Secondary appeal and neurodiversity

[BurntRoundTheEdges]

Sorry for another appeals thread, I'm sure there will be lots!

I'm a bit blindsided tonight not having been offered our top choice as based on previous admissions distances I thought we were comfortably in the 'catchment'.

I'm weighing up if we've got any basis to appeal - not a position I expected to be in so I've not done any planning for this scenario.

DS doesn't currently have a diagnosis but almost certainly has ASD + ADHD. We were considering get a private diagnosis before secondary as although he manages well at primary I worry secondary will be more of a struggle.

For those with knowledge of appeals - if we were to try to fast-track a private diagnosis now (if that's even possible) would having a diagnosis provide some kind of basis to appeal?

I don't know how different the schools are in practice for ND kids but I had no worries about DS going to the local school which he is very familiar with, with friends. Whereas I'm very worried about him coping at a school that's a bus ride away somewhere unfamiliar with no-one he knows.

Hi, I’m so sorry you didn’t get the school you wanted, neither did we. Just for a different view our primary school told us not to get DS tested before high school because in some cases it can hinder. The high school may decided they can’t cater for another child with neuro diversity without a plan already in place. It’s so unfair, I do understand your disappointment, it’s so unfair but if you do choose to get a private assessment to take to appeal, I just wanted you to know it may go against you sadly.

If you were thinking of a diagnosis leading to an EHCP, then I doubt there's time to secure a place. And for an appeal, a diagnosis might be helpful, but only if it suggested that the preferred school would suit him better than the offered school. Just having ADHD/ASD in itself isn't sufficient, as any school should be able to handle those conditions.

I think you should build your case around how helpful it would be for him to be with friends and in an environment he is comfortable with. Look at things that the school can offer him that would particularly help (it's a small school, easy to navigate, has lunchtime clubs for SEN children, good behaviour policies, lots of outside space....). Ask your current primary whether they can provide a supportive letter - they may be able to back up your case that he has additional needs and that the preferred school would be better for him.

He may well get a place at your preferred school anyway between now and September if you don't live too far away - there is often quite a bit of movement as people turn down offers because they've found a private school place or moved house or changed their preference.

Also, don't let your son feel your disappointment in case he does have to go to the offered school. Stress how you'll help him learn to navigate the buses, that he'll make new friends, and that the new school will help him adapt. Many secondaries offer extra transition days for those who need them.

Good luck!

No I definitely don't this would lead to an EHCP based on his current needs by any stretch.

It's little things like the fact the first choice school offers lots of lunchtime clubs which match his interests (and scream 'this is where the neurodiverse kids squirrel themselves'!) and I can't see much evidence of the school we've been allocated offering that.

I've spoken to him tonight and tried to put a positive spin on it and that it's not set in stone but he's panicking about the idea of having to go so far away and get the bus.

It all feels pretty weak though as grounds for an appeal.

It sounds a better case than many parents put forward! I've sat on many appeals where parents like you have won their case, so I think you shouldn't be so negative about your chances of success.

The panel members are balancing the difficulty for the school in taking extra pupils vs the difficulties for your child if they don't get a place there. Sometimes the school's case is not very strong (e.g. they've taken on extra pupils in the past without problems), and thus you don't have to do as much to convince a panel. Obviously, sometimes the reverse is true, and then the bar for the case you have to make as a parent is set much higher.

You have a bit of time before the appeal needs to be submitted, so think about all the ways in which your preferred school would help your son - layout, clubs, SEN provision, curriculum, friends, familiarity with location. Then think about whether there is any useful documentary evidence you can provide to support your case (letters from primary school class teacher or SENCO perhaps, or from other professionals.

@BurntRoundTheEdges at my school your appeal case would be one of many very similar appeals, none of which were won. All schools are equipped to cope with neurodiversity that is not severe enough to warrant an EHCP.

However, if you are lucky, your appeal school may not have a strong case for being full.

I've sat on a lot of appeal panels... if the school you want genuinely has an offering that would make a meaningful difference to him then you might get lucky. It doesn't cost you anything except the emotional toll of waiting to be certain about which school he'll go to, which can be hard.

That said, we've had appeals on the basis that we offer a chess club (for instance) and the child loves chess... allocated school doesn't offer chess... I'd expect that appeal to lose because there are other ways a child can access chess.

In my area, any appeal based on medical evidence must come with a consultant letter explaining why the school is the only school that can meet the child's needs. If that were the case, we'd expect that to have been made clear at the time of application rather than at the appeal stage, and the parents would have to have a clear answer on why they were only now raising the medical issue. That said, if the paperwork is in order then medical appeals are the most likely to be accepted.

The other thing to bear in mind is that if you're close to the edge of the catchment, it's still possible you'll be offered a place as catchments tend to grow between now and Sept once the private school places are accepted a parents reject state school offers.

@RNBrie - thanks for you reply (and everyone else who has replied - so helpful to have advice from people with experience even if some of it conflicts!)

To be honest chess club is one of the things the school offers! But it isn't that he needs the opportunity to play chess (he's not going to be the next grandmaster), it's that he needs the chance to be in spaces that give him the right social and wellbeing opportunities. He makes use of various lunchtime wellbeing and hobby clubs at primary school which he really benefits from because it's the opportunity to connect with similar kids in a less overwhelming environment than the playground.

So on the one hand I feel like things like chess club is a laughably weak argument but on the other hand it's exactly that kind of thing that creates the kind of environment I think he will thrive in.

If you get an EHCP you can ask for your preferred school to be named. There are only limited grounds on which the LA can refuse to name the school you want. If you get an EHCP naming the school, they have to admit your child even if they are already full. However, given that your LA has 20 weeks from the date they receive a request for an assessment to give you the final EHCP, timescales are tight if you want your son to start at this school in September.

Looking at appeals, simply having a diagnosis won't help you win an appeal. You need to show that your son will be disadvantaged if he isn't admitted to this school, so you need to show specific things that this school provides that are not available at the allocated school and are relevant to him. If a medical professional is willing to write a letter saying that, in their professional opinion, your son needs to attend this school and sets out their reasons, that would be very helpful.

No getting a fast track diagnosis will not help. Education Needs are assessed separately from diagnosis. Lots of people with a neurodiversity diagnosis need no extra support beyond the normal range that any school is expected to provide. Lots of people have significant additional needs due to complex syndromes that are too rare to have a diagnosis.

You could commission a private Education Psychologist report and start pushing for an EHCP but that will not happen on the timescale between now and September. Get the ball rolling though.

I don't think an EHCP is realistic or warranted. I think he will thrive in the right environment with normal support.

Really I was wondering whether a diagnosis would provide added context for why this particular school environment is more suitable for him than the school offered.

I know most appeals aren't successful but we are likely to appeal anyway (there were some unusually convoluted elements to the admissions criteria for this school so if nothing we want to make sure that there were no procedural mistakes, especially as we were very much expected to get a place). So I feel we may as well make our case.

Maybe wait and see where you are on the waiting list. If you're usually within catchment you should be pretty high up and then an appeal won't be necessary

The local authority have said they aren't publishing waiting list information until after the deadline for making an appeal so we may have to do it anyway! Even if we were near the top of the list I don't know if I'd feel confident to leave it.