How do you appeal against your school placement? My friend's face is purple from crying. I really need to help her.

[Spidermama]

Her dd has lost the school placement lottery. It's a worst case scenario. She'll have to get a bus into town, leaving the house before her brothers at the junior school have even got out of bed, then get another bus back out into the arse end of nowhere to go to a failing school miles and miles from her home. She didn't put this down as an option in first, second or third place. No-one she knows is going there.

So, her mum, my friend, is going to appeal. She tells me the chance of her appeal succeeding is less than 15% I want to help her. They're so desperate and puffy-faced from crying. It's awful. She is such a lovely girl and she has already had a very bad term with her so-called friends bullying her and being extremely nasty. They all got into the school they wanted btw, which is nothing to do with anything but galling non the less.

Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Have a look on the council's website, it will explain the appeals process. There will be a form to fill in and return. Surely she has a good case for appeal.

I so feel for her. I'm more or less in the same boat. I'm researching tonight about appeals etc, and I will share with you any info and websites.

Sidenote - there is an article in the BBC website about using solicitors for appeals. Please check it out.

My daughter had this situation last year when she did not get the junior school we chose all her friends were going to etc this book was amazing www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Your-School-Appeal/dp/1408111403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267565229& sr=8-1 was recommended to me by a fellow mums netter and I am sure was the key to our success it helps you link all your thoughts into genuine appeal reasons only 4 of us succeeded at appeal out of 28 appeals

My daughter had this situation last year when she did not get the junior school we chose and that all her friends were going to. We had loads of other reasons for wanting to appeal and this book was amazing www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Your-School-Appeal/dp/1408111403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267565229& sr=8-1 was recommended to me by a fellow mums netter and I am sure was the key to our success it helps you link all your thoughts into genuine appeal reasons only 4 of us succeeded at appeal out of 28 appeals

Thanks. I'll have a look at the BBC site. That book looks good too.

My friend reckons she only has a 10 or 15% chance of winning an appeal so she'll need to do her utmost.

that book is bril it tells her how to use the ethos of the school and things like that that most parents would not think of and also how to word things to get the panel on your side

app 1 in 3 children haven't been allocated their first choice school which i find truly shocking
many thanks for recommending this book LM1 your story has inspired me

Going to appeal was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life (I lost, for both schools). I got the impression that, quite frankly, I was just a statistic, not a person, and that as long as the school and council had complied with the law in not offering your child a place, they really couldn't give a stuff what your personal circumstances were. I don't mean by that that your friend is certain to lose (I know other people who DID get in on appeal from the same round, which tipped me over the edge and I nearly ended up on medication), but she should be prepared for it to feel like a huge invasion of her privacy, having to spill her guts about why she wants her child to go to that school, and to feel that in actual fact, the authorities don't give a damn.

clarajo
this is exactly what i'm expecting
i've already been thru the ordeal of divorce but the thought of having to sit in front of a panel of strangers and justify myself and fight for my son's education is absolutely terrifying
what makes me even more furious is that this is a mess of their own making as they changed the school system here a few years ago from 3 tier to 2 without the funding in place to actually properly accomodate the children,think mobiles a-plenty here
parents objected but they pushed it thru regardless
ds tiny 1st school(a popular and over subscribed one) was closed and merged with one on special measures and re-branded and i chose to move him into the primary school he is at now
to have to uproot him again would be extremely traumatic for him as after all his peer group is hugely important to him esp. after our divorce
what has happened since with your dd?

Spidermama, I guess you're in Brighton?

Is your friend in the DS/V catchment? I am sure I read there was some sort of commitment to having enough places between the 2 schools for all the kids so that might be worth investigating as material for the appeal

clarajo - that is exactly my experience of appeal also, I'm afraid.
my child's allocated school was 3 miles away, it was our 4th choice, all his peer group got into our chosen school, my son has SEN, is vulnerable and has had major school confidence and self esteem issues, we read that book, we scoured websites, we made grown people cry with our appeal statement and in the end.... it was all lip service. there was simply NO space at the school.
Going through the appeal just made me feel worse tbh. It felt like having your heart broken twice.
(I keep getting flashbacks to this time last year )

Spidermama - has she found out where they are on the waiting list for all other possibles? We didn't get our first choice for dd1 last year but were number 1 on the waiting list and got a place a week later.

aseriouslyblondemoment we used peer group as one of our reasons to get dd1 into the school we had chosen. The appeal panel we had were incredibly helpful and although it was daunting I did not feel too nervous after a while and they even asked questions to help get out what I was trying to say. Places allocated at appeal are additional to places already offered so if your case is watertight they will admit you but you really do have to ensure your reasons are the best for your case. The way a lot of parents lost last year was by not explaining why that school met their child's needs better than any other. My friend lost her appeal for the same school using her daughters hearing problem as their main reason for appeal but was refused as they could see no reason why any school could not offer the same opportunities. Also as people are saying check your status on the waiting list ds2 did not get his infant school place this year but we got a phone call last week to tell us he had a place he had previously been second on waiting list.

