Appeal on medical and social grounds

[ByPerkySnail]

Hello all,

I’m currently preparing for a school in year admissions appeal for my son for year 9 (September entry) and would really value advice from anyone who has been through a similar situation or has knowledge of appeals based on medical and social grounds.

Here’s some background:

We are British expats relocating back to the UK after many years abroad due to the breakdown of my marriage and significant financial difficulties. My husband and Inare going through a separation so I will be returning as a single mother with my three children, moving into my parents’ home, where I will also be taking on the role of carer to my elderly father as my mother is no longer able to continue this responsibility due to her own deteriorating health.

My son has never lived or attended school in the UK — we moved abroad when he was only 15 months old. He is not streetwise, not familiar with public transport, is vulnerable, and experiences heightened anxiety about traveling alone.
He is currently attending a British school oversees, where he has been for the past 10 years. This school is high on academics and has excellent pastoral care. My son is a bright but shy and quiet boy.

The family upheaval has caused him increasing anxiety, restlessness, sleep issues, and low moods. This emotional stress is also triggering his longstanding asthma, which has been managed but now requires careful attention. He is currently being seen by a psychologist for assessment and coping strategies, and I have a referral letter as well as medical appointments with his asthma doctor coming up to gather further supporting documentation.

my eldest son has a conditional offer for 6th form entry at the same school and my youngest has been offered a place at the nearby primary school based on his SEN. This further supports the need to my other son to be granted a place at this school to help with family stability.

the sibling bond is very strong and during this difficult period has been an anchor of emotional support for my boys, especially my second son.

We are appealing for a place for my second child at a specific local secondary school because:

• It offers strong pastoral care, which is vital given his anxiety and emotional needs.
• It provides continuity of education, including subjects he is currently studying and wants to take at GCSE (such as Spanish and Design & Technology). In addition it closely follows similar ethos, academics and oppprtunities to his current school.
• being only 0.8mils away, It is in close proximity to home and the school that will be attended by his younger sibling, which helps with family logistics and support.
• The short distance would reduce his exposure to stressful travel, which could worsen his anxiety and asthma.
• As a single parent and carer, I would struggle to manage school runs if he were placed further away.
• Not attending this school risks worsening his anxiety and asthma symptoms.

I have letters of support from the school, including from the pastoral head and the head of lower senior school. I also have medical documentation including the psychologist referral and am awaiting further letters from medical professionals after upcoming appointments.

My questions are:

• What other types of evidence or documentation would strengthen my appeal?
• Does this sound like a strong enough case based on medical and social grounds?
• Any tips on presenting the appeal, especially addressing my son’s current emotional state and health concerns, independent travel or lack of prior UK schooling?

Thank you so much for any guidance or experiences you can share.

There will be others more knowledgeable than me, but the strongest case would have letters from medical professionals which state that in their opinion, this is the school your son needs (rather than a letter that repeats your opinion, or states needs in general).

In the panel’s eyes, all schools are set up to support general needs including anxiety, transition to a new school, and asthma. Secondary age children would also generally be expected to travel on their own to school, again unless there is really solid evidence from a medical professional in their opinion to back it up.

Does the school you have been offered offer Spanish and DT at GCSE? This could potentially be your strongest point if it doesn’t.

I forgot to add, a lot of course depends on how strong (or not) the school’s case is. If the school’s case for not admitting is weak, then it will be a lower bar to reach to tip the appeal in your favour.

Thank you for your response.

So the letters that i currently have are the teachers opinions but they do mirror what I am putting forward. I am hoping that the medical letters will be written I medical terms and from the doctors view.

Whilst I understand secondary children would be expected to travel independently, wouldn’t my son’s case been seen as exceptional in that he has never lived in the UK so not familiar with the surroundings, systems etc? Could it not be argued that he is highly vulnerable and this could put him at risk?

we haven’t been offered any other school as the LA that the school falls under is actually the neighbouring LA to which our home address comes under. We only applied for this school as it’s the only secondary school that is in walking distance from our house, is similar to the current school in terms of academics, and also where my eldest has secured a place.

Our LA won’t let us apply for a place until we are back in the UK end of June and even then there are no local schools that match my sons’s needs. This school ticks all the boxes.

So the school refused him a place based on that they are full.

