School appeals - help offered

Bubby

shaki02 wrote: »

Hi

thanks for the replay..

Yes, My neighbour kids got admission becouse they are in the nursary. we didn't be becouse we send her to different nursary( fulltime requirement). The school only runs 1/2 day nursary and we can't as working parents.
Now they are delaying setting up the appeal process.. giving me all sorts of reason from resignation to we don't have resources.. will keep pushing them, what else we can do:(

Regards...

The only way you will be successful at appeal for the first class of primary school is if they have acted unfaily i.e as someone else has suggested they admitted someone in a lower catergory than yourselves. I would find out this information first then decide where you stand.

Bubby

summer_born wrote: »

hi there, we were told we're outside the catchment area of our school by 0.007 miles(nearly 10 meters).

also, we're not offered a place in the other 3 schools that were on our list, but instead offered a school which is 2.2 miles. as we both are working we've declined this offer and have decided to appeal.

any tips for a successful appeal will be much appreciated. we're going to argue that we should have been offered a place at a school within walking distance and that this is going to break our links with the local community. any other ideas? many thanks.

I am no expert but from what I have read if they allocate you a school which is further than x miles (you can find out what this is from your lea) they need to provide school transport. I don't think the fact that they haven't allocated you a school in your local community will be reason for appeal unless they have acted unfairly.

abtch

Hello
We moved to the new house in March 2007, before moving into the new house, we needed to choose the school for our child, we asked the local authority that we are in the shifting process, can we choose the school nearer to the new house as our 1st choice. They refused to allow us to choose that school as we had no IDs for the new address, but they said just choose the school nearer to curent house now and when you complete your shifting process and get your new IDs just make an appeal and they will consider it positively.
But when we applied for the place in school nearer to new address after we've shifted, the school had no space, we made an appeal and it was unsuccessful. Now for year 3 we want to appeal again. can you please guide us in this matter keeping our position in mind.
The school our child is going for last 3 years is more than 4 miles away and the school we want to appeal is on same road as we live i.e less than 1/4 of a mile.
regards

Savvy_Sue

I think the key question to ask is whether the school you WANT your child to go to for Year 3 has spaces. I think - and I could be wrong - that the class size is slightly less restricted at this stage, but I'd start by asking if they have spaces, and then ask what to do if there is.

If there is no space, I am not sure that you would have any strong grounds for an appeal, but I could be wrong.

msb5262

Classes in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 (nursery, reception, year 1 and year 2) are restricted by law to 30 children.
From Key Stage 2 (years 3-6), there is no upper limit for class sizes. The only restriction is the number of spaces available in the school as a whole.
If a school has a standard admission number of 30 in each year - and many do - there will usually be 30 x (number of year groups in school) places in the school.
In a junior school, that would be 30 x 4 = 120.
In a school with reception, infant and junior classes, it would be 30 x 7 = 210.
If I want to send my child to a school with 210 places, unless there are already 210 children in the school I should be able to get a place.
The only exception would be if I wanted a place in reception or KS1, because if all the foundation and infant classes were already at 30, my child would not be admitted.
If my child needed a place in Year 4, the school could admit my child even if there were already 30 children in that class as long as the overall number of places in the school had not been exceeded.
Reading this through, it looks about as clear as mud but I do know what I mean!
HTH
MsB

mparryw

Hi all

We are moving to a house were the nearest (and most favourable School) is 0.4m as indicated by the Surrey County Council mapping database. We have been refused a place by the school and been allocated a school some 1.4m away, which by the councils mapping database takes 45 minutes to walk (across dual carriageway) or requires a 15min drive in commuting traffic.

Due to the speed of the house sale, we have not been able to apply for a position at the school in the normal timescales and therefore be considered for a place along with everyone else.

Our daughter although not condsiderated to have any specific Educational needs, has been diagnosed as having difficulties with her 'working memory'. As such we have paid for 18 months of private tuturage, one lesson per week. The stat results indicate she is achieving the expected standard for the year group. We have obtained a letter from this registered tutoring which clearly indicates, she requires stability. This will not happen if she changed school mid term if any places becomes available in our closest, preferred school.

Both of us communte for work to central London and are thus tied to the use of the overground rail system. If our preferred school was given, we would only need 8 minutes to walk her to school and a further 10 minutes to walk (same direction) to the train station.
The current allocated school, would required the 15min drive to school, 5 minute drop off and a further 15 min drive back to park the car at home (no parking near Rail station) and then a 12min walk to station, totalling 47min . . . compared to an 18minute walk (No car !). This longer jounrey involving the car would also require us leaving work earlier in the day to colelect her.
Neither of our current employee's can shoulder such a reduction in our contracted hours.
Could someone advise as to whether on grounds of our daughters schooling requirements and our/her transport issues/times to school stand any chance at appeal?

Savvy_Sue

Welcome to the boards: I'm afraid your transport issues are no grounds at all, and I doubt if your daughter's schooling requirements would be strong grounds, because after all very few children WOULDN'T benefit from stability.

However, the first thing to establish is whether your preferred school COULD take your daughter. And that depends on how many children they currently have, in which classes, and the age of your daughter.

If you read the post above yours it's very clear what the different 'rules' are at primary level.

