How to word a Year 9 in-year appeal for secondary school

[Mevy]

Hi everyone this post is about in year appeals for year 9. How do I put my reasons down without sounding too harsh about the school that shes currently at there are many reasons and the schools shes currently at is why I am considering the appeal but i don’t know how to word it. Also how to make sure i’m not repeating everything I have written on paper will they read it properly then i just mention main points etc. I have really bad anxiety and forget my thought procees when put on the spot 😫

I would avoid mentioning the school she is at currently, as you are appealing for the other school. That's unless there is some massive issue with the current school such as bullying that has not been dealt with?

What are the reasons why you want her to go to the other school? The aim is to make it clear how the benefit to your DC of attending this school (because it offers things that will benefit her specifically, such as XXX MFL that she has studied with a family member, or a woodwind band and she plays clarinet) rather than calling out issues with the current school.

The appeal documents will be read but it's always worth having a note of anything you might want to say in case you do forget.

@clary So its about her medical needs and how the current school have not met her needs in so many ways by totally ignoring her needs causing her stress and anxiety and how the school I have chosen meets all her needs.

You're going to need to depersonalise it. No appeal panel can agree with you that a school has treated a pupil badly or not met their needs and therefore she should not attend that school. The appeal is for your preferred school.

You need to explain what it is about your preferred school that meets her needs. It can be challenging because unless the school has a particular provision for children with your DD's medical needs, then the LA will hold the line that all schools can meet needs and if she needs something more bespoke she needs an EHCP.

If you can give some more detail we might be able to help.

Yes as @Lougle says, you need to show how the school appealed for can meet her needs, ideally uniquely among local schools.

A very specific example might be that your DC uses a wheelchair, and the school you are appealing for is the only one locally that is all on one floor or that has lifts (not unlikely tbh; the last school I worked in would have been a total nightmare for any YP with significant mobility needs – no lifts, no ramps, loads of stairs).

Yes if you are happy to share more detail that might be helpful. But yes, don't talk about how the other school has failed to meet her needs. That's not what the appeal is about (I know if feels as tho it should be).

"A very specific example might be that your DC uses a wheelchair, and the school you are appealing for is the only one locally that is all on one floor or that has lifts."

Although, tbh, even that might not be a slam dunk if the LA rep says that schools are expected to timetable such students on the ground floor. Whereas, if it was about the outside terrain being on the flat, allowing independent self-propelling, that would be harder to argue against.

I agree with the advice of others. You don’t need to talk about how the current school has failed to meet need, you need to focus on what the new school can offer. Get evidence of why you think the new school will be able to provide for your child.

This is the sort of thing AI is helpful for.

@Lougle can you imagine! As if you could timetable all lessons on the ground floor, what a nightmare. I recall a student of mine had a very complex leg fracture which meant they had to have it elevated and could not go up any slopes or over any kind of stepped doorway (like there was to the block my classroom was in) so basically he had to spend about a month doing work in the only bit of the school he could access.

Genuinely that would have been an impossible school in a wheelchair. Even the main entrance had a doorsill. But yes, I can believe that the LA could insist it was possible.

@clary @SpottyPyjama @Lougle this is it though i’m finding it so difficult as mainly i have done it as what the school offers but they can say ok all schools offer that but the one shes at doesn't which is why I am trying to move her.

If your main reason for appeal is a medical one, then I would be looking for medical evidence. Just an appointment letter to show she attends hospital is not really enough (and it is what is frequently supplied)
Are you able to ask a healthcare professional who knows your DD write a letter of support which sets out what her needs at school are and what adjustments she needs?
Hopefully you could use this evidence to show how the preferred school meets her needs.
Please bear in mind that the letter needs to be sent a good few days before the appeal date and not just brought along to the appointment.

It would be even better if the HCP names your preferred school as the only one which will meet her needs, but understandably very few are willing to do that

Honestly, this is where your problem lies. We all know that some schools are better than others in terms of their cultures and teaching environment, but the standard starting point is that all schools are suitable for educating children, or they would be closed. No appeal panel can agree that a school isn't 'good'. Even if it's an RI school, it's still suitable for the education of children.

If you have issues with the way your child is taught, or pastoral issues, or management of SEN/health issues, that really needs to be managed via the complaints system, because, again, an appeal panel can't say "we agree that they aren't treating Tommy as they should do".

So that leaves what you can bring to appeal. Things that appeals panels can consider would be special programmes that a child with a certain characteristic might benefit from, subjects on offer, particular SEN provision that is different to other schools (but not special units that are accessed via EHCP provision), sometimes, rarely, logistics if it's absolutely key (such as proximity to home/hospital for a child with chronic and serious conditions), sometimes physical environment if it impacts disability, rarely location, if putting a child in the allocated school would put them at risk due to personal circumstances.

So what you need to do is draw up a list of objective differences between the schools and see if there's anything that would be a strong reason to allocate that school. Unfortunately, being unhappy with the way the current school manages your child isn't one of them.

Even if they do, they'd have to give a plausible reason and definitely not "@Mevy tells me that x school would be the best one for her child and I agree."