Secondary School Appeal could cry

[Boymumtimes4]

Just got the appeal pack and feeling hopeless. I thought we had a fighting chance given our reasons below but they’ve put that they’ve already taken an additional 15 students over pan and they can’t even take one more child and all these health and safety concerns etc I just feel like crying as there’s literally no other school I can do given the below reasons as a single parent with hardly any support

1. racism from students at allocated school well documented with police reports
2. Im Guardian to my 2 nephews both SEND. 1 is starting primary in sept and other attends school I want my son to go to. My argument is I can’t escort 3 children to 3 separate schools and older nephew is unable to travel independently due to his needs.
3. mental health implications well documented struggles doctor has wrote me a letter and we have a Camhs referral and also support at primary school

Your point 5 is inaccurate. Page 12 of the Admissions Code does not suggest that foster siblings should be treated as full siblings. It says that where there is a sibling priority (and there is no requirement for there to be one), the term 'sibling' must be clearly defined, and that it should be clear if foster siblings are counted as full siblings.

Your point 4 is debatable. I haven't seen the Police letters, but if they do make it clear that there is a continuing threat from pupils in school A, that the OP has been advised to take specific action to avoid that threat, and that the only practical way of achieving that is for the two boys to go to the same school, then I think that a) the allocation of school A is approaching the threshold of Wedensbury unreasonableness (that the decision is so absurd that no rational admitting authority would make the same decision in the same circumstances), and that as school B is the nearest school, and it resolves the transport issue for both DNephew and DS, and it removes the threat from pupils at school A, that it is reasonable to hold that school B is the only suitable school in these circumstances.

Logistical issues are rarely good grounds for appeal, but this situation is one where resolving the logistical issue meets the educational and social needs of the child.

This is all with the huge caveat that I'm assuming the letters from agencies are clear and direct. If they are, in fact, "I understand Mum has concerns about DS travelling to school alone because of a past incident", then that weakens things considerably.

Many appeals to SENDIST are upheld because LAs act unlawfully a lot. That still doesn’t mean it is as simple as “EHCP students can choose where they want to go.”

The rest of your post is irrelevant to the OP’s post and shows your attitude towards DC with SEN, who actually can still be excluded. The school just has to follow the law and correct procedures.

Exactly. So if you are classed as a good school, you can get a huge number of pupils with EHCPs

What are we defining as huge numbers? Nationally, 2.7% of pupils across secondary schools have EHCPs. So in a school of 1300 pupils, that would be 35 EHCPs, or 7 per year group, averaged.

Yes we have about average.
But we can’t recruit TAs
we are down to 7 TAs

@Boymumtimes4 The pan was 195? That does not divide by 30. 180 or 210 is normal. They are saying they have admitted 210 but do they do this every year? It’s odd to have 6 1/2 classes. Never seen that. I’d ask for previous numbers of dc admitted.

You are not correct.
maybe it depends on your authority, but we have never been successful in moving a child with an EHCP.
it is all relevant because appeal places are becoming less available in good schools, due to the high volume of EHCP students, who otherwise would not fit the criteria to gain a place.

I am correct. Despite what some LAs think, the law is the same in all LAs in England.

Just because you haven’t been successful in excluding a child with an EHCP doesn’t mean DC with EHCPs can’t be excluded if the law and correct process is complied with.

Know nothing of this (am in Scotland) but, given your fostering and their needs, might your son not also be considered a carer? Even in that he is helping you with the needs of the younger nephew?

Keep telling social services, like a broken record. 'If the appeal fails and DS can't go to the same school as DN then unfortunately the placement will sadly have to end.' I've often experienced that support from a social worker helps to grease the wheel at Appeal (though I'm sure this depends somewhat on area) so you want their letter to be as robust as possible that DS needs to be in the same school as his cousin so they can travel together from their family home.

If the appeal does fail, then tell social services flatly that this is now their problem to solve, and you're no longer in a position to care for DN's unless they do so. Give them a date to confirm by.

