School Appeal Update - I did it, we won!!!!!

[NatM70]

I'm currently crying so many happy tears as I type this.

I've just received the email confirming WE HAVE WON the school appeal, and my child will be going to our preferred school.

To everyone who has supported me through this, the experts, other parents going through the same, thank you SO much.

I honestly don't know how I'd have got through these last few weeks without your guidance and support.

I really hope what I've learned from the whole process has helped to calm nerves of parents going through the same, and give some insight and clarification on how the appeals run (in my area anyway).

Thank you everyone.
Most of you have been a delight.
I've had a few say I had no chance - I did not listen, and I'm glad I didn't.

Don't give up, fight and fight and fight some more.
Don't stop fighting until you can't fight any more.

Good luck to you all, and thanks so much again.

Congratulations! You must be so relieved.

Congratulations @NatM70 !!! I’m so pleased for you!! You really deserved this and I hope your child will be really happy at this school. Transition can begin! x

Congratulations!

@SuperSue77

Thank you so much. It's been the longest 10 days of my life! (Not to mention the months of work before that!).

The Panel took in to account everything I told them, and the questions they asked me, my answers, or how I answered them are quite obviously a deciding factor.

They did take my word for a few things too, which whilst are absolutely true, I did not have the evidence to give them.
I did have some evidence, and that certainly helped, but they did take my word for some of the things they have marked as deciding factors in the outcome of the appeal.

I will stick around and try to help anyone if I can.
I've had so much help and encouragement from so many people on here, so I'd like to give something back if I can.

I also had some who told me I hadn't a cat in hells chance - How could they possibly know? I didn't know, only the Panel knew.
They upset me a little, but it only made me more determined.
So that's another reason I will stick around, because many will tell you that your case isn't strong enough, blah blah blah, when in fact it actually could be.

He can start his enhanced transition from next week! He has gone from being a really sad boy to being over the moon, so I am absolutely thrilled to bits.

Thanks for your lovely words, and I really hope you win yours xx

Congratulations

@BendingSpoons I am so relieved! I am on cloud 59, never mind 9!!
My child has gone from being uncertain and sad to being ecstatic - I wish I could bottle the feelings he has right now!!
Thank you x

@Lurea Thank you so much! Huge relief, and a 2.5 month wait for this!! 😆

@dumple Thanks so much, I've one very happy little boy sat at the side of me. The change in him is unreal!

Fantastic news! Very pleased for you.

@Lougle
Thank you, I really appreciated your advice and you taking the time to do so.
So happy!!

Congratulations 🥳 fantastic news. Now you can look forward to a more positive secondary start. We didn't go through appeal but have just got a place after not having one and its the best feeling! Well done mummy for fighting for you son x

Congratulations @NatM70 . That's great news. Thank you for giving me some great tips. So pleased for you. Put your feet up now.

Fantastic news. I've just read your previous thread and I am so pleased it was decided in your favour, no wonder he is over the moon.

Thank you @Secondary23 !
It is the best possible news.
My child is ecstatic, the change in him since he's found out is amazing.
The school replied to me tonight (how kind!!), and he starts his enhanced transition next week.
That's fantastic, I am SO pleased for you. What a relief isn't it!! xx

@Itmakesnosense Thank you so much, it couldn't be better news!
You're very welcome, and there's no need to thank me.
I am no expert and probably will never be.
I'm just a determined parent, and if I can help anyone who's going through the same, just from my limited experience, then I will do.
Can't put feet up just yet though, my DS has possibly broken his toe in his excitement 😫So, just waiting for a call back from 111! Might be a long night in A&E at this rate!

@WhiteFire It is the best news ever!
School have just been in touch, and his enhanced transition is being arranged. For them to reply to me tonight, that shows how good they are and why I know my DS will flourish there.
Very happy little boy (okay, not so little at 11, but he'll always be my little boy 😍)

@NatM70 so, so happy for you! My little boy doesn’t even know we are appealing 😬 nor does he know he has been offered a particular school (no one else in his school has been offered same secondary) so it will be an interesting conversation when the time comes! He still thinks we’re waiting for outcome of his EHCP process (LA refused), I think he thinks he’ll go to a small, nurturing school somewhere. But hopefully the big school all his friends are going to will not be too much of a disappointment - if we win the appeal. If we don’t, I don’t even want to think about it yet.

Congratulations. Ours is tonorrow and I'm so worried I've not done enough. I have more information now about the preferred school than I did by the time I submitted papers and I don't know if it'll be considered. Eg maths extensions and dance programme wbjch are aligned with my daughters interests (this is in addition to the main complaint that the council operated a de facto round 2 in whjch they refused to update our address despite providing evidence as soon as we moved and 5 chuldren in lower priority groups were admitted. I clearly didn't have thay info as we had to put our appeal in before that was revealed.

