Appealing again for the same school

[springlamm]

Background: My son in year 8 has anxiety and is receiving counselling through Camhs. He is at our second choice school. We appealed our first choice, which has better pastoral care. The appeal was refused on the grounds that all schools offer help for anxiety. We have stayed on the waiting list for school 1 but haven't got higher than about 60, so not hopeful. My son's anxiety has escalated at his new school, where he feels he doesn't fit in (he is a different ethnicity to most other students). His school is not offering good support with his anxiety, so his counsellor has written a letter supporting a move to a school with better pastoral care. We have therefore appealed for school 1 again.

Question: I know this will be a different panel, but can the school include all our previous evidence, and/or the judgement, in their evidence pack?

Have you appealed this academic year? If so you cannot appeal again unless there has been a significant change in circumstances and you have submitted a second application due to this change. Usually this would be change of address when I've been on Panels.

The school case would be based on why they are unable to admit your son which is presumably that they are at or over PAN. It wouldn't be usual to reference your previous appeal or that you have appealed before as that is not part of their case. I would not expect them to refer to your previous appeal in their pack.

Each appeal is a new appeal. You can appeal once in each academic year, so I'm assuming your last appeal was when your son was in year 7? The problem will be that if the school is still full in year 8 (also assuming that you've made an in year application for the school you want?) then you still have exactly the same thing to prove and the outcome would be the same, that any school can provide what your son needs and to give your son a place would prejudice the education of others. The letter supporting a move to a school with better pastoral care won't assist an appeal unless it specifically names the school.
Remember that you are not appealing against the school he's in currently.

First appeal was for transferring to year 7, so 2 years ago.

The precise timing within the academic year is not relevant - it's the academic year itself and only one appeal being allowed for it that is (barring a new appeal being allowed due to a significant change of circumstance, or a fresh appeal being ordered, had you complained to the relevant body about the process not being followed correctly in an initial appeal, and this complaint being upheld). Anyway, you're okay on that one.

But no, it is a completely fresh appeal and therefore the only paperwork to which the independent appeal panel will have access is what the school and yourself submit to them on this occasion.

(Have you already had the notification and can see that all the panel members are different from at your year 7 appeal? There is nothing wrong if it transpires that all the members from that panel are now sitting on this one - they take each appeal as completely separate from any other, from both sides' point of view).

@MarchingFrogs "therefore the only paperwork to which the independent appeal panel will have access is what the school and yourself submit to them"

Yes, I realise that, but is there anything to stop the school from submitting the papers from the previous appeal in their evidence pack?

"Have you already had the notification and can see that all the panel members are different from at your year 7 appeal?"

Not yet - but I thought I read somewhere that it had to be a different panel.

The school could use the same set of paperwork from their side with updated figures showing they haven't got space. wouldn't be including paperwork that you submitted at a previous panel as this is now a 'new' process if you like.

It only has to be a completely different panel (and clerk) in the second instance I cited for a second appeal to be held for the same academic year.

Independent Appeal Panel members carry out this rôle as trained volunteers and therefore even in the largest organisations organising appeals on behalf of the LA / trust / individual school (depending on who is the actual admission authority for the school concerned), it is quite likely that there will be a lot of repetition in terms of panel members, depending on their individual availability.

As others have said, you could get the same panel or some of the same panel members. The requirement for the panel to be completely different does not apply in this case.

There is nothing in the Appeals Code that specifically prevents the school including your previous evidence or judgement in the pack, but it would be very strange if they did so. What happened in a previous appeal is not relevant.

I put some info in my previous statement that was used against me in the decision, but which I haven't put it this one. I'm concerned the school might want to use it.

The panel won't be comparing one appeal against the other, they are separate things. What information do you feel was used against you.

I know it is a separate appeal from the panel's perspective. I don't want to give specific details. I think Prh47bridge has answered my question when he said: "There is nothing in the Appeals Code that specifically prevents the school including your previous evidence or judgement in the pack".

Fair enough, just sometimes it can feel like the school is against you when they're only applying the code.