Secondary school appeal

[MCSN8]

Hello,

My son has been given his secondary school place, which was our 3rd choice. I picked this school on the basis that my oldest son attends there, however he now has an EHCP and is no longer attending he is still on roll there however there's a very high possibility that he will move to a specialist setting, also the school has recently had an Ofsted inspection and it was inadequate. Would I stand a chance on appeal if I use these topics

. Older brother moving to different school
. Ofsted inspection (inadequate)
. Worried that the children who bullied his brother could target him if they know who he is
. The school I am appealing for (1st choice) there music & drama department is fantastic and this is a huge passion of my son's.

Do any of these points stand well in an appeal ? Can I add anything else ?

I would really appreciate if anyone can give me some advice & guidance. Thank you x

To be honest no. I did an appeal as DD didn't get any of our preferences and it wasn't successful(she did get a place for year 8 having stayed on waiting list)

I think appeals that are successful have third party support - letter from school, gp, Camhs etc.

Sorry you are in this position, it's grim.

You appeal for a school not against another school. So his brother is irrelevant. As is Ofsted.

The drama could be relevant... what do they do differently and can you show its particularly beneficial to your DS?

First of all, make sure you are on the waiting list for first and second choice schools and any others that you would prefer.

I don't think you could use much of the above in appeal. Some children will have to go to the schools with the poor Ofsted ratings and there is currently no evidence that your son would be bullied.

In any event, both of these are reasons you want a different school rather than why the first choice school specifically should admit your son over PAN.

The music and drama part is your best argument - other than being a passion of your son's, what evidence is there that he is committed to it and what about the department is objectively better than other options (eg he plays an unusual instrument and there is a teacher for that instrument)

The first 3 points will carry no weight at appeal at all I'm afraid. There may be something in the drama/music argument if you can show why it's so important. You'd likely need more than just that though.
Make sure you're on the waiting lists for any schools you would consider meantime - today is just the start of the process and much could change between now and Sept in terms of available places.

You are appealing for the preferred school. You need to drop the negatives about allocated school. Music etc at preferred may count if you can evidence how it benefits your dc.

Yes as others say, the music and drama aspect is the only relevant one.

Ideally you need to show what your ds currently does - drama group or orchestra at current school, plays specific instrument and appealed for school offers chance to play it in orchestra. Or even GCSE - if the preferred school offers GCSE music and drama and the offered one does not (it’s ok to flag that up to show the different offer).

Is there anything else along those lines - science offer, sport?

Older brother moving to different school

No. That isn't relevant.

Ofsted inspection (inadequate)

Keep well away from this. It won't help you and may alienate the panel. You are appealing for the school you want, not against the one you've been offered.

Worried that the children who bullied his brother could target him if they know who he is

If he is bulled once he is at the school and they don't do anything effective to stop it, that would help you. However, all you have at the moment is the possibility that he might be bullied. That is unlikely to get you anywhere.

The school I am appealing for (1st choice) there music & drama department is fantastic and this is a huge passion of my son's

By far your best point. Build your case around this. What is it that is fantastic about their music & drama department? What do they offer that your son won't get at the allocated school? What is your son doing about his passion at the moment?

Thank you so much for all your replies this is a great help, a couple of other things that is a concern for me but maybe not for them ...
The school is 5 miles away, my son takes part in alot of after school clubs and there's no transport at that time, this would stop him from taking part in the after school club whereas the other school is close enough to walk. When he makes new friends they won't live In our area so this would impact on his wellbeing outside of school. I have a feeling that your going to tell me these two factors wouldn't matter when appealing 🙈

I don't have any evidence that one school is stronger in the music/drama than the other so that's not looking like an option to use.

Can anyone please help with anything else I can use ? I really don't want him to go to that school 😩

Thank you for your time it's much appreciated x

The friends not being in your area isn't a factor. The panel might give some weight to the after school clubs point, especially if you can identify particular ones he would be interested in that he won't be able to access. However, the music and drama would be a better case if you can identify things the appeal school does in this area that are missing from the allocated school. Does it offer more extra-curricular music and drama activities, for example. Does it put on more productions, giving your son more opportunities to perform.