How do I find out their current PAN and cohort numbers? I can see them for 2023-24 online but not for the current year. Would this help my case if I can show that the school has admitted higher numbers in the other year groups which supports they could cope with an additional student?

I appealed for a year four place when we moved back to the UK for my dd at out catchment primary and I did write in my statement about my want for her to be able to build relationships with the children in her own community and the panel did ask quite a lot of questions about that. About what other things I was doing to help her acclimatise to living in the neighbourhood, like extra curriculars. Which I was because it was true. I think if I had said I wanted the local school and then I hadn’t also got her to join brownies or whatever that would not have been a good look.

So the letters that i currently have are the teachers opinions
Teachers from another country? How could their opinion on what school your children attend in the UK hold any weight?

@HatesHorsesLovesShein That is a reasonable point and I would agree that’s it’s important to show what steps are being taken. Unfortunately for us is that we are still abroad and don’t return until end of June. My appeal date is set first week of July.

All the appeals are going on now. So places will be filled up at all the best schools.
I do not see why you should get priority over a family who has lived here all their lives and not had the same opportunities as you. There will be pupils with serious medical conditions and they don’t necessarily get any priority over others. Looked after pupils, and those with EHCPs always come first. Any secondary school should be able to meet medical needs and masses of pupils seem to suffer with anxiety.

@Annascaul they're British teachers who have worked and lived in the UK. Our school also has branch in the UK.

I think you have a fairly good case, but you’ll need evidence. I think siblings being together at school is an incredibly important support mechanism- and if you can have a drs/psychologists letter stating this, I think it will go a long way. Equally, any medical issue that could be exasperated by walking more then 0.8miles should be highlighted in medical letters (ie: should limit walking distances to xyz particularly if conditions are xyz due to asthma etc).
From my understanding, they may consider logistics re drop off and pick up, but if you drive this will be considered less of an issue; but with one child being at primary school- you’ll need to know how long journeys will take in traffic etc- panel members are usual local to the area and will know what traffic can be like etc and will often have checked the routes etc on google maps.

if you’re going to state your case that it must be this school you’ll need a very strong argument as to why only this particular school will be able to fulfill his needs- maybe they teach a subject he’s already learning and no other local school does. I think this will be much harder to do. (Generally all pastoral care is considered equal)

Also, if your child is quite academic, and is doing well in terms of grades etc, I’d be tempted to include his most recent report from his school; this is good for the school and panel members to see; as if the school is saying their resources are stretched and can’t accommodate another child who had very specific (aka expensive!) needs that need meeting- it’s much easier to say yes to allow a child who is unlikely to ‘tax’ the school any further. This sounds terrible but I think it’s the reality of the situation. I’ve actually heard of schools who haven’t turned up to an appeal because they didn’t mind having a specific child in their school because legally they can’t admit over pan but via abln appeal they’d get another student- who would be “easy” to educate and would bring additional funding.

@Vivienne1000 Respectfully, I have also lived most part of my life in the UK. I was born and bred there and did my whole education there. I worked full time and only moved abroad due to my husbands job. It was never a permanent move but unfortunately due to personal circumstances and then COVID, we were not able to return earlier. The breakdown of my marriage has left me and my children without a home and so I’m having to stay with my parents.
It is an extremely emotional and testing time for me and my kids and whilst it may seem trivial to you - only we know what we are going through and the challenges we are facing.

I have come on this forum to seek advice - not to be judged.

@DillyDallyingAllDay thank you for your response. That’s some really good advice. I appreciate your understanding and guidance.

Things to consider

Medical grounds must name the school and the medical reasons why that school is named and that no other school can provide what is needed.
It must be their medical decision

A letter from the doctor etc, reiterating the parents' view is not enough and this is the one parents often supply. ie The parents feel, the parents tell me, parents believe that.

The panel would also expect a parent to have discussed what is needed and what can be provided with the school. Emails of a meeting, what is to be discussed and letter or email from school carries more weight than parental feedback.

If parents say the child is anxious, sleep issues, etc., the panel would expect a trail of evidence where you have sought medical advice.

If you are taking on the role of carer where is the evidence? who has been providing this and why does this have any impact on the offer of a school?
Would this not add to the stress?

what support is needed in school for his asthma? when was his last review?, when was the last time an ambulance was called at school, if his asthma is getting worse has medication been altered? All schools should have an asthma policy and trained staff. Have you engaged with the school about his needs.

