APPEAL help needed please

[Redbub]

Hi

DD did not get any of her preferences (both single sex schools) and instead offered a mixed school that’s slightly closer to us than the other two (60/40 boy to girl ratio). The school does not perform well academically.

Applied under exceptional social need which was turned down in Jan. The exceptional needs were mostly to do with her being bullied in the local primary school (really badly impacted mental health) and so I took her out of this school and home schooled her until a place at her younger sisters school came up (mainstream with autism resource base- sister is in the resource base). Many of the girls involved in the bullying will be at the school the council has offered.

DD settled well into new school, made lots of friends, inclusive ethos at heart of school and she had access to a really understanding community. She has come on leaps and bounds. Younger daughter is in year 4 and has an EHCP. Technically DD is a young carer, she shares a room with sibling who has sleep and behaviour problems. It’s so frustrating that siblings needs are overlooked. I sent in evidence from clinical psychologist, local short breaks team (for younger DD but knows the family),and primary school of all of this.

Could anyone offer advice with appeal process?

I'm sorry you're in this position. For many schools the bar for winning an 'exceptional needs' place is extremely high, but in these circumstances I think you should appeal.

As an experienced appeal panel member, I would say that your strongest argument is that she was badly affected by the bullying and that some of the former bullies will be at the offered school. Any evidence you have (e.g. correspondence with the primary school which indicates the severity of the bullying) is helpful. If friends at her current school are moving on to the preferred secondary you can make the point that they are supportive.

A panel could take the view that a school could separate her from the bullies by putting her in a different class, so be prepared to think about how to counter that! Will she be going a different route to/from school? Did they bully her in social time?

There's not much that can be made out of the poor academic results of the offered school (someone has to go there!), or that it's mixed sex - although you could mention that you prefer a girls school.

I'm not sure about the young carer angle - a panel could say that it's your job as parent to ensure that her sleep isn't disrupted by younger sibling. But worth mentioning it, if only to provide context of family dynamics.

Hope this helps!

@toomuchcarrotcake

That’s really helpful thank you, would you mind if I messaged you?

Yes, that's fine!

@Redbub what you need to understand most is that the circumstances of her place refusal have no bearing on her appeal. The bar for exceptional social/medical needs is very high, but the bar for a successful appeal is, essentially, 'it would be worse for the child to not be given a place, than it would for the school to have to cope with another child.'

As @toomuchcarrotcake says, your grounds are going to be very specifically about the bullying, the impact on her mental health, and her young carer role. If the letters from the clinical psychologist could specifically say that X school will meet her needs, that would be even better.

However, this is one incidence where you can ignore the advice that you're appealing for a school, not against a school. If her former bullies will be going to her allocated school, this is one incidence where saying 'she can't go to that school' is perfectly valid as an argument.

Finally, the decision for the panel is essential like putting weights on a scale - you can use as many arguments as you like, and they will all add up. So do look for all the little benefits of going to the school you prefer, and list them. Use them in your argument. For example, school x offers y subject and DD has shown enjoyment at school. School x has a programme for young carers, etc.

@Lougle Thank you that is so helpful! I didn’t realise they were different thresholds. Do you think it would be ok then to use the same letters we submitted before? my other daughters educational psychologist said she will also provide an appeal supporting letter.

also super helpful to know about the cumulative effect, we have lots of “little reasons”

If they say that the appeal school is the best one for her, or specifically say that her allocated school is unsuitable. If they are more generic, then it would be better if you could get more specific letters.