Request for information ahead of appeal

[Swim23]

I understand that when appealing for a place at a school, it is acceptable to make a reasonable request for information relating to the appeal?

We have a SEN child and I have emailed the Senco at the appealed for school with some questions which I would like clarification on before our appeal hearing. I did ask many questions at the open evening (I attended two years in a row to get a good understanding of the school), but following a meeting with the Senco at the allocated school I would like clarification of details for full comparison.

I immediately had a response asking if my child was due to attend the school. I replied to say we hoped to gain a place via appeal/waiting list. I have since heard nothing - it's been a month and I have sent a follow up email which has also been ignored. Should I contact the admissions officer for a response? I assume this would fall into reasonable request for information bearing in mind it relates to some of the points on our appeal? I don't like to be pushy, but I would feel better prepared with all the information confirmed in writing.

Thanks for any advice.

You need to ask the questions of the school rather than asking the Senco. They should then provide the information you need. If they don't, you should tell the appeal panel that you have been hampered in your preparations by the school's failure to answer your questions as required by the Appeals Code.

@Swim23 all schools are obliged to publish information about their SEND provision on their websites, so you should use that if possible.

you should tell the appeal panel that you have been hampered in your preparations by the school's failure to answer your questions as required by the Appeals Code

Depending on the nature of the questions, this may be seen by the panel as aggressive.

Please treat school staff with respect. They are under so much pressure already.

If an appeal panel sees a simple statement of fact as aggressive, that is a huge problem that questions their independence. Provided OP's questions are reasonable, the school is required to answer them.

There is nothing in OP's post to suggest she is failing to treat school staff with respect.

It's the tone that's the problem, Prh47bridge. You're a lawyer, so have suggested phrasing it as a lawyer would. On other threads appellants are told not to use lawyers because it can be detremental.

Saying she asked the school for the info, but didn't get a reply is one thing, but coming across like someone who has consulted a lawyer on the matter may not be helpful.

That phrasing was suggested to me by a panel member. It is absolutely not how I would phrase it if it was a court of law.

Doesn't it depend on what the questions are?

If they are generic questions about the running of the school and SEN provision, then the school should answer them.

If the questions are very specific to OP's child, and perhaps something that would not be decided until a child definitely had a place, then isn't it reasonable for the school to say they can't answer them at this stage?

It's possible the school can't provide the details OP is asking for at this time?

We don't know what questions OP has asked, but the OP suggests she wants clarification of some answers she got to questions at the open evening. If the school can't answer them at this stage or has some other reason for believing the questions are unreasonable, they should say so. No problem with them doing that.

Thanks for the advice. The questions are generic but not detailed on the SEN documents. Eg is lunchtime staggered, is there support for children who struggle socially at breaktime, how often are SEN plans reviewed, specific facilities etc.

I have always been polite. I emailed SENCo as assumed they would have to answer the questions but I realise it would have been better to send it to admissions instead.

If a SENCo had time to answer so many questions for every appellant, they certainly wouldn't have time to be doing their day job properly. You need to drastically reduce your expectations.

If the school doesn't have time to answer questions from appellants, they aren't doing their job properly. They are required by the Appeals Code, which is a statutory code and therefore has the force of law, to answer any reasonable questions asked by appellants to help them prepare for their appeal. OP's questions seem reasonable so no, she does not need to reduce her expectations at all. She should expect the school to answer them.

Have you served as a school governor recently Prh47bridge? If not, maybe you should, to see what teachers are facing. Parents are being way too demanding of their time.

That may be the case at some schools, but compliance with the law is not optional.

I have. As a former SEN governor, I would expect that information to be readily available as part of the SEN report anyway and a good SENCO should be able to answer such an email within minutes because they will have purposeful systems to manage SEN.

The OP isn't asking for the moon on a stick, simply 'does the school make adjustments for children with SEN in the following ways?'

How can the OP effectively build her case for appeal if she has no information?

The questions are generic but not detailed on the SEN documents. Eg is lunchtime staggered,
You can find this out by looking at the timetable for the school day on the website. If it has different lunch times for different year groups, it is staggered. If not, it isn't.

if is there support for children who struggle socially at breaktime
This will get a generic answer about pastoral support, which will be on their website.

how often are SEN plans reviewed
Probably on an as-needed basis.

specific facilities etc
This will be in the SEN statement on the school website - if they're not listed, they don't have them. And even if they are, there is no guarantee they will still be there next year.

Many schools do not publish their timetable on their website, nor do they have an SEN statement on their website. None of these are unreasonable questions. The school must answer. As I say, compliance with the law is not optional. OP isn't asking for a 10,000 word essay, just brief answers to a few simple questions.

Although I can find out some information from the website, or SEN statement, it's actually the detail that makes a difference. The facilities for example, I need to know specifics about the toilet facilities that wouldn't be provided elsewhere and these things are unlikely to change. By talking to the allocated school I've discovered some problems that I don't believe the appealed for school will have and would like confirmation. For privacy I'm not sharing exact details on here. Although we visited and asked many questions, I would like clarification before the hearing, as I don't want to go in with incorrect information. The allocated school for example do stagger lunch, but they rotate each term so the time changes and this is useful information for a SEN child who needs routine.

Obviously I understand the pressure teachers are under, but I understood it was reasonable to request information and it should take a matter of minutes to reply.

Thank you. I don't want to add pressure, I just wanted clarification on a few key points. I emailed politely to ask if they were able to provide some information, and sent a follow up but have been totally blanked. I certainly don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the school, esp if we do end up with a place there, but at the same time would like to make sure I'm accurate in putting my case across.

SEN information is one of the things schools must put on their websites for compliance purposes, so if it isn't there, I would be pointing that out, and asking where it can be found: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online#send

... and they must also publish their school opening hours, including timetabled breaks: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online#school-opening-hours