School appeals - help offered

JoJoArmani

I guess it depends why she was offered a place in the first place - which criteria category she was in.

I guess you don't have any other children at the school? Therefore she would have been in the lower ranking category (unless it is a Catholic school?) and been allocated a place based on distance to the school.

I had to enclose proof of address when I accepted my youngest daughters place, so presumably anyone who is not at the address on their application can be reviewed and loose their place.

It does seem unfair, but then again you must now live further away from school and someone closer has a higher claim to the place. Shame you didn't wait until September to move but such is life!

I know how gutting it is not to get the school you want - my middle daughter has to go to a different school to her sisters - but the school she goes to I thought was rough to be honest - but it isn't. The children have much better manners than at the "better" school - the school trips are more frequent and a fraction of the price - plus the class size is half that of the "better" school.

So, you may be surprised at what a school in a poorer area can offer!

Good luck with it all xxx

Spendless

Check what is said in the details about school admissions for your area. Here the address that is taken into account is the one you are resident at on the last day for applications, so it would make no difference if you'd moved a day later, but would be taken into account if you'd moved on the day or before.

Erin08

Spendless wrote: »

Check what is said in the details about school admissions for your area. Here the address that is taken into account is the one you are resident at on the last day for applications, so it would make no difference if you'd moved a day later, but would be taken into account if you'd moved on the day or before.

Thats intresting. What area are you in. If that was the case here I would be fine, i need to get my hands on the the admissions book and have a good read. Due to the move i am unable to find the one they sent me.

peachyprice

You should be able to get a pdf verion online, check youe LEA website.

Spendless

Erin08 wrote: »

Thats intresting. What area are you in. If that was the case here I would be fine, i need to get my hands on the the admissions book and have a good read. Due to the move i am unable to find the one they sent me.

I'm in South Yorkshire. As said above, look on your council's website to see if you can read the small print online. Or see if anyone you know still has a copy. It's not a school that sets its own criteria is it, like a Faith school or a foundation one, as that may make a difference to what the LEA says about moving house between application and place offers.

Inti

A complex issue I have and I am hoping that someone can help?
My son is currently at boarding school and is coming towards the end of Year 7.
Last year, when we applied for state schools we did not get any of his 3 preferences, we lost out to the lottery system, which I do believe is a fair, but your opinion is tested somewhat when it does not work out for your child.
Anyway, the state school he got offered was a no-brainer - I am a supply teacher and have colleagues who have worked there and quit after a day. To his credit, my son did the taster day and was adamant that he did not want to attend. We also appealed for his first preference state school on academic grounds and lost.
We then had to move pretty quickly to find him a school and the only option left was private school. We looked at a day school, but since we had missed the bursary deadline, we would have had to pay full fees. Not an option, we don’t have that kind of money. So my OH looked into boarding schools. We found one 20 mins away and a great school. I had my reservations about this type of schooling, but we had to give every option an opportunity. Our son did a boarding trial, passed the entrance exam and scored very well and based upon that they offered us a generous bursary. He has worked hard academically since he started last September, but he has never settled in particularly well. We are now finding him a very sullen and depressed child, very different to how he was before. He is desperately homesick for his family and becomes very anxious, often to the point of refusal, about returning after school breaks/hols. The school has policies to help pupils adjust to boarding life, but in practice the kids just say nothing. Many of the kids there are from the upper classes where boarding is an expectation of them. Why not, their parents did it? There seems to be an unwritten rule of keeping quiet about how homesick you are so they clam it up and don’t talk about it. The school just tell us that in time he will adjust and that we should reinforce the positive factors to him. Which we do. My son wrote me a letter last week. Quote: “I miss being at home where I can have a normal life with normal people. I’d rather die than be here”.
We need to address this now and look at finding an alternative local school. The school I would like to place him in is a faith school. Having worked there on a temp contract I know that it will support his needs. I am talking in the spiritual as well as social sense. I know that the pupils won’t judge him or bully him for coming from a boarding school. He will not get that at any other school. Technically we are not a church going family, but since my son began boarding, we see him every Sunday at chapel service. I contacted the admissions team at the faith school to see if this attendance would qualify us, and sadly, it doesn’t because the worship is not open for all to attend.
The only other option is to appeal on social grounds. Here is the blurb from the schools admissions policy:
The governors will allocate places to children:
- without any reference to ability, aptitude or ethnic background;
- according to the Admissions Policy;
- up to the stated admission number (204).
1. Children in the care of the Local Authority
2. Social and medical needs (up to 4 places)
Children whom the governors accept have exceptional medical or social needs. Applications will only be considered under this category if they are supported by a written statement from a medical consultant, senior social worker or educational psychologist. In each case there must be a clear connection between the child’s need and ******School, and an explanation of the difficulties that would be caused if the child were to attend another school. If more than four students qualify under this criterion then the tie-breaker will be used.”
3. Religious Criteria
So my question is this. I think that we would have a good case on compassionate grounds (which do not exist in the criteria) but I am unsure of how to make the social grounds case? We have emails between ourselves and the boarding school about his ‘settling issues’. Would I need the help of an educational psychologist to assess him? It seems that I do considering the ‘exceptional’ wording in the criteria.
I can’t make much about his academic abilities, they are pretty irrelevant. I just need to get across that this school will suit the needs of a pretty desperate and unhappy kid (without me getting emotional). A tough call.
Any help greatly appreciated. X

