Secondary School Appeal

[Meadows11]

Help this stressed out mumma!
We haven’t been given our first or second choice and have been allocated a school further away. The school we chose was about 30min walk whereas the one we have been given is 1hr 20min walk or a journey of 2 buses which will take over an hour. Most of the children have been given the one we wanted and we missed out by 85meters!
We are going to appeal not just based on distance but SEND needs. Our daughter has adhd and dyslexia. The school we want has a dedicated hub for SEND children whereas the other one doesn’t and also if our daughter had to travel on 2 buses. It would extend her day by 2 hours, and would probably prevent her taking part in extra school activities as she would be even later home. We live in a Bristol so traffic/buses are extremely busy at those times and our daughter struggles with too much going on. Has anyone had and success in appealing and getting in on these type of situations. Ant help appreciated, I really don’t want to homeschool. Lockdown was bad enough 🤣

"Well, I guess that in an ideal world, you would say "Actually, I see your point. I didn't intend to stop parents from using their statutory right to appeal."

You have exaggerated what I said, here and in your own mind, hence your over-reaction.

I'm not trying to "stop parents from using their statutory right to appeal". In this thread I was objecting to a poster (BendingSpoons) flippantly telling a parent that it's "always worth a try", even when grounds are weak. I posted a similar view on another thread too.

People are less likely to be flippant about appeals if they understand the schools' perspective, and parents are more likely to make balanced decisions.

It's up to others what they do with the information. However, you are acting like the thought police.

Sorry but I interpreted your post as trying to dissuade parents from appealing due to the financial burden on schools also.

That may not have been your intention or you may have meant it in specific circumstances but that wasn't how it came across to me.

The usual (and knowledgeable) posters on these boards will often say a case is weak or lacks realistic chance of success but the costs to the authorities doesn't factor.

"Sorry but I interpreted your post as trying to dissuade parents from appealing due to the financial burden on schools also."

Yes, you mentioned that up-thread.

"The usual (and knowledgeable) posters on these boards will often say a case is weak or lacks realistic chance of success but the costs to the authorities doesn't factor."

This isn't relevant because it wasn't a "usual (and knowledgeable) poster" that made the comment I was responding to. But it doesn't matter who it was - if I see someone telling a parent that it is always worth appealing, I will disagree with them

@Meadows11 If you want to appeal on grounds of SEN, you will likely need more evidence than just the diagnosis. All children with ADHD and dyslexia are different, and some may be able to cope with multiple bus journeys okay, whilst others will not. Not all students with these needs will necessarily need to access a quiet space during the day etc. There is definitely an argument that if her needs were severe enough to need a specific school, then she would have an EHCP.

I don't think it will be enough to just present a diagnosis, and say "therefore she needs xyz"- you need to evidence her difficulties in more detail. If you have the opinion of professionals that she won't cope with the journey, that carries a lot more weight than just your opinion. If you have the opinion of her current school that she needs a support space in the day, that will help.

You mention clubs, and these can be a good argument. Are there any specific clubs at your preferred school she would like to join? If these are not offered by the school you've been offered, that can strengthen your argument.

A lot will depend on how strong the school's argument is, and who else is appealing, and what their argument is.

Do you know your position on the waiting list for your preferred schools?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl
hi, I completely understand your points. We do have some evidence to support some of the points and her current school are going to write an impact statement as such.

when I mentioned clubs i meant enrichment activities. The schools here finish at 2:35 and then they can do enrichment clubs for an hour. At the schools we preferred she would be able to take part whereas the other school due to the travelling time back this would extend her day by quite a bit. As it stands due to traffic and reliability of busses she would need to leave the house at 6:45 to catch a bus and then potentially not be home until 16:30/17:00 if she wanted to do the extra enrichment clubs which I think she has to do at least one. Unfortunately I don’t drive so it’s not even an option for me to take her to/from school.

Im still hopeful we will get in on the wait list, if not I will obviously try and appeal. If that doesn’t work we do have a back up plan now.

Its a total mind field and I feel for anyone having to go through this

Could you learn to drive?

@OneMoreTime23
If only it was that simple to learn to drive in such a short period of time and then be able to buy a car.

6 months is lots of time?

is there no car in the house?

@OneMoreTime23
no we don’t own a car. We chose to live close to work/schools to offset the cost of a car as living in Bristol is expensive. It may be that we have to look at that option if needed.

still hoping we get in. As you can tell I’m desperately clutching at straws. It’s not over until it’s over 🤣

They release more places in April after people have rejected or confirmed places. Sometimes people decide to go private or move away.

Put DD on waiting list & also appeal. That bus journey sounds a lot for 11 year old.

Bristol is complicated with South Glos N Somerset etc - which school have you been given?

We lost an appeal 3 years ago but actually it's worked out for the best. So sometimes these things are fate.