - would be grateful for guidance on which are worth elaborating on, and which I should mention only briefly or leave out altogether.
I did include a request for exceptional circumstances (ASD, SEMH issues, under camhs etc) to be taken into account in the initial application, as we have been in the EHCP application process for 2 years now (one tribunal already for refusal to assess, and waiting for the one for refusal to issue which is listed for June 2023). However because she does not already have an EHCP the school have not chosen to give any priority for this, and just assessed on distance (and we are 200m outside the last place offered).
Reasons why she needs this school:
It has a specialist ASD unit for children with mild ASD and an EHCP. While she doesn't (yet) have an EHCP, the fact that the school has a well staffed large SEN dept and an excellent understanding of ASD in girls is already a huge advantage and means they are more likely to understand her needs.
Then, if she does get an EHCP granted in future, she will not need to go through yet another difficult transition process to reapply for this school and move schools, which would be of huge benefit to her given she hates change. This school would be definitely able to implement the adjustments in her draft EHCP.
Her SEMH needs (very high anxiety, under Camhs for binge eating due to school related trauma since y4, violence at home leading to child in need plan) mean she needs the strong mental health support this school offers (multiple levels of counselling and intervention options, beyond what other schools locally offer).
This school has a very strong reputation for discipline - she loves rules and struggles in unstructured environments and the Ed Psych noted she needed a school with a very strong approach on discipline.
This school has a gifted and talented programme for the top 10 percent (which she is on all her primary tests, as her ASD makes her very skilled in certain areas) and additional programmes in maths and law - again way beyond what other schools have.
The school also has a specialism in performing arts - DD loves performing and with the right support for her ASD issues can perform well and does dance, drama and singing outside school (this one feels weak to me, but is important to her).
This school is within 2.5k (so walking distance) whereas allocated school is out of borough and involves over an hour bus and train journey. It's probably not excessive for most children but she has a phobia of trains and also gets extremely travel sick on all modes of transport (noted on her medical reports). She will not cope with a complex journey. She will also have to give up her main passion (tennis, which she plays to a national level at a LTA training facility close to the desired school) as she won't be a able to get to training on time from the allocated school. (The challenges of the journey are what are worrying her most about allocated school, though I know it's not normally a strong argument).
Given her SEMH needs, and her social/friendship difficulties (she has ELSA and Thrive support at current primary for friendship issues and bullying) she needs the familiarity of some people she knows, and the possibility of local friends.
I can't think of any specific detriment to the school of going over PAN - her needs are not expensive/difficult to meet (eg a toilet pass, sitting in specific seats, sensory adjustments etc) so the school would not have to spend additional money to meet her needs even if EHCP is eventually granted.
Overall it's the combination of a school that can meet her ASD needs, has an exceptional reputation for discipline (some call it regimented..) and can offer her real academic challenge which makes this school uniquely placed to meet her needs. She would be disadvantaged more than most children by having to make a long/complex journey on public transport alone (I don't have a car and am single parent working full time).
Please be brutally honest and let me know what I need to change to make a compelling case, and what evidence would be most persuasive. I have hundreds of documents from professionals that have assessed her over the years but it's hard to know which ones are most pertinent.

Normally I would recommend leaving out arguments about transport. However, in this case, I would include them provided you can get evidence (a letter from her GP, say) setting out the difficulties she will have journeying to the allocated school. Evidence of her tennis involvement may also help.

I would be cautious with the gifted and talented programme. That could come across as saying she is clever and therefore needs a good school. The panel may think that a clever girl would do well at any school. Concentrate on the additional programmes in maths and law. If you can show that they are particularly relevant to your daughter, that will help.

Overall I think you have a good case. Go for it!

I agree with prh47bridge. You’ve got a lot of good arguments there, so go for it, but soft pedal on anything that might come across as “she’s very bright so will be an asset to the school”. That’s not what the panel is looking for as evidence of why your child should be admitted, so pinpoint things which she needs and the school can provide.

I'm not sure you'll be successful. I'm an independent EP and have previously worked in LAs as well as being on SLT in a secondary school. The EHCP issues won't be dealt with by the school appeals panel - they'll defer that decision to SENDIST. The other reasons are strong but the only appeals that are agreed are for very particular, exceptional circumstances or where a mistake had been made in the admissions process. Good luck, I'd try if it were me.

No. Winning an appeal does not require exceptional circumstances or a mistake in the admissions process (although this is very roughly the position for Infant Class Size appeals). At secondary level, the parent has to show that the prejudice (detriment) to the child if not given a place outweighs the prejudice to the school if they have to cater for an extra pupil.

Nothing is guaranteed and we can’t predict the outcome of any appeal - much depends on the comparative strength (or not) of the school’s case not to admit - but (in my view) OP has a fair chance of success.

Good luck, OP. And - it’s stating the obvious but just in case - make sure you are on the waiting list for the preferred school as you may get in from that anyway.

2.5km is still a fair distance from the school. Is she on the waiting lists for other schools as well? You can appeal for more than one school.

2.5km is still a fair distance from the school. Is she on the waiting lists for other schools as well? You can appeal for more than one school.

I'd leave out convenience. IME panels don't like it. Though extremely valid as non driver it's not always looked upon favourably.

Normally I would agree but in this case we are talking about a child who can't cope with the journey to the allocated school. If OP can evidence that, it should carry weight with the panel.

You need to be clear what access, if any, non EHCP but potentially nd children have to the resources of the specialist unit. Do not assume that its presence means that there would be more support in ms classrooms nor that they could automatically accommodate her should the EHCP come through.

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. I will remove the bit about the gifted/talented programme, and will try and get a GP letter to confirm specific difficulties with travelling (she takes prescription nausea drugs when she has to go on any journey eg school trips). I agree without an EHCP she may not have full access to everything they offer for ASD, but they have a staff of 23 in the SEN department (vs most schools 1-2), and run teacher training in SEN, so will try to evidence that the whole school has better SEN provision.
We are on waiting list for this and another local school in walking distance - unfortunately we are in a catchment black hole so have no "catchment" school, and the schools that take girls and aren't selective are all about 2.5-3km away.
One further question please - do I need to include all the evidence relating to her SEN that I included in the initial application (draft EHCP, ed psych reports, camhs reports etc), or will they just take my word for it? The draft EHCP document alone is over 80 pages so it's a massive bundle when it all has to be done in paper form and photocopied 5 times! I'm worried that if I pick out extracts then I could be accused of cherry picking what suits me, but equally I'm sure a panel won't have time to read hundreds of pages of reports?

You’re right. The panel won’t have time to read hundreds of pages. Try to condense it, by selecting the most important pages. Could you write your own timeline, ie “this report on this date said …, that report on that date said …” to accompany those pages?

You can't assume that she will be able to access the "unit/provision" at the school if/when she gets an EHCP. That would depend on criteria for said unit and whether the unit feels they can meet her needs / other children on waiting list above her / whether there are any spaces. It's likely allocations to the unit would be handled by the LA, or at least with the LA. I don't know if that is important.