School appeals - help offered

i_am_really_rich!!

simonSE15 wrote: »

if, as your name suggests, you are really rich, you can send him to a fee paying school.

alternativley send him to a school with girls, this will be better for his social development anyway.

I don't think there was any need for that attitude. The name is ironic, but I suppose they took your sense of humour away when you had the personality bypass.
If you had read the post you would see that I am seeking help for a friend. I don't suppose you know what they are, with an attitude like that??

If you don't have anything constructive to say, don't say anything atall. Are you jealous at the prospect at someone being rich then??

Karrie

Christmasshopper wrote: »

Our appeal hearing isn't going so well.
We arrived just after 9am ready for the hearing to start at 9.30am. We were directed to a waiting room and told to sit and wait until we were called. At 9.50am the clerk to the appeals committee came to introduce himself and said they only had 2 panel members, he thought the 3rd one must think it starts at 10 O'clock. At 3 minutes past 10 he took us through to the council chambers which looked like a big court room and apologised for the delay. He said that they were expecting the 3rd member of the panel to arrive soon. Then he explained that the school would give their side and we would be allowed to ask questions afterwards. He then went out again and came back with 2 representitives from the school ( the head teacher and a govenor). Then we waited and waited and waited. I even heard the head teacher comment to the govenor that it was totally unfair on the parents!
Eventually, just as we were deciding whether to die of thirst or frustration, 3 panel members turned up and the hearing started.
The school claimed prejudice based on overcrowding, and class sizes. Then we were given the opportunity to ask questions. I asked how the school could claim overcrowding when they were operating below net capacity. The head teacher said it was the small classroom sizes that were the problem. She said we should have received copies of the audit which would proove that and didn't know why we hadn't.
I asked if they could only accomodate up to 30 children in a class were they experiencing any particular difficulties with a current class of 31 pupils. She replied that it was difficult to tell.
Then some parents asked for clarification on religious grounds for admission, which were clarified. And I asked if the PAN number had been reassessed since a new music block was built at the school and the answer was that it hadn't.
After this the panel members asked whether or not the pupils work individually or in pairs. The answer was, "pairs". And how many feeder schools are there. The answer was, "8".
Then the panel retired to another room. After a while the clerk came back to say that the panel had decided the school would be prejudiced by taking one additional child. So we would all have to go on to the individual element of our appeals.
I certainly don't think the school PROVED prejudice, which is what I thought they had to do. They CLAIMED it and the panel accepted their word without any proof.
I have to go back tomorrow for the individual element of the appeal tomorrow.

Really sorry it's not going well for you. The school I was appealing against used the same reasons. Small classes, busy corridors etc but their OFSTED report never suggested that any of these was affecting the childrens education in any way. Fantastic grades and results compared to the other school which wasn't overcrowded and had much better facilities. Parents brought up questions such as were there any accidents and if so where were the H&S reports and photos etc. The class sizes had been set at 27/28 and even the school admitted their govenors said they could take up to 30 per class. Did they show you copies of the audit seeing as though you hadn't received it? As they quoted to us prior to the appeal "posting is not confirmation of receipt and suggest you send it special delivery." Our school brought maps of the school and the class sizes but the parents didn't let that phase them.

I wish you all the luck for your appeal. Fingers crossed.

Karrie

Was there a legal representative on the panel? We had a panel of 3 AND a legal person to ensure it was carried out properly.

Karrie

Christmasshopper

How did it go today?

Christmasshopper

Karrie wrote: »

Christmasshopper

How did it go today?

Thanks for thinking of me Karrie.
It's difficult to tell how well it went, because I thought it had gone well yesterday until I heard the decision.
Today there were the same three panel members, the clerk and the school head teacher. We were in a smaller committee room today which was less intimidating than the big court room yesterday.
Everyone seemed to already be aware of the grounds for my appeal and gave me the opportunity to expand on it as much or as little as I liked. They gave the impression that they cared about what I said. Then they asked me and the head teacher some relevant questions. They wanted to know did the school have the facilities to deal with medical problems. The head teacher replied that they have a teaching assistant who is St John's Ambulance trained and the school is directly opposite a medical centre. She said if the teaching assistant thought it neccessary they would take a child across the road to see a doctor.
The panel also asked what would be the proceedure if a child with a medical problem needed urgent access to the toilet. The head teacher said there are already several children at the school who have the same need and they issue them with a card. Children with a card are allowed to leave the classroom whenever they need to without having to ask.
I asked the head teacher about access to drinking water and she told me that all the children are encouraged to drink water throughout the day.
My daughter needs regular access to drinking water and the toilet so this seemed to be quite positive.
The panel asked me did my daughter play out with other children in our street. I explained that there is one other little girl in our small cul-de-sac and our girls are best friends but the other girl will be transfering to secondary school in September as she is 11 and my daughter is only 8. They also wanted to know if I have any other children. I told them I have a 21 year old boy as well.
In the summing-up the head teacher said she wished my daughter well which ever school she went to and she was sorry we had had to go through the appeal proceedure. In previous years it had been unheard of for a child at a feeder school to not get in. This is the first year that the feeder school category has been over-subscribed.
As I left, one of the panel members said, " We do understand. We are parents too."
I don't know if I dare allow myself to feel optimistic. They will write to me to tell me the decision.

