Advice for Year 7 appeal after refused place for being out of catchment

[caperucita]

@prh47bridge, my son is currently number 20 on the Year 7 waiting list for our first choice.
The only reason we were given for not being offered a place was that we live outside the school's catchment area (even though we live in the same borough, Islington). We live approximately 20 minutes away by bus (a direct journey on bus 43) and 10–15 minutes by car. His father can drive him to school every morning if necessary. I was informed by the admissions team that this was the only reason he was not accepted and that if we had lived slightly closer, he would have been offered a place.
My son is currently on the waiting list for a neurodevelopmental assessment for Autism and ADHD.

Music plays a particularly important role for him He often fidgets with his hands using modelling clay while listening to or quietly engaging with music throughout the day, which helps him stay calm and focused (he has achieved the ABRSM Award in Music Performance Grade 2 in Violin from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music). This has been very helpful in supporting his concentration and emotional regulation.

Not receiving a place at this school has been emotionally difficult for him =( as he was very happy when he saw the music department at our 1st choice.

Any advice on the appeal, what should I write, which grounds can I base my appeal on?

Thank you so much =(

The school is not part of Tower Hamlets; it is in the Islington borough. Do you know where I can see the appeals? =)

The rules for CFBS admissions this year are here:
https://www.centralfoundationboys.co.uk/admissions/school-admissions/.

They are exactly as I described, including banding, and a banded waitlist.

The bottom of the page provides a table showing the cut-off distances on national offer day by band in previous years. Last year, it varied from 1.31 to 1.50 miles depending on band. However, from the waitlist, children who live further away get admitted.

When I spoke with the headmaster a few years ago, he said it was worth calling the school to confirm your interest from the waitlist. I believe there is usually more movement in Band A than other bands. If they offer a waitlist place to a family and that family doesn't respond/ hear phone message, they move very quickly to the next family on the list.

As you say, you can spend your time appealing if you want, but I don't think you have any viable grounds. You might, though, get in off the wait list, especially if you are willing to wait until the end of summer or even September.

How many miles away do you live as measured using Google maps straight line distance calculator to the front door of the school?

I think you need to think more about his educational needs than the school curriculum. If he is autistic or has ADHD, it's not going to be only a question of whether the school can teach different subjects, but whether is it set up to be really inclusive and able to give him the flexibility and understanding he is likely to need.

If you notice that he stims with music and you think he has high learning potential as well as possible neurodiversity, I would be preparing for the "worst" - which is that he may crash and have a burnout in the first couple of years of mainstream secondary. These are very vulnerable years for ND students especially those not yet diagnosed and not yet with any official support in place.

I would be trying to get into the most neuro-affirming school I could and also starting the process of getting him some proper legal protections if he does need special educational provisions a little later.

The Head of his current school wants to share his learning plan- that means he already has some provision in place??. Do you have an EHCP as it sounds like you don't? If you think there is support he definitely needs, you should look into applying for one asap. The system will change in a few years but at your son's age if he gets an EHCP he will keep the legal protection even when the system changes.

@Shithotlawyer raises great points. To be clear, though, without the EHCP currently, SEN needs do not give grounds for appeal. That said, I had a very positive impression of CLSB's neurodiversity provision, though I haven't ended up sending my children there. I do hope you get the place - I'm just trying to help you understand the system.

This could be trickier in secondary as kids move between classes he would need to carry these around all day. How big is the cushion? You need a very understanding school that will notbmake a big deal of this and will support . Maybe one with an ASD base

Yes, this school does have banded admissions. However, we didn't know which school was involved at the time you said admissions were usually banded, which is not true for Islington schools (nor, indeed, in London generally, contrary to your assertion - schools using banding are very much in the minority).

If OP's son had an EHCP there would be no need for her to appeal. She would simply get the school named on the EHCP and they would have to admit her son. Contrary to what you say, SEN needs can give grounds for appeal. In most cases they don't as, in theory at least, all schools can deal with SEN pupils. However, if the parent can show that their child needs a particular type of provision that is available at the appeal school but not at the allocated school, that is good grounds for an appeal. I'm not saying this is the case for OP's son, but a blanket assertion that SEN needs do not give grounds for appeal is simply wrong.

@caperucita do you know which band your child is in for CFBS? Did your child even sit the banding test? (If not, then they will be in "band 5").

In your original post you said he was 20th on the waiting list, but that will be 20th within a specific band, rather than overall. (They won't be able to give you an overall waiting list place because they can't predict which bands will have places freed up).