Does your friend's DD have any special needs however minor? That was the grounds that the appeal panel cited when allowing my appeal two years ago. We had been misallocated a place via sibling preference though and although they couldn't allow an appeal becausse of that as the place had been incorrectly allocated, I feel that may have also been taken into account. My elder child was Year 11 at our first choice school and although we had correctly indicated that and it did not entitle us to a place they gave us one anyway and then withdrew it the day before the offer went out. I also cited the fact the school was nearer and walking distance and that the cost of buses would be a strain on the family budget. I am sure I used some other grounds as well, and could look up the paperwork. If you wanted to CAT me I would be glad to do anything I could to help your friend in preparing her appeal, I did mine without professional help, there is a lot of case law and information on the internet if you search hard enough. Don't underestimate how stressful the process is, I had to go and face the panel and the LEA representative and headteacher alone as my husband had to go to work, and the LEA and headteacher have to do their best to justify the appeal being refused, it seemed a bit hostile at times. I have no regrets about going for the appeal, I was convinced the school we were offered was not right for my DS, but it took all my spare time for 2 months preparing it and it requires a big commitment with no guarantee of success.

Try the Advisory Education Service. Free help equivalent to specialist private help with appeals. here

Make sure she is in the waiting list for any preferred schools. These normally run half termly so she needs to ring the LA every half term to say she wishes to remain on the lists. Make sure she keeps in regular contact with the LA, tell her to call every week to find out the latest position on the list.

And remember that the school she's been allocated a place in might well not be that bad. Probably worth your friend putting a brave face on for her DD, and not pinning her DD's hopes on an appeal that could well be unsuccessful.

The average success level is about 30% nationally but varies across the country a lot. Also the chances of success at secondary level are much higher than at primary, as many of these are infant class size where the successful appeal rate is very low. So sh should not be so despondant, put the best possible case together and get the appeal in.

I second Hully's advice to call ACE for advice. Their booklet on how to appeal seems like a good starting point. (I hope!)

I think there should be some sort of mumsnet appeal to change the system it is so damaging to children and their families.

aseriouslyblondemoment I'm afraid there isn't an encouraging end to my tale of woe - I've ended up spending all my divorce settlement in the private sector to keep DD out of a school I didn't want her to attend. (The school itself has some really good points, but I've seen what it churns out )

I found the appeals panellists utterly two-faced. They made the right noises, sounded really encouraging and then slammed the door in our faces. And to make matters worse, the bloody letter the LEA sends you... tells you absolutely nothing about why your appeal was rejected, only why the council won (no space, blahdiblahdiblah).

In terms of trauma, I think I survived my divorce better...

good luck to your friend, spidermama. I hope whatever the outcome is, that things are ok.
Have to say, although it still all smarts, ds has settled very well in his unchosen school

clarajo
i really do feel for you
and yes i'm expecting it to be far worse than the whole divorce process ever was
OP how is your friend feeling now?
has she actually lodged the grounds for her appeal yet?

Spidermama. Sorry to hear your friend has had bad news. Do they live just outside the DS/V catchment? If there are inside then there might be an argument in appeal as furrycat says as when B&H changed the admissions policy they said they would make adequate provision for places for people in catchment.

If they live outside catchment, then I'm afraid it is unlikely they will have grounds for appeal. In B&H to appeal successfully, you have to shown that the authority did not follow its admissions policy. If they did, you have no grounds even if the school they have allocated is miles away/rubbish etc.

I assume they have been allocated PCC by your description, or possibly F? If I got either of those two I would be crying too. However, just because the situation seems wrong for many reasons, it doesn't mean they have grounds for appeal.

The other problem is that while your friend may be on the waiting list, I understand it is decided by the same criteria as the original admissions policy so they will always be passed over if there is a looked after child (for eg) or someone new to the area who lives closer who applies for a place.

It is truly rubbish. There is such a difference in quality between schools in B&H.

Unless your friend can prove an admin cock-up (which is v rare, but might include home-school distance being measured incorretly), then she is unlikely to be successful in appeal, no matter what pressure group she joins or what book she buys.

She might get lucky and get a place via the waiting list, but depending on where they are, that is unlikely.

Most likely chance of getting a place might be moving closer to the schools, but obviously there is a time delay on that, aside from all the obvious other issues that raises.

Not sure what you can do tbh. It isn't one of those situations that is likely to 'all come right in the end'. Your friend may have to accept her child is going to a shite school, or look elsewhere - Lewes?, or move .

We were well aware of this and so made our decision about where to live based on secondary catchments before our children were even at school. Seems crazy, but in B&H you have to play the system

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

ItWouldBeMyPleasure - The rules for appeals are set by the government. The LA CANNOT set its own rules. For secondary school appeals, you do NOT have to show that the authority did not follow its admissions policy or made an admin cock-up. You have a reasonable chance of success even if they've done everything correctly. I think you are talking about primary school appeals under infant class size prejudice rules, where you do have to show that the authority has made a mistake.

Spidermama - There is a much better chance of winning an appeal at secondary school than at primary. At primary you are often only able to win if there has been a mistake by the LA. At secondary it is much easier to win.

At the appeal, the authority will argue that admitting your friend's daughter will cause prejudice to the school, e.g. because the school is already full. Your friend should find out the capacity of the school, when it was set, whether there have been any building works such as new classrooms since it was set and so on - look at the "Appeals" thread for the advice from Cory, Admission and myself as it all applies here. If your friend can satisfy the appeal panel that admitting her daughter won't cause prejudice to the school, she will win the appeal.

Even if she can't do that, she still has a chance. She will need to show that the prejudice to her daughter from being forced to go to the allocated school is greater than the prejudice to the school from admitting her. For that, she must concentrate on any needs her daughter has (social or educational) that can only be met by the preferred school. She MUST NOT mention that the allocated school is failing or compare its academic record to her preferred school - that doesn't help her case and can turn the panel against her.

Good luck.