Being a single parent carries no weight
Not being streetwise means he needs to learn
Subjects can change.
When are options chosen, and has he already missed the choice, and will he be left with what ever is left? Secondary tends to have higher size classes for brighter children to enable smaller classes for lower ability. An extra child can mean a child is placed in a larger class or someone is bumped to a lower ability class to manage numbers. This could be your child placed into a lower stream.
There is no funding for additional children and if there are gaps in his learning this means more strain and workload for staff.

The sibling link does not apply to 6th form and will not bump him up the waiting list

Is the school popular and oversubscribed?
I am going to be devil's advocate.

I think it will be difficult to obtain a place without EHCP and/ or any other criteria that would place your DC at the top of their admission criteria.

Gently, I don't think asthma and anxiety are enough for an appeal argument and obtaining a place. Obviously a Dr note would undeline the issues, but would this be from a UK surgery or from abroad? How can a UK surgery give a detailed opinion simply from one or 2 assessments/ visits? How credible would the LA find a foreign Dr note?
Sibling support could be great, but then, one is still in primary school- that would weaken the argument.

Academically, many schools start their GCSE courses in y9 or even y10. So whilst he might not be able to study his preferred subjects, he's not missing out on essential teaching. Core subjects are taught at every school, so we are talking options...

You need to say why the school woukd benefit your child, not why others wouldn’t be beneficial. So subjects would be good (continuity etc) , but distance and lack of travel knowledge is not a strong argument. Many year 7 pupils have never used public transport until starting senior school, and parents often practice with them the summer before starting.

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice-preparation/appeals

Thus website has good advice on appeals. Some of it is for 11+ /grammar schools, but there’s some good general info as well.

@cabbageking thank you. Your points are fair and I do have evidence for some of the things you’ve mentioned. For the other parts - I will look into gathering the supporting docs.

Regarding the sibling priority, the school have confirmed to me in writing that once my eldest enrols, it will push my son up the waiting list. However it won’t take effect until then.

I would be careful with some of the advice on this thread - I don't think some, like showing his academic ability is taken into account at all.

You need @prh47bridge who is an expert and will give you correct advice.

I don’t think the asthma argument will hold much store however a psychological evaluation saying that anxiety is very severe and mitigating factors include sibling bond might.
Realistically you need to spend some time over the summer getting DS used to the area and public transport increasing confidence.
A few miles is nothing is terms of travel to an alternative school .

My DS aged 13 travels an hour to school every day and 15 miles. I don’t rate your chances I’m afraid.

How much time would the siblings actually spend together if the eldest is in 6th form?
Surely there was a time when the younger was still in primary and the eldest had moved on to secondary?

@Annascaul their current school goes from nursery all the way up to year 13. So they’ve always attended the same school.
my eldest will be entering 6th form in September so that will give them 2 years together.

@MargaretThursday sure - thank you

The sibling link does not apply to 6th form and will not bump him up the waiting list.

It would be better to say “does not always apply”

OP, do you know if the year group is currently at PAN or is over following prior successful appeals etc? The more it is over, the stronger the school’s case is to be full.

It really won’t. Sixth forms attached to Secondary schools in the UK are generally arranged independently to the lower school - separate canteens, different break times, even different buildings on site. It’s more than likely that your DCs won’t see each other at all despite being in the same school.

The PAN is not necessarily relevant as it currently only applies to the normal year (s) of admission, so in an 11-18 school, likely to be Year 7 and Year 12. Some schools, such as some state boarding schools, have an admission point in Year 9 and so a Year 9 PAN, but not many.

How does he travel to school at the moment? If you drive him, why won’t you be able to drive him to another school?

On the ‘streetwise’ aspect, children arrive in the UK from all sorts of difficult situations abroad, such as the fall of Kabul and from countries in conflict such as Ukraine. Many of them have no or very limited English on arrival. Your son has the advantages of fluent English, and an established, settled English family, I expect you will help him settle into the new community and help him use public transport as appropriate. Of course, you may drive him around too.

What are the alternative schools? If you put your parents’ postcode into GIAS, it will tell you.