School appeals - help offered

silvercar

You have a problem that faces many of us. The popular schools are full and have waiting lists. It is a particular problem in rural areas. Due to government rules,, schools are very reluctant to increase class sizes and if there is no spaces then you may well not get a place. The local authority will allocate you the nearest school with a place. That could well be a distance from your new home. Transport to school policies vary. It used to be that if you were more than 2 miles ( 3 miles for over 8's) you were entitled to free transport. With cuts in spending there are restrictions and some education authorities are almost means testing this.

The bottom line is that they will allocate you somewhere and it could well be the nearest school with a place and that could fall miles from your home.

redstararnie76

Thanks Silvercar - I wondered if that might be the case.
It's far from ideal, but I wonder if we should try and keep her where she is and just try and cope somehow. It means that my husband will take around an hour and a half to get to work in the mornings, instead of about 30 minutes

headcrash27

Hi all, Just wondered if anyone could give me any advice about how the admissions process works? We have to apply online on the 1st November and the school in our catchment area is unable to show us around the school until the 2nd! Will i loose out at all by not applying until the 2nd Nov or do they not take into account the time/date order that people have applied? I realise that there are other subscription criteria but i thought that once that had been applied it would probably be down to a first come first served for candidates in the same position. Does anyone know if this is the case? I've tried to find out online but it's just so confusing and i'm really stressed out about the whole thing.

flea72

headcrash27 wrote: »

Hi all, Just wondered if anyone could give me any advice about how the admissions process works? We have to apply online on the 1st November and the school in our catchment area is unable to show us around the school until the 2nd! Will i loose out at all by not applying until the 2nd Nov or do they not take into account the time/date order that people have applied? I realise that there are other subscription criteria but i thought that once that had been applied it would probably be down to a first come first served for candidates in the same position. Does anyone know if this is the case? I've tried to find out online but it's just so confusing and i'm really stressed out about the whole thing.

there is no first come, first served criteria. as long as you apply by the cut-off date for applications, you stand the same chance, as someone who put their application in, within 1 second of the process opening

what you need to find out, is what your catchment schools application criteria is, as that will give you a better understanding on whether you stand any chance or not - living in catchment, unfortunately, isnt a guarantee to a place, if that is way down on the selection criteria

F

flea72

redstararnie76 wrote: »

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

once you have moved (most schools wont allow you to get your name on the list, until they have written proof you own the property), then put in an application to change to your local school

yes, they cant give you a place now as they are full, but depending on the schools selection criteria, it may mean you jump to the top of the list, above the two children already on the waiting list, should a place become available

tbh, for the inconvenience of driving across town to her current school i would prob put up with it, rather than trying to change to somewhere nearer, and then change again, should a place become available at your local school, its just too unsettling

class sizes are pretty much non moveable at reception age, but once you hit juniors, the sizes arent so set in stone, and going a few over isnt such a big deal. so by putting your name on the list now, you could force them to take her at year 3. which may seem years away now, but honestly, flies by

also keep ringing the school, and checking the situation, as some are pretty lax at letting people know, someone has left the school, and a place has become available

F

silvercar

headcrash27 wrote: »

Hi all, Just wondered if anyone could give me any advice about how the admissions process works? We have to apply online on the 1st November and the school in our catchment area is unable to show us around the school until the 2nd! Will i loose out at all by not applying until the 2nd Nov or do they not take into account the time/date order that people have applied? I realise that there are other subscription criteria but i thought that once that had been applied it would probably be down to a first come first served for candidates in the same position. Does anyone know if this is the case? I've tried to find out online but it's just so confusing and i'm really stressed out about the whole thing.

If you miss the cut-off deadline you will be put at the bottom of the list and won't stand a chance unless the school can't fill all its places.