@SuperSue77
Thanks so much.
I can understand that, to protect him.
We need to remember, these kids are still only 10-11 years old, and especially when you throw SEN in, they are not anywhere near as mature as their peers.
If your son needs to be with children he knows, definitely use that and get a letter from school to back this up. It bears more weight if you can get some evidence.
I know on its own it doesn't bear much weight, but add it to everything else in your appeal and it all strengthens it.
I got two letters from school re this and also saying why they believe school X was the right one for my child for X reasons.
If my child hadn't taken against the allocated school so badly, and loved the preferred school so much, I might have kept it from him.
However, in the end I didn't really have much choice - All his peers knew where they were going on the offer day, and mine was left wondering why he'd not got in.
Added to that was the fact that some children who've bullied him have relentlessly been telling him he had no chance of getting in to the preferred school, and he's come home in tears a few times.
So I told him that I was going to fight my hardest for him, but I might not be successful. I've been honest with him from the start and kept him informed.
But the uncertainty has had a profound effect on him, compounded by the fact some kids at school have been taunting him and think it's funny to upset him even more.
Tonight, he's a different child.
The relief I feel is immense!
I wish the same result for you lovely.

We lost an appeal 2 years ago but in the end we are happy with the school allocated to us.

Just out of interest what reasons did you give?

@beanhunter
Thanks so much.
Do you have evidence from anywhere that preferred school is the only school that is right for your child?
That really makes a difference.
Anything you've not put in your written appeal, make bullet points and bring these up at your hearing - as long as you mention these the panel will accept them. You don't need to have it written in, just say so tomorrow. Especially as you've found this out since you submitted your written appeal.
Everything you've just told me, make bullet points and definitely say all of this.
Have you got your questions to ask the school to try to pick holes in their statement?
The questions I asked, I've found out today within the letter I received to say we had won, stated that my questions were extremely valid and were given serious consideration by the panel, so ask questions to try to respectfully weaken their case.
Some examples are -

1. Have you gone over PAN in previous years, and if so, how have you coped?
2. Has education suffered as a result of being over PAN? (Ours is over PAN in every year, and attainment is still above national average).
3. Are classrooms over 60sqms? These are usually adequate for up to 30 children (ours averages 25.8 per class)
4. Have there been any accidents due to being over PAN?

Really hope that helps, and I wish you all the luck in the world for tomorrow.

Thank you. No we have nothing naming thay school. She's ultimately just a girl who we want to go to her local catchment school and not be penalised because we moved 100 miles in Jan.
We do have some arguments. One of the biggest being that they offered 7 over PAN in March at the councils request buy are now back at pan and saying they cannot go over which is non sensical to me. Evey year is over PAN. Year 9 is 25 over PAN due to fair access, children from Ukraine and an admissions error offer that year where more were offered than should have been.

@converseandjeans
I'm sorry to hear that, but glad you're happy with the allocated school.

Quite a few reasons, but the main points were:

1. Anxiety, OCD, intrusive and worrying thoughts, which CAMHS believe are all related to autism.
2. Chronic bullying. All the children who've bullied him are going to the allocated school. Just moving him to a different tutor group would not have been enough as he'd still see them at break and lunch, and have to travel the same journey to and from school.
3. Needing his network of friends for transition - I know this doesn't usually carry much weight but when added to SEN, it bears more weight.
4. The preferred school have proven, excellent pastoral care and mental health support in place, with 35 fully trained mental health first aiders, 35 peer ambassadors, and over 30 peer transition ambassadors. Also, every teacher is trained to be a SEN teacher. The allocated school have nothing like this, and ten weeks later, have still not replied to my request for their policies on these (nothing on their website, no one at open evening to ask).
5. My child really took an instant dislike to the allocated school whereas he loved the preferred one. He was adamant he would not go to the allocated school. It's severely impacted him with worrying he'll have to go there.
6. The preferred school's prospectus has many more subjects my child excels in, with a huge range of after school activities he's excited to join, whereas the allocated school had nothing exceptional.

There are many more points, but they're the main ones.
The panel took in to account things over and above what I've written above.

@NatM70 Fantastic news! Congratulations☺️

@beanhunter
I think they are strong arguments.
You need to ask about the PAN anomalies at Stage one as you don't generally get to ask questions about the school at Stage two.
So make sure you really get these questions asked then.
If they are over PAN in other years, it demonstrates they can cope over PAN.
Ask these questions, the panel took mine very seriously.
Good luck for tomorrow.