Savvy_Sue

Have you checked whether this school would have room for him in year 8? If their PAN is 204, and they are already over subscribed, then it's a more difficult job than if their PAN is 204 and they co-incidentally only have 203 pupils going into year 8.

Savvy_Sue

Also, temporary home schooling?

flea72

you have to find a link between your son's social needs and this school

by removing your son from boarding school you are meeting his social needs. this would in turn mean he should be happy at any school if he lived at home - so the fact he hates boarding school is not a social reason why he should attend your chosen school

tbh, if it wasnt a faith school, you might stand more of a chance, but the 'religious criteria' card means they dont have to let your child in

i also dont understand your comment about bullying. a child can be bullied at any school whether its faith, boarding, grammar or comp. its how the school deal with it that matters.

F

Inti

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Have you checked whether this school would have room for him in year 8? If their PAN is 204, and they are already over subscribed, then it's a more difficult job than if their PAN is 204 and they co-incidentally only have 203 pupils going into year 8.

Hey Sue,
Thanks for the chat. Appreciate it.
I got him on the waiting list last year as a precaution. I was working there on maternity cover teacher for a good while. In fact the day I started was School Allocation day. So that was day one of a new teaching post plus the bad news about his school. What a day! I was advised by HOD to have a go at an appeal, she had appealed to have her son at the school and won. I asked for the paperwork and then, with my professional head on, decided to focus on the school he wanted as first choice for appeal, not this one (it was not one of our 3 original preferences anyway). I couldn't cope with 2 appeals and teach F/T.
I have found out last week that he is now 2nd on the waiting list, but as its faith, someone can jump ahead of him on criteria. The focus I would like to make in my appeal is that his current boarding school QUOTE: "is a Christian school which aims to present the Christian faith to all pupils and use the teachings of Jesus Christ as a basis for their moral and spiritual development. Prayers in the morning and church on Sunday are central to the life of the school". That's what he has now. I would expect him to have something comparable in a new school if he left there.
He could sit on this waiting list or I could appeal. I don't really see that I have anything to lose. I just want him content in his education.
Regarding the PAN, funnily enough it is 204 and they have 204 in current year 7. However year groups above have 6-7 more in them, proving that they have accommodated more despite their admissions policy. Appeals have been successful. School overcrowding is going to become more of an issue for the future with the intro of compulsory schooling to age 18. More pupils at 6th form? How will schools prioritise then? Wish I knew.