Phone the school and ask, and also ask if there is already a waiting list for children your daughter's age, and ask for her to be put on it, even if she's not top of it. If she is top of it, ask if the school generally has a stable population or whether they are aware of anyone who might be moving over the summer: sometimes schools know a child MIGHT be leaving but cannot offer the place to anyone else until that's been confirmed in writing.

Blitzy

Hi all , I have an appeal next week for my daughter to swap to a different school at the beginning of her 2nd year of secondary school and am in need of advice. Ive read the books ive asorbed as much information as i can am i am doubting my descion to appeal is worthy. My daughter has been at senior school since last september and its been 'frought' to say the least. Shes been grouped with a class that wont behave and it has really made a mockery of the teaching. We have had inconsistant teachers(even some refusing to teach the group) blanket lunchtime detentions even though she did nothing and the teachers knew as well , i have been on the phone and made a nuiscance of myself times many and the school has lost heart it seems. Final straw came when the guidance manager made an off the record comment ' what can we expect from the area?' I found this offensive as my wife went there (shes now a higly ranked midwife) my best friend went there and hes a degree with honrs guy so I decided enough was enough and tried to move her only to find the school we wanted was full(i expected it). We where drawn to the school shes currently in by big suits and quick talking in a big presentation, a decison i now regret and i feel ive let my daughter down badly. The schhol we want are happy to take this to appeal and they are fighting on the grounds of over subscription which i know is a hard 1 to fight. I have no legal represeentation and feel this could fall apart horribly. Ive read that its not a good practice to use her current school as leverage in the argument and now i feel that this may be my only option. Please help i have 6 days before i go into the 'den'.
Thx in advance

bunty109

Blitzy wrote: »

Hi all , I have an appeal next week for my daughter to swap to a different school at the beginning of her 2nd year of secondary school and am in need of advice. Ive read the books ive asorbed as much information as i can am i am doubting my descion to appeal is worthy. My daughter has been at senior school since last september and its been 'frought' to say the least. Shes been grouped with a class that wont behave and it has really made a mockery of the teaching. We have had inconsistant teachers(even some refusing to teach the group) blanket lunchtime detentions even though she did nothing and the teachers knew as well , i have been on the phone and made a nuiscance of myself times many and the school has lost heart it seems. Final straw came when the guidance manager made an off the record comment ' what can we expect from the area?' I found this offensive as my wife went there (shes now a higly ranked midwife) my best friend went there and hes a degree with honrs guy so I decided enough was enough and tried to move her only to find the school we wanted was full(i expected it). We where drawn to the school shes currently in by big suits and quick talking in a big presentation, a decison i now regret and i feel ive let my daughter down badly. The schhol we want are happy to take this to appeal and they are fighting on the grounds of over subscription which i know is a hard 1 to fight. I have no legal represeentation and feel this could fall apart horribly. Ive read that its not a good practice to use her current school as leverage in the argument and now i feel that this may be my only option. Please help i have 6 days before i go into the 'den'.
Thx in advance

Blitzy, it's a while since I read all the appeals stuff but I am pretty sure that there is something in Ben Rooney's book about detriment to your daughter - you need to argue it would cause a bigger detriment to her to not get the place at the school you want than for them to take her and have one extra pupil.

Also, see if you can get their published admission numbers and then actual numbers for the number of children they have in her year: it might be that they would only go one over their PANs and that and the detriment argument might be one to take.

I haven't done this, and I am no expert, but it might be one tack to take....

redstararnie76

Hi,
Can anyone give me some advice please?

I'm in the process of buying a house. My daughter is 5 and has just started in reception in September in a village school, which is out the other side of town, around 12 miles away from where we will be living (and around 30 min drive). It is also the complete opposite direction to both my husband and my work places.

I've been advised to complete an in-year transfer form for the school in the village where we are moving, less than half a mile walk from the new house. I can't yet apply, as I'm currently waiting for an exchange date and I need that first to apply.

I'm worried as I rang the nearest school to find out more about them and to arrange to visit, but they apparently are over subscribed by 2 children already. There are several other schools in the area, one 1.7 miles away and another 2.2 miles away. I've rung and spoken to both of these and they are also over-subscribed. I tried to speak to our local council, but all they would tell me to do is to fill in the form when I have an exchange date.

Can anyone tell me what is likely to happen if they are all over-subscribed? I've looked on the council's website and all I can find is;
'If a child is moving into a particular school's catchment area and needs a place other than for the intake year group, living in the catchment area does not necessarily guarantee a place at that school if all places have already been allocated. This is particularly true in the urban areas of the county, where it is very likely an alternative school with places will be available within the Statutory Walking Distance of the new home address.

The Statutory Walking Distance is defined by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (external link) as up to 2 miles for children under 8 and up to 3 miles for children over 8. This is the distance the local authority has to work to in considering whether another school can provide a place. How a child actually gets too and from school is the responsibility of the parent. Children living more than this distance from their catchment or nearest school may be entitled to transport assistance.'

Obviously I understand that I'm not automatically allocated a place if a school is over-subscribed, but what happens if all the schools in the area are over-subscribed? They claim 'that it is likely' that they will allocate a school within 2 miles, but if that isn't possible, will they just look at the next nearest and so on, and disregard that 2 mile advice?

Thanks for reading and I would appreciate any advice, as this is starting to become a real concern.