They will put pressure on you to reconsider, but stick firm, because social services should be bending over backwards to keep family placements together, and really should be giving you and all three children a lot more support.

Is that the high volume of EHCP students which you have actually confirmed is the average number? Appeal places are not 'less available in good schools because of the high number of EHCP students.' That's nonsensical. Unless you're going to say that they are less available due to the LAC, the siblings, the children who live nearest the school, the children who qualify for a place because they attend a feeder school... Where do you draw the line?

Every school admits up to their PAN. Some schools, either in agreement with the LA or despite the LA, go above their PAN. At that point they are (nominally) 'full'. Appeals panels have the job of testing whether schools are actually full, and then, if they are, testing whether they are so full that any appellants should be denied a place. Then, if they determine the school is not so full as to deny all appellants a place, they determine which appellants have the best case for taking the space that has been determined to be available.

How the school got to the point of being nominally full makes no difference to the appeal process. If there wasn't an EHCP student taking the place, there would be the student at 1.7 miles instead of 1.5 miles, and there would still be appellants who lived 1.8 miles away who just missed out.

Added to all of this, some of those EHCP places will go to applicants who would have got in as a main round applicant anyway. For example, in my small town, there is only one secondary school which is allocated. Unless you have an EHCP, you don't get a choice. Public transport isn't great, so even with an EHCP, it's unlikely that a parent would choose the next nearest schools because, largely, the LA would expect them to transport their child because there was a closer suitable school. Therefore, if there are 35 EHCP holders, it's likely that at least 33 of them would have gone there shush l anyway.

You need to move to my authority! Most pupils arrive in taxis.
But waste of time trying to get into our school, which is classed as outstanding. Due to the abysmal pay and high cost of living, there are very few TAs to meet the needs of the pupil.
You can earn more working at the local Waitrose.

Do you work in a school?
Or are you yet another expert who thinks they know how schools operate without having any experience?
There are no places at special schools, most parents cannot homeschool and no other school will take them…. Usually because they have already attempted a managed move and failed.

I don’t work in a school. I do however have DC with EHCPs. I also support parents whose DC have EHCPs and have supported thousands of parents over the years.

There is no blanket rule stating DC with EHCPs cannot be permanently excluded. Yes, the school would have to comply with the law and follow the correct procedure but there is no blanket rule preventing exclusion. In fact, section 43 of the Children and Families Act 2014 explicitly mentions the duty to admit doesn’t affect the power to exclude. The government’s suspension and permanent exclusion guidance also covers DC with EHCPs.

Your post highlights your lack of understanding of SEN law. On its own, a (non-wholly independent) SS being ‘full’, which is not defined in law, is not enough of a reason to refuse to name the school if it is parental preference. The LA would need to prove the school is so full placement is incompatible with the efficient use of resources or education of others. That is a far higher bar than LAs and many schools like to admit. For non-wholly independent schools, the LA doesn’t need the permission of the school in order to name them. Although being permanently excluded from one MS doesn’t necessarily mean placement in SS. Nor does it mean the parents have to EHE. You may not be aware but if it is required there are also other alternatives to MS, SS and EHE.

The parents of any DC whose SEP detailed, specified and quantified in F isn’t being provided should speak to the LA and, if necessary, look at JR. The LA is ultimately responsible and the provision can be enforced. Parents don’t need to accept unlawful behaviour.

I'm now thoroughly confused. I quoted the statistics that say about 2.7% of Secondary school pupils have EHCPs. You confirmed that, given that statistic, your school was average. Now you say that 'most pupils arrive in taxis', and it's a waste of time trying to get into your school.

I'm finding it hard to believe that you have an average number of pupils with EHCPs and most of your pupils arrive by taxi?

When I was researching schools for my DS back in 2019 I discovered from the admissions team that come the end of the year all waiting lists held by the council are cancelled.

So, if you do not secure a place by December, then you call up the school on the first day back in January and ask to be added to the school’s waiting list, you’ll go straight to number 1.

The downside is, having to buy uniform that you may not need come next year. Consider getting 2nd hand.

Hope this helps!