I think they said he is in band 3 and 20 on the waiting list... going to ask again if this position on the waiting list is an overall one or just in his band.

Unfortunately most LAs use a more sophisticated tool to measure distance from home to school, and often this will be tweaked from being a straight line to being for example, a safe travelling route, so not through the deserted park, over the three lane road and down the unlit underpass.

1.5.4. Distance
Students will be prioritised by distance (starting with the nearest). Nearness to the School will be
measured on a computerised mapping system using a straight line distance measurement. Routes will be calculated from the home address (as defined by the Land and Property Gazetteer) to the midpoint of the school grounds (as determined by the London Borough of Islington). Where it is necessary to differentiate
between applicants living equal distance from the school, a random allocation using a computerised system will be applied.

👆That's the distance guidance in the rules - so not to the front door, but middle of the school, but it's straight line.

Interesting! I see I was wrong. Apparently, having looked into it a little now, the banded admissions is standard across schools in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and used by some but not all schools in Islington (including this one) and various other boroughs. I'd read lots of school admissions criteria across several boroughs, but seems they were surprisingly unrepresentative!

Grade 2 is not particularly high so that will not be a factor in appealing for a school, for context my dd had her grade 6 and friends of hers took grade 8 in year 6. Specialist provision or programmes within the school for his nd would have more weight. Stay on the wait list, you never know, but I’d be really amiss if I suggested that you could appeal the decision successfully, based on what you have written. You have been offered a school, why isn’t it suitable?

The music provision at the school in question dies actually look rather good, but admittedly I havent also looked to see whether it is just standard gir Islington schools and they are just lucky compared with other areas.

Most LAs use straight line distance these days as it is less likely to be challenged successfully. If they use shortest safe walking route, they can be challenged if they've missed a footpath that meets their definition of safe. Straight line distance is only likely to be challenged if they've measured from the wrong property. But I agree that their system will be more accurate than Google or any other online maps. Google et al are good for seeing if the distance given by that LA looks about right, but that's all.

SMMA do not take many local children; you need to live literally next door to be accepted. We live 1.2 miles from it, and we are not part of their area. They only take children who live within around 0.3 miles, unless they are from the same faith, ‘Church of England’, which makes it about 0.9 miles. There is no fair criterion in Islington. SMMA and Central Foundation have the best music departments in Islington. I have put both down on my application, and I’m on their waiting list too, but to be fair, the only schools that do not use this ‘distance measurement’ are the worst ones in the borough. I went to see one before and felt like I was entering a reformatory.

I understand the appeal of CFBS it was also our first choice, but we are significantly further down the band A waitlist and have no hope. I'm okay with that, it was a long shot.

But, have you looked at Highbury Grove. I know it's not as prestigious but I hear it has an amazing music dept. Parents I know with a child with SEN who goes there are very impressed with how their music dept is helping their son.

We appealed for a secondary place last year for my DS who has ADHD and ASD - despite having a letter from the head of his primary school and from the team who did his ADHD/ASD assessment stating he would be disadvantaged by not attending the school we making our appeal to, we didn't win the appeal.

There's nothing lost in appealing - you might be able to make some kind of a case based on particular importance of music having a therapeutic value to him even though he doesn't currently play at a high level. However based on my experience even if you've got really solid evidence supporting that argument I think it sounds like a long shot.

Is Spanish available at your preferred school but not at your allocated school? This i think would be a strong argument if that's your first language.

No, it would be a weak argument. If Spanish is his first language then it would be a waste of time sitting through 5 years of Spanish lessons aimed at beginners - he would be better off learning a different language. (Fwiw most schools support native speakers to sit MFL GCSEs as private candidates without needing to sit through any lessons).

There's nothing to say it's his first language or if he even speaks it. I was just referring to it being OPs first language.

Did you get any more clarifications today?

I got an email saying that "the reason why my son was not offered a place was the distance from the school"

What that means of course is not that you live too far away but there are other children who live closer who got priority over you.

So there's absolutely nothing you can argue regarding the fact that you don't feel it is "too far" (e.g. that you can easily travel to the school).

The only way to make the case is if you feel that's there is a specific reason that your DC would benefit from attending the school that outweighs the disadvantage for the school in having to accommodate an additional child over the number it was duty bound to accept (i.e. the school's PAN).

The headteacher from my son's primary school and CAMHs has provided letters saying why he should be at CFB. Is this any good? =)