School appeals - help offered

tracy1975

Hello,
Thanks heavens I've found this thread.

I am currently just starting out on the appeals process after my mid-year transfer appliction for my daughter was turned down on the grounds of overcrowding.

I have the latest copy of Ben Rooneys book which I have found very useful so far.

Figures from the edubase webite seem to show that there are currently fewer pupils in the school than the net capacity for the school.

I have written my statement to send in with the appeal form. Do you think 6 pages is too long?

Are you are still about Hayleyjg, if so would you mind if I was to pm you my appeal statement, so that you can give me you honest opinion on it?

Thanks
Tracy.

dogstarheaven

hi all

i'm writing this on behalf of my sister whose 4yo son was rejected by his 1st choice of primary school. this was based on him not being a catholic. i've looked at their admissions criterion, and found that you'd have to be catholic in order to get in. they also admitted christians too. she didn't get her 2nd choice originally, but was given a phone call from the LA and they confirmed that her 2nd choice was accepted. she would rather have her son at the catholic one due to his friends from nursery is going there. the intake is a good mix of ethnic groups and she feels her Chinese son would benefit from being there. the 2nd choice is an all-white school (from out of catchment) and has a good reputation too but his friends wouldn't be there, and she feels that it;ll be hard for him to adjust.

how would i be able to base my appeal against the LA on this matter, if the criteria is based solely on religion? or do i not stand a chance at all?

many thanks in advance .... the deadline for the appeal is this friday, 6th!

sal-ad_daze

tracy1975 wrote: »

Hello,
Thanks heavens I've found this thread.

I am currently just starting out on the appeals process after my mid-year transfer appliction for my daughter was turned down on the grounds of overcrowding.

I have the latest copy of Ben Rooneys book which I have found very useful so far.

Figures from the edubase webite seem to show that there are currently fewer pupils in the school than the net capacity for the school.

I have written my statement to send in with the appeal form. Do you think 6 pages is too long?

Are you are still about Hayleyjg, if so would you mind if I was to pm you my appeal statement, so that you can give me you honest opinion on it?

Thanks
Tracy.

Tracy,
If the year group that your daughter is admitted to is on it's Planned Admission Number (PAN) then the LA will argue that admitting any more to that year group is 'prejudicial to the efficient use of rescources' as overcrowding the year prejudices the quality of education.
You do have an easier argument if other year groups are under PAN meaning that, say, a school with a total admission number of 1200 actually has 1000 on role then, even though your daughters' year group is full, there are 200 less bods in the school IYKWIM.
They won't want to dwell on that, they will emphasise that your daughters year group is full and talk about the H&S aspects of that ie Technical and practical rooms that can only house so many bodies.
You need to ensure that you emphasise how your daughter's welfare is affected and how, with the whole school being below number, there will be no disruption in adding one more to the role.

HTH

Pooky

Afternoon all

Ok - tis that time to start my DD's appeal for secondary school. She failed the Kent test and only missed out on the schools own entry test by 1% (which equates to 3 questions), her grades from last year were pretty poor but she really matured and her work has come on leaps and bounds. Her head teacher is unwilling to help, he can only work on the Kent test results but her current class teacher is adamant that a Grammar placement would be best for her. Her grades are now in the 4a/5's. Her teacher has included her on all the "booster" sessions that the school have run for those going off to a Grammar school and these show that she's on par with the other kids.

The schools main criteria is firstly, passing the test, secondly, having a sibling at the school. Our eldest daughter is already there and doing well.

I've never done an appeal before so not quite sure what I need to include...

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

hoochi

Hi everyone

i was wanting any advice if possible for my sons appeal story goes, he was living at the other end of the country with his mum and was being bullied badly so much that the school referred him to speak to a councilor /phsychologist as hes withdrawn, depressed and lacks confidence now, after much deliberation he has come to live with me i have applied to a school which his cousin attends and been refused as its full i was hoping due to his circumstances moving up here, emotional wellbeing and the fact he only knows his cousin in the whole town would benefit me in my appeal also the school have allowed other children in on appeals i have heard, i have tried ringing the admissions for the pan but no one seems to help iv read the rooney book but dont understand how to get all the information im new to all this computer stuff never mind parenting itself (have not lived with my son for 12yrs but did have regular contact with him) so really dnt want to ruin my sons chances as im hoping this will be a new start and help him to make new friends and get over the past, any advice would be appreciated.

