Appeal on SEN grounds - no EHCP

[Garlicnaan]

Hi,

Can I appeal to two different schools with two very different cases / approaches? Or will I be caught out as arguably I'm making two different arguments?

Eg one is a large school but with an excellent SEN provision (DC has ADHD and dyslexia DX). To complicate this further, this is a faith entry school, and entry is dependent on level of faith attendance, we did not tick the highest attendance box, so there may be DC who had higher faith attendance but still didn't get a place.

One is a smaller school, with likely smaller class sizes in some subjects, but weak SEN provision.

I have a medical report from a private assessment which said a smaller class size may benefit DC.

I think the school he has been offered may also have smaller class sizes however (because no one wants to go there!). Also a child who I think may be attending that school had exposed my child to explicit adult content (audio not video), could I use this without naming the child?

Sorry this is secondary school. We definitely don't want the offered school, for myriad reasons.

Yes, you can appeal to two schools with very different cases. Each appeal should be about why your child will be disadvantaged if they don't attend that school. If the justification is different, the case should be different.

You are appealing for the school you want, not against the school you've got. The appeal panel won't have any association with the appeal school, but they may be associated with the offered school. The actions of a child attending that school exposing your child to adult content are, at best, not relevant. At worst, bringing this up could go against you.

Ok thank you. That's very helpful.

The school we've been offered and one of the schools we want to appeal to are part of the same academy chain... Would that make any difference to the approach? As they will be somewhat connected.

Do you have any advice on getting round the faith element at all please? And any advice on any specific points or approaches re SEN based appeals to bear in mind?

Are appeals mostly done virtually now?

Faith will be almost entirely irrelevant for appeals, so you don’t need to get round it. A non-faith child with a very strong case should be admitted over the faithiest child ever with a much weaker case, if the panel determine that the case outweighs the school’s case.

No, the schools being part of the same chain won't affect the approach. However, it increases the risk that you may get some or all of the same appeal panel members for both appeals. This may lead to some questions, so be ready for that.

You don't need to get round the faith element at all. That is about the admission criteria. Unless you are arguing that a mistake was made, the admission criteria are irrelevant at appeal.

Re SEN based appeals, make sure you have good evidence about your child's SEN and why that means they need a particular school. The medical report you mention could be good evidence. Make sure it is clear that those providing evidence are giving their professional opinion, not simply repeating your views.

I would focus on the SEN and what is right for your child based on that. Having a good sen reputation is not on its own a reason to ship all the sen kids there as an overwhelmed sen team will go down hill fast. What specifcally does this school offer that your child's diagnosis suggests would support them. The small classes thing is a good one. Are there other things like this? Perhaps 1 school has the resources to provide laptops for all students therefore your child would be more easily supported to use a laptop, maybe they have a specialist within English who runs specific support groups etc. You need the detail.

As far as the academy chain goes - who is the admissions authority? It can be the Local Authority, it can be the academy chain, or it can be the individual school. (Did you just apply to the LA or did you have to apply to Individual schools? This will be on their website under admissions. It shouldn't matter as they should be treated as individual PAN but if the academy chain is lower on numbers they might be keener to keep your child within the fold. If generally close to or over subscribed this won't be so much of an issue.

If its the allocated school you're trying to get our of then go back to the LA And get on the list for ALL other possibles.

As far as the academy chain goes - who is the admissions authority?

For an academy chain, the academy is always its own admission authority. It is never the LA. You apply through the LA regardless and the LA pass on the applications to the schools.

Thank you. Maybe I need to do more research. Wish I'd written more down after the tour!

It looks like we can only go on waiting list for 3 schools at a time...? Waiting lists are released mid March.

Presumably you need to provide all evidence in writing?

Any evidence from medical experts or similar needs to be in writing, yes.

Incorrect. Our school is part of an academy chain and the admissions authority is the Local Authority.

Incorrect. The LA co-ordinates admissions but the academy is its own admission authority. That means the academy sets its own admission criteria but applications for places go to the LA and offers come from the LA. That is the law.