Can you appeal a rejection before it goes to FAP?

[BlueSquirrels]

Currently been out of mainstream education for 3 months after “withdrawing” from private school (being asked to leave) following drug use.

A state school accepted our in year 9 application, called us (parents and child) in for a meeting, said they were aware of the previous incident.

They said they knew that a substance abuse course has been completed and this was a chance at a fresh start.

We discussed what unform to buy etc. They said “don’t worry you can’t say anything wrong in the meeting we’ve already accepted you”. We gave proof of address. registered via applicaa.

Two days later to get an email saying they would be rejecting the application and referring to FAP based on “previously undisclosed information concerning a threat of exclusion”.

There was also a previous incident (vandalism) at a previous school in year 8 where we were advised to “withdraw”.

So despite there being no ‘official’ exclusions on record, is my child now being treated with the two exclusion rule and will FAP recommend a PRU??

The admissions code also explicitly allows schools to refuse to admit a child in an in year application if it has good reasons to believe that the child may display "challenging behaviour"- defined as behaviour unlikely to be responsive to the usual range of interventions, or the behaviour is of severity, frequency or duration that is beyond the normal range that Schools can tolerate.

It can only rely on this if it also has a particularly high proportion of children with challenging behaviour or previously permanently excluded pupils compared to other schools and it considers another child with such behaviour would prejudice the provision of efficient education or resources.

I suspect that is the ground on which it's actually making this decision, especially if there were incidents that were not disclosed in the first application - it's likely they now have a full report from at least one of the previous schools. They don't actually have to be full exclusions.

You can appeal this decision, just as anybody can appeal any refusal to admit.

Thanks for your reply. Would I appeal directly to the school or do we wait for this to go to the FAP panel and then appeal the FAP’s decision?

If you don't get into this school which I presume you feel is best for your child are there alternative mainstream schools that you can apply to?

How did dc present in meeting? Remorseful and apologetic for their behaviours?
Were you directly asked about previous challenging and difficult behaviours and didn't advise of being asked to leave a previous school due to their actions?

The rejection letter should have told you how to appeal the decision to refuse admission. If it didn't, contact the school and find out how to appeal. You appeal now. You don't need to wait for the FAP. You are appealing against the school's decision to refuse admission, not against the school the FAP choose. You are not appealing to the school. An independent appeals panel will decide your case.

We didn’t discuss being asked to leave the first school. That school said there would be no record of the incident if we withdrew for homeschool.

There are no other schools in the borough with places in year 9, we are on several waiting lists.

That school said there would be no record of the incident if we withdrew for homeschool.

Presuming you have moved on from homeschool though. Under safeguarding your child it is likely that information will be recorded and shared with any new school.
Sounds like in the two days, the ‘new’ school have had more information.

This seems to be contradictory to this paragraph though?

Paragraph 1.9g of the School Admissions Code prohibits admission authorities from taking into account reports from previous schools on past behavior, attendance, attitude, or achievement when making admission decisions. This means a school cannot consider information from a previous school to decide whether to offer a place

Paragraph 1.9g refers to setting oversubscription criteria. They apply for admissions as part of the normal admissions round and from the waiting list. Paragraphs 3.9 and 3.10 allow them to refuse to admit a child with challenging behaviour as an in-year admission. So, on this point, the rules for the normal admissions round are different to the rules for in-year admissions.

There is a difference between admission criteria for normal points of entry, which this paragraph applies to, and consideration for an in year place.

Admissions authorities cannot have admissions criteria that taken into account any report from previous school, et cetera.

however, for in-year applications they are permitted to refuse a place under paragraph 3.10 if they have good reason to believe the student may display challenging behaviour, as long as they already have a high proportion of children with challenging behaviours.

It is explicitly noted in the code in the notes that paragraph 1.9g does not apply in this situation.

Thanks 🙏

If the school they were at in year 8 has space, don't assume that's not an option. I knew a kid who was "advised to move" from school A. He got excluded from school B, and because he hadn't actually been excluded from school A and they were not full, they had to take him back!

It doesn’t have space, we asked to be added to their waiting list and were told they would appeal our application.

I need more advice please. If we appeal against the rejection, I believe a date has to be given for an appeal hearing within 40 days, does that then stop the case being heard by the FAP panel that meet once a month? If we lost the appeal would it then go to FAP to assign a school?

So a pupil could have violently assaulted pupils/staff, created huge amounts of damage to one school, and this wouldn't have to be disclosed to a new school?
What about safeguarding for other children?

I was just trying to understand the admissions code which I now do thanks to previous posters.

No, the FAP process will go ahead. It will either allocate you a school that you're happy with (in which case you might decide to withdraw your appeal) or one that you're not happy with (in which case you will want to proceed with the appeal, but should also be preparing your child to attend the FAP-allocated school because that will be the only option if the appeal fails).

@crunchthyme @PatriciaHolm I have lodged an appeal through the LA based on advice from this thread. Have the school breached the admissions code by not including in their rejection letter any mention of our right to appeal? If so, does this help our appeal in any way?

Another question is can a FAP overturn a school rejection? Google AI suggests it can, however I’ve just been reading an article on a legal website that says it can’t.

You trust Google AI over a legal website?

If the school have rejected your application without telling you that you have the right to appeal then it is a breach of Clause 15f of the Admissions Code. It's worth mentioning in your case, but it won't strengthen it because it hasn't had a material impact on anything. The only way it will help is if the panel view it as a sign that the school haven't followed other rules and are able to pick away at their case.

An FAP will look for the school best able to take the child. In some circumstances that may be a school that has previously refused admission. However, that will generally only apply when the refusal was based on the school being full. An FAP cannot force a school to take a pupil they have rejected due to challenging behaviour.

It wouldn't directly overturn the decision as such, but a school that has refused admission could be directed under the FAP to take the child; However, the FAP process is a discussion between the local authority and the school - it is supposed to be a collaborative process between the LA and all schools in an area.

The local authority and the local schools will discuss the placement. The LA can only direct any school to take a child if that child has been refused or excluded by all the schools in a reasonable distance. So if a local School accepts the placement there is no need for a direction anyway.

A local authority wouldn't direct an admissions authority to take a child should the AA be able to prove the School already has a disproportionate amount of children with charging behaviours or who have previously been excluded twice, which obviously was part of the grounds on which the school were able to deny the place in the first place in this case. The point of the FAP being a collaborative process is intended to avoid this.

If a school is directed to take the child, but still objects, and is an academy, it can technically refuse and force the local authority to go to the Secretary of State, who does have the power to direct it to admit. That could take some time, though.

if it's not an Academy, it can still object, and that will go to the schools adjudicator.

Thanks all. I don’t know what difference it will make but I have sent a letter to FAP to provide a full account of the incident that gave rise to the “threat of exclusion” from the first school in the hope that they can see it as one off mistake and not a history of challenging behaviour. I’m so frustrated that they accepted the placement, met us and then this ridiculous incident from the past that got completely blown out of proportion has resurfaced and derailed everything. The school is not an academy by the way.

clearly is a history if he’s using drugs in year 9