Secondary school appeal help needed for medical grounds

[DaisyB22]

Thank you reading this long post and will be grateful for any advice regarding secondary appeals so I can make the right decision.

My son didn’t get a place in any of the secondary school we applied for but in particular our first choice. It is a Church of England schools that is taking its 3rd cohort from September 2024. We applied for a faith based place (other world religion), SEND was not an admissions criteria and nor do we meet any other criteria.

We chose this school as it is the only school we feel that can meet our son’s needs. He has a rare blood disorder cyclic neutropenia where his white blood cells drop causing him to fall ill on a regular basis and he needs to be at home or hospital to recovery, under the pathway for ASD/ADHD. Social communication delays. I spoke to the school on 3 occasions and they confirmed that they can meet his needs through the universal provision offered as they offer before and after school classes which can be used for catch up lessons as he will have low attendance (consultant letter states with his condition he will fall ill every 3 to 4 weeks needing 3-5 days away if he has a persistent high temperature), pastoral support and classes to develop fine motor skills.

Now I have appealed under exceptional medical circumstances and in my appeal letter I’ve stated all of this and my GP has written a letter saying this is the only school that can meet his needs. However they’ve had 1036 applications PAN is 240 and 100’s of appeals. School have stated they cannot admit another single child and have sent an extensive pack highlighting their case and I feel like I don’t have a chance.

I have sought legal advice where I’ve been told I have a good case but not articulated this correctly in my appeal but I can’t afford further representation. Now I have appealed other schools in our area who have refused him a place unless I can secure an EHCP and I know this is legally incorrect but the panel decided admitting him will cause prejudice to the school.

He doesn’t have a school place for September as I cannot send him the school the LA has given as they cannot meet his needs.

How do I do this appeal on my own with a good chance of winning. I would be grateful for any help, any case law.

Thank you

Also, be aware that Sendiass are funded by the local authority. Some are better than others in terms of their support and advice.

SOS!SEN and Ipsea are fully independent organisations. They both offer free advice and were invaluable to me when I applied for my DS's EHCP.

With your DS only able to access school for 50% of the time, it is vital that he has an EHCP in place. This will enable him (if it's written correctly) to have a tailor-made package of education and support - potentially up to 25.

As well as appealing for the school you think can meet DS’s needs and pursing an EHCNA via appealing to SENDIST, is alternative provision already in place for the times DS is unable to attend school but well enough to do something? If DS can’t attend school full time the LA has a duty to ensure he still receives a suitable full-time education.

Y don’t need to pay anyone for advice. The bar for an EHCNA is relatively low - has or may have SEN, and may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. You have enough evidence to meet that threshold. Unless money is no object, you would be better saving your money in case you need to appeal refusal to issue or content/placement later down the line and need independent assessments. If DS is not attending school full time, have you requested the refusal to assess appeal is expedited?

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.

As others have said, what you really need is to go down the route of appealing for your ehcp, otherwise none of the additional support is protected. The school may talk a good game now about adapting these catch up sessions for your son, but equally without an ehcp, if they later decide it's too difficult or stop running the sessions altogether, you don't have a leg to stand on.

It's very common for new schools to invest intensively in their first few cohorts, but over time this can become impossible to scale and things almost inevitably have to change.

I agree with the pp who said that the secondary schools saying they can't meet your son's needs without an ehcp are probably more realistic.

As others have said unless there is a social/medical needs category, the LA don't consider needs when allocating schools for most children - they haven't behaved incorrectly here, but they probably have in terms of the ehcp.

Hindsight is wonderful I know, most schools who have a medical criteria state that the relevant evidence be submitted on application NOT at appeal, this allows them to deal with them prior to national offer day. Did you read that on their website/application anywhere? I’m presuming they have that criteria because not all schools do?
you may already be sorted, I’ve only joined today.

OP's case is long since over.

An appeal allows an appellant to raise medical reasons why their child needs a particular school even if the school does not have an admissions category for medical needs. For example, if a child is confined to a wheelchair and they have been allocated a school which is not wheelchair accessible, an appeal for a school that is fully accessible is likely to succeed even if the school does not prioritise on medical grounds.

As I said I hope you’re sorted, if not I’ll help.
I’m a fully trained appeal panel member/chair with over 15yrs experience and I sit on appeals in the north west and all over the south of England (just so you know I actually know what I’m talking about).

@Susiwoo As you have only just joined, I'll let you know that prh47bridge is a very well respected helpful appeals expert on here also with many years experience in this area.
Hopefully you will become a useful addition to the MN appeals experts if you stick around.