HappySad

Read previous threads and a charity called ACE can offer help. Hope this helps

hoochi

thank you so much i will try them

sal-ad_daze

Pooky wrote: »

Afternoon all

Ok - tis that time to start my DD's appeal for secondary school. She failed the Kent test and only missed out on the schools own entry test by 1% (which equates to 3 questions), her grades from last year were pretty poor but she really matured and her work has come on leaps and bounds. Her head teacher is unwilling to help, he can only work on the Kent test results but her current class teacher is adamant that a Grammar placement would be best for her. Her grades are now in the 4a/5's. Her teacher has included her on all the "booster" sessions that the school have run for those going off to a Grammar school and these show that she's on par with the other kids.

The schools main criteria is firstly, passing the test, secondly, having a sibling at the school. Our eldest daughter is already there and doing well.

I've never done an appeal before so not quite sure what I need to include...

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

First question, if you daughter is on par with the other kids who passed the test, can you think of any reason why she didn't perform well on the actual tests. Migraine, PMT, illness of any kind. Pressure from other areas, stress, bullying, emotional pressures. Anything that could have affected how she performed.
You can establish that she knows the work ethic of the school as her sister is already there and is capable of coping with it you just need to work out why she didn't perform as well as she should have done 'on the day'.
Push the sibling connection, how the two girls are looking forward to going to school together.
I don't know Kent so don't really know how their system works, I can only tell you what we look for in our area.
You'll have a better chance if the school hasn't filled with girls who've reached the standard (this can happen some years).
Hope that helps a little.

sal-ad_daze

hoochi wrote: »

Hi everyone

i was wanting any advice if possible for my sons appeal story goes, he was living at the other end of the country with his mum and was being bullied badly so much that the school referred him to speak to a councilor /phsychologist as hes withdrawn, depressed and lacks confidence now, after much deliberation he has come to live with me i have applied to a school which his cousin attends and been refused as its full i was hoping due to his circumstances moving up here, emotional wellbeing and the fact he only knows his cousin in the whole town would benefit me in my appeal also the school have allowed other children in on appeals i have heard, i have tried ringing the admissions for the pan but no one seems to help iv read the rooney book but dont understand how to get all the information im new to all this computer stuff never mind parenting itself (have not lived with my son for 12yrs but did have regular contact with him) so really dnt want to ruin my sons chances as im hoping this will be a new start and help him to make new friends and get over the past, any advice would be appreciated.

HappySad is right, firstly get yourself some help and support, ACE is exaclty the place to go. Also find out if there is a parent partnership in your area, they will also offer help and support.
Is the school your relative is at a Faith or Foundation school, by this I mean do they run their own admissions or do the Local Authority do it?
If you can access your Local Authorities website you should be able to find the PAN listed there, but they should have sent you an information pack of some sort about admissions to secondary schools.
When you go to appeal you must emphasise the reasons why your son is moving to be with you, get as much official information as you can from his mum, the school, GP and any other specialists he has seen. Written reports that can be submitted as evidence. You then need to emphasise strongly the need for family support where he now lives, is he seeing anyone here, GP, councillor, social worker? Get them on board and get written reports from them.
Hopefully the panel will be sympathetic to the trauma and upheaval your son has been through and will allow the place.
I'll try to help in any way I can.

hoochi

thank you for the information no its not A faith school the lea sort admissions we do have a parent partnership in mt authority i wasnt sure i could go to them as he isnt in a school yet, hes registered with the doctors and has an appointment next tuesday so try and get some help there and see if they will refer him to a councillor here also can i legally keep him of school while the appeal goes though as they have offered him another school or does he have to attend that school untill the outcome is made cheers