JC9297

headcrash27 wrote: »

Hi all, Just wondered if anyone could give me any advice about how the admissions process works? We have to apply online on the 1st November and the school in our catchment area is unable to show us around the school until the 2nd! Will i loose out at all by not applying until the 2nd Nov or do they not take into account the time/date order that people have applied? I realise that there are other subscription criteria but i thought that once that had been applied it would probably be down to a first come first served for candidates in the same position. Does anyone know if this is the case? I've tried to find out online but it's just so confusing and i'm really stressed out about the whole thing.

To be honest it would put me off if a school wasn't willing to show prospective parents around before the application deadline, it sounds very odd to me. Surely they should want people to visit the school to see if it is the right school for their child. The head at the school I work in (who is always very busy) is regularly showing parents round at the moment. Are there other schools nearby that you are considering, if so go and visit them.

You must make sure you apply by 1st November or you will be given a place at whichever school has places after all the people who applied by the deadline are allocated places.

flea72

JC9297 wrote: »

To be honest it would put me off if a school wasn't willing to show prospective parents around before the application deadline, it sounds very odd to me. Surely they should want people to visit the school to see if it is the right school for their child. The head at the school I work in (who is always very busy) is regularly showing parents round at the moment. Are there other schools nearby that you are considering, if so go and visit them.

You must make sure you apply by 1st November or you will be given a place at whichever school has places after all the people who applied by the deadline are allocated places.

i think as this is a primary school application, the 1st November, is the day you can apply from, not the date you need to have applied by, so viewing on the 2nd wont have any adverse affect

F

russco_pico

russco_pico wrote: »

hi, recently found out my son has not been successful in getting into our preferred choice, hence we want to appeal and these are our points of why we are appealing!

1) my son is cared for by my parents who live 5min walk to the school and in the catchment area for the school in question, my parents have no access to transport and walk him to and from pre- school which is part of the school and would have to walk 4 miles to the school they have allocated us which yes is closer to my house but not my sons carers.Myself and wife work full time so my son regularly stays the night and i would say lives there for 70% of the week.

2)My house is currently on the market to sell and then we will be moving into the catchment area as this would make it easier for dropping my son off before we go to work which is often before 07.00am.

pls can anyone tell me if i have any chance!!!

hello all, i would just like to let you all know that after months of upset and uncertainty, we won our appeal and my son got into our preferred choice of school even though there was 13 on the waiting list and of which some were in the catchment area!! The appeal was quite daunting but luckily for us the 2 appeals before us decided not to bother turning up and also the guy representing the LEA was not fully prepared for our onslaught and the panel went in our favour!:D

I must say we took advice from a company called Schools Appeals.com who were very very good indeed and yes it wasnt cheap but worth every penny. They held a phone call with us to to start with and we also paid extra for them to write our appeal for us but like i say these people deal with this situation every day and know what to say and how to say it!! for instance i was looking at the situation from a mum and dad point of veiw but they said that they are not interested in you they are interested in your sons schooling hence we used different avenues to appeal against. personally if you really want to give yourselves the best chance of winning your appeal this is the way to go!! My son has now been at school for over 2 months and loves it so for all you people who might have to appeal in future there is hope and do your research google is the best thing ever created !!! all the best russco pico

loveandlight

Well done russco pico. I know the euphoria you are feeling as I too won an appeal in May this year and I just wish that every parent could have their children go to a good school. It just isn't fair at all.

Unfortunately we didn't have any money to spend on getting any help and to be honest I would say if you have the money definitely spend it on getting help as it is worth it but if you don't then it really doesn't matter as you can still win by submitting a well thought out written statement. Both the appeal panel and the LEA all congratulated me on the written statement I gave them and they said how well thought out it was and they wished other parents would present their statements the same way. It was that that won it as the spotlight remained firmly on the LEA then and I was hardly asked any questions at all.

I don't know whether you are allowed to do this but if anyone wants a copy of my statement you can just pm me and I'll send you a copy so at least you'll have the framework and you'll just need to make it your own. I know what its like to have no money to get appeal help and how bad that makes you feel as a parent especially as you feel bad enough at having to fight to get them into a good school in the first place.