Karrie

How long do you have to wait for their decision? It must be awful not knowing. I really feel for you.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Christmasshopper

Karrie wrote: »

How long do you have to wait for their decision? It must be awful not knowing. I really feel for you.

Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

They will write to me before the weekend. If it's a positive decision I wan't the letter to come tomorrow. If it's a negative decision I want it to come on Saturday then I'll have time to get my house in order before I sink into a deep depression!
I can't believe how much this school appeal has taken over my life. The housework has been neglected, my hair needs cutting, the dog hasn't been for enough walks, the garden is over-grown. Every spare moment for weeks on end has been taken up by school appeal.

Karrie

Christmasshopper wrote: »

They will write to me before the weekend. If it's a positive decision I wan't the letter to come tomorrow. If it's a negative decision I want it to come on Saturday then I'll have time to get my house in order before I sink into a deep depression!
I can't believe how much this school appeal has taken over my life. The housework has been neglected, my hair needs cutting, the dog hasn't been for enough walks, the garden is over-grown. Every spare moment for weeks on end has been taken up by school appeal.

Just remember you have done all you can for your child. You did everything you can do so be proud of yourself for doing it. It is blooming hard work and like you, everything was pushed to the background and I sunk into a dark depression for which I am being treated at the moment. A friend of mine couldn't be bothered to appeal for her child because she was convinced that none of us would get in. Imagine how she's feeling now specially as her child wanted her to appeal.

I really hope you succeed in your appeal.

Christmasshopper

Today, on the way to the appeal, I was thinking of that episode of the Simpsons where Homer gave up his job at the nuclear power station then had to ask for his job back when Marge told him she was pregnant. Mr Burns put a sign up over Homer's workstation saying Remember You Are Here Forever. Homer covered it with pictures of his beautiful daughter and altered it to Do It For Her.:happyhear
I'm not sure if I was being sentimental or if I'm just losing my marbles.:D

Soph

We have our appeal next week, for my step son, who is 11 and who hasn't got into our 'only choice' school.
The reason it's our only choice school is not so much that there are strong medical or social needs for him to attend this school and no other, but more that we all feel that our school choice will give him far and away the best chance to develop to his full potential, as opposed to potentially falling behind both academically and socially if he goes to the school to which he has been allocated.
My step son is a very talented sportsman and shows great potential in this area, however, he has never been very strong academically and really needs to be pushed in this area. Having said that, he does enjoy maths and science and will work hard if he is challenged and motivated.
The school we wanted is has a very strong reputation for outstanding sports performance and has great facilities, which we feel will be essential to allow him to shine in his particular field, but at the same time give him as strong an academic education as possible.
However, the school where he has been allocated is currently in Ofsted special measures although the most recent report at the beginning of this year, does show some improvement (not enough). Although this school is also designated a sports college, it does not have a particularly good reputation for sports facilities and performance and we feel that there would be far less potential for achievement at this school. Also, there is a 'small but significant proportion' of disruptive and antisocial behavior at this school which we feel may have a detrimental affect on our step son - he can be very impressionable, easily led at times, and we feel that strong guidance would be beneficial, which shows as lacking at the allocated school.
The appeal papers for our preferred school basically states overcrowding as their argument for non-admittance, although they anticipate being 3 down on their net capacity.
Has anybody any advice on good questions, points to put across with regard to the capacity of the school?
Also, is the above reason a good one for appeal and has anyone any advice on how to word this so it is strong enough to withstand the school's argument?
Many many thanks for your help and good luck to everyone else who's going through this.