Secondary Appeals - SEN Child

[louise12112]

Hi - I have appealed for my daughter for a secondary school place. She is on the SEN register with an ILP and referred to SOLAR. She does not have an EHCP plan.

I know this is finger in the air but what is the probability of winning an appeal on this basis taking into account we believe the pastorial and SEN support to be more superior than the school we have been allocated.

Looking for advice from anyone that has been there/know's more info

Thank you

Almost negligible. Apply for EHCP and name it on the plan.

You need to apply for a EHCP to support her in secondary school. The school would be named on the plan.

You just need to demonstrate that the risk to your child of not attending is more significant than the risk to the school of having an extra student. SEN might swing it if you can demonstrate what this school can do that the other cannot. It's not just that "we believe school A has superior provision compared with our allocated school." It needs to say "our child has significant meltdowns from sensory overwhelm and a history of school based trauma through being misunderstood by staff prior to her diagnosis. At school A all staff have taken additional autism training and there is a sensory room and a thriving neuro diversity club, none of which is the case at our allocated school. Our child has a special interest in Japanese anime and feels calm and happy when talking about anime. School A also has an anime after-school club which we believe would be supportive of her mental well-being."

It's about making the case.

Btw it's very probably too late to apply for an ehcp to name a school for September this year.

So much depends on the strength of the school’s case for not admitting, but the panel is likely to be looking for much more than a generalised statement about the SEN and pastoral provision being better at the preferred school. They will expect a clear statement of the child’s needs and how the preferred school can meet those needs in a way the allocated school can’t, so it has to be about specific needs and provision for those needs. The panel will also be looking for confirmation from the child’s paediatrician or other health care professional that in their professional opinion the child needs a place at this school and will be disadvantaged if they don’t get one.

If she doesn't have an EHCP plan then my understanding is that any appeal will be treated like any other non-SEN child.

Hi @PanelChair in reference to your last point, have you found medical professionals etc will often mention specific schools or they inclined not to? If they don’t, does that mean it’s very unlikely the panel will accept that this is the right school as it’s just the parents opinion?

It just seems that getting a medical professional (outside of an EHCP) to name a specific school is really difficult and rare? Or if that not the case?

The panel will evaluate all the arguments and evidence put forward by the parent and all the arguments and evidence put forward by the school and will decide where the balance of prejudice lies, ie is the prejudice (detriment) to the child if they don’t get a place greater than the prejudice to the school if they have to accommodate an extra pupil.

As I said, where appeals raise matters to do with SEN, the panel will usually be looking for the professional opinion of a paediatrician or other medical professional, confirming that the preferred school can meet the child’s needs in a way the allocated school can’t. That’s because (especially with SEN that aren’t rare) the school is likely to argue that all schools can cater for a wide range of needs so there’s no particular need for the child to attend the preferred school. The panel is likely to agree with that, unless the paediatrician confirms there’s something about the provision in the preferred school that the child needs (and that’s not available at the allocated school) and will be disadvantaged if they can’t access.

In my experience, some letters from medical professionals do say very clearly that the child needs a place at this particular school, but others are on the lines of “parent tells me they really want their child to attend this school”. That’s much less persuasive, because it suggests this is about the parent’s preference, not the child’s need.

We won a similar appeal. Didn't really expect to, as the school have a huge number each year and only 1 successful in the 3 years before ours (all information that was in the local authority application pack online)

We did have a letter from her pediatrician saying in her opinion child needs would be best met at X school and DCs anticipated diagnosis. . DC was also top of the waiting list at the point of our appeal, in an area where there is lots of movement. We did say we would move DC if a place came up, but due to SEN needs it was really important to get the transition plan in place, securing a place now through appeal would allow that to happen.

While the whole situation was stressful, the actual appeal hearing was fine. The panel were lovely, asking lots of questions but it never felt like they were trying to catch us out.

Thank you as always @PanelChair
hoe much weight does a primary school reference hold? From head/Senco etc?

Without out an EHCP no more chance than any other child appealing.

It depends what it says, but it won't carry as much weight as a letter from a medical professional. Rule 1 still applies - to carry any weight at all, the letter must be clear that the writer is giving their professional opinion, not simply supporting you.

Some appeal panels won't consider such letters at all through misunderstanding the Appeals Code. The Appeals Code tells the panel to ignore letters of support from the appeal school, but I have come across panels that have wrongly interpreted this as also banning such letters from the child's current school.

I answered this question on the other thread where you posed it. I agree with prh47bridge.

@LunchWithAGruffalo thanks for your reassuring post - I am in a similar position and also made the point in my appeal submission that although we have applied for an EHCP it won’t be agreed in time for the transition events and therefore hope to get a place on appeal in order to secure the best transition possible.
Then received the disappointing news that LA have refused to assess, common stalling tactics round here, but hoping it might work to our advantage that we need the help of the appeals panel more than ever. Have loads of examples of what preferred school has that offered school doesn’t, all supported by a recent and thorough EP report spelling out his needs, just hope they agree with me. Really don’t know what we’ll do otherwise. 😢

I’m a primary SENCO and I think I have had one family win an appeal like this in the last few years. I’ve written letter for about four or five in that time (and explained to double that number of families why I don’t feel I can lie support their case).

The case that won was supported by myself and the child’s paediatrician. I wrote a full report detailing the provision available at the preferred school which was not available at the allocated school. For example, use of particular SaLT interventions, use of primary style classes with one teacher for groups with SEND etc. The paediatrician’s report stated similar things.

Is there any reason why she doesn't have an EHCP or is it in progress?