High school appeal

[Lorr1911]

Hi all, I got my high school appeal papers through and feel there is a couple of discrepancies in what they are saying any advice would be grateful.
The proposed PAN number is 240 for 2023 yet later on they state my son couldn’t be admitted because their PAN is 270 and has been raised for the past 5 years.
They state any mainstream school can cope with ADHD as it is a common condition, I don’t dispute this as I am appealing under the social needs criteria part, then state if they are over subscribed then the SEN children without EHCP are mainly affected.
so therefore now using it against me regarding the appeal?
The reason why my son wasn’t place into the social and medical needs category was because their school wasn’t named just a school in that borough, I only applied to two in the borough local to my sons primary school. The further evidence I sent with my appeal papers name that school directly.

Forgot to add the appeal papers state no information was provided to consider my son under social and medical needs although it was, then they later say the documents submitted stated admission to that boroughs high schools

Anyone?

I wouldn't want to comment without seeing what they actually say.

The further evidence I sent with my appeal papers name that school directly.

Applicants can only be ranked on the information available at the time of the application. Where a school has an Exceptional Medical / Social Need criterion, this is normally clarified in the admissions policy as requiring evidence from a relevant professional that the specific school is the only one which can meet that need.

So if the supporting documents submitted back in the autumn don't specify that, this 'evidence of need' is unlikely to have been sufficient.

Papers you are submitting now are being submitted to the Independent Appeal Panel for the purposes of their consideration of the strength of your case versus the school's case not to be able to admit any further pupils to the year group, not to the school for a sort of second go round of the coordinated admissions process. (Even if the person handling the administration of appeals is contacted via the school).

Moving on to your appeal, along with considering the question of Was there an error when this application was made, which cost this DC a place at the school?, the Independent Appeal Panel will look at all your reasons for wanting a place there, whether or not they relate directly to the oversubscription criteria. And will then decide whether your case is strong enough to overcome the prejudice caused to the school (its having to cope with an extra 'body' and yes, things like the stretching of finite resources such as support for pupils with additional needs but without an EHCP).

So the documents you can now provide with a recommendation that this is the school that your DC needs to attend are relevant to the appeal panel's consideration of your case, but even if they meet the criteria for demonstrating Exceptional Need, the school could not have considered them back when applications were ranked, because they didn't exist then to be considered, iyswim.

Hi @Lorr1911 the school saying PAN is 240 and then saying it has been 270 for the last 5 years sounds confusing! I know some schools take “bulge” classes where they don’t increase their official PAN but take an extra class for that year, maybe they have done this for the past 5 years. If so, then it certainly shows they have the extra physical capacity to take over their official PAN of 240, as they presumably now have 150 pupils over PAN in the school if the bulge classes are all full. Schools can make arrangements with the LA to take a bulge class and will get funding from them for the first year, as until the October census those extra 30 pupils won’t be factored into their funding numbers.
Have they offered to 270 this year? Have they provided numbers of how many pupils are in every year currently. The school I am
appealing for have provided a table showing numbers in all years so it is easy to see the overall school capacity. If they are over in some years but not in others then you could argue that they can manage an individual year group going over 270 in other years, so they can for year 7. Possibly harder if they are full/over in all other year groups as they could argue they don’t have the physical space across the whole school for any extra pupils.
@prh47bridge can offer more expert advice than me but said they needed a bit more info to help, can you provide some without revealing any personal info?

How many places have they accepted?

The 240/270 places sounds a bit confusing, but it's possible for this year it has been agreed they can reduce their PAN, e.g. if their school site is overcrowded or some parts are temporarily out of action e.g. due to building work? As others have said, it would be useful to know how many places they have offered.

Exceptional medical/social needs generally have quite a high bar. For an exceptional social need, it might be something like a child is a young carer and needs to be able to get home by X time each day due to caring duties, or it may be due to a significant risk to the child if they attend a certain school (e.g. it's near the house of someone who has abused them).

As others have said, you generally need evidence from an external agency/agencies to prove an exceptional social need- rather than just your opinion. The evidence should normally explain why only this school can meet the need. From what you say, it suggests that either this evidence wasn't submitted correctly, and it just specifies a school within the borough. Presumably it was your choice to then only apply to two schools within the borough? Is this school within the borough? Were you offered a school within the borough?

The SEN point is a standard point which many schools make during appeals.

The PAN has been 270 for the past 5 years in each year,and will be this year but on the admissions booklet for 2023/24 it says 240 so maybe they just haven’t updated it but surely the figures should match. They had special permission from LA to increase to 270 .
I wasn’t given any of the two schools in the borough. I applied for the two local to my sons primary school. My new evidence I sent with appeal names the school.
I thought it was contradictory to say SEN can be dealt with at any school then use it against me in regards to being oversubscribed saying the SEN children will suffer

@Lorr1911 have they provided their current numbers for the other year groups in the info you received? In ours we got a table showing current numbers across all year groups and also EHCP numbers. It was interesting as I have the figures of how many EHCPs were offered in March each year, and they are about 3 higher than the numbers in those year groups now, so it looks as though not all those pupils stay at the school, or even take up their place at all.

Although I know panel won't accept me saying that some of the EHCPs they have offered this year might leave (they have to assume they won't) I do think it is fair to say that the number they have offered to this year is comparable and actually lower than previous years, and that is a more fair comparison than comparing to actual EHCP number is school now, which is lower, and makes this year's offer look high. I imagine a number of pupils with EHCPs have parents appealling for specialist provision and are then successful in getting a place there instead each year.

No, that isn't contradictory at all. In theory, any school can provide for any child with SEN. However, if a school has a particularly high number of such children it puts extra pressure on resources.

We won our high school appeal.

we are really delighted. It was very hard work.
We got in on medical grounds and they are tough on asking about medical reasons. We have a blue badge, dla, 3 consultant letters and letter from school but the appeal panel were still tough. (although really nice).

some people used distance, their child suffers with anxiety and friendships.

All the appeals we know of were declined because of these reasons
make sure you put 3 preferences
Dont refuse the school you were offered and don’t threaten to home school unless you are really serious about that.
Make sure you tell the truth and prepare you child that you may not get their preference