School appeals - help offered

Daisymoocow

Hello, all. I am unfortunately in the position of having to appeal after my daughter has been rejected from our preference school due to oversubscription. I strongly believe that we have a case for appeal as both myself and my husband attend the linked church and both of our children were baptised there. My daughter goes to Sunday school there and also attends the preschool. These grounds were part of the criteria for acceptance yet it doesn't seem to have been taken into account. I have written the start of an appeal letter and wondered if anyone with appeals knowledge would be so kind as to have a read and offer their opinions and help?


Thanks

peachyprice

The first thing you need to do is find out whether any children have been admitted based on any criteria lower on the admissions policy list than the criteria you fulfill.

You have to bear in mind that although you may meet some of the criteria you may not meet all of them whereas other children may have, so for example if the first deciding factor is a sibling attending the school, then attending church, pre-school and Sunday school other children with siblings at the school will be awarded places first, with other places going to children lower down the criteria list.

Only if the school has given places to children without adhering to the admissions policy will an appeal be successful.

susancs

Daisymoocow wrote: »

Hello, all. I am unfortunately in the position of having to appeal after my daughter has been rejected from our preference school due to oversubscription. I strongly believe that we have a case for appeal as both myself and my husband attend the linked church and both of our children were baptised there. My daughter goes to Sunday school there and also attends the preschool. These grounds were part of the criteria for acceptance yet it doesn't seem to have been taken into account. I have written the start of an appeal letter and wondered if anyone with appeals knowledge would be so kind as to have a read and offer their opinions and help?


Thanks

Daisy, the admissions critera you mention may have been applied in regard to your daughter's application, but other applicants may have met the critera better or had a higher priority on the criteria. For example our local faith based school has looked after baptised in the faith children as top priority and baptised children with sibilings in the school at the time of admission as the second priority. In the event of oversubcription siblings and children from multiple births had increased priority in each criteria. One year they had a large amount of siblings and a set of twins applying so there were very few places left for the third criteria which is baptised children, living in the parish of the church and regularly attending the church. As many met this criteria it eventually came down to distance from home to school for those few places. Of course if you know that other children have obtained places and they do not meet the admissions criteria as well as your child, then you would have a good case for an appeal on the grounds that the criteria was not correctly applied.

I would contact the school office and put your child on the waiting list for a place and check where your daughter is on this list on a regular basis. It may be that places become available nearer September due to children moving etc.

Spendless

Daisymoocow wrote: »

Hello, all. I am unfortunately in the position of having to appeal after my daughter has been rejected from our preference school due to oversubscription. I strongly believe that we have a case for appeal as both myself and my husband attend the linked church and both of our children were baptised there. My daughter goes to Sunday school there and also attends the preschool. These grounds were part of the criteria for acceptance yet it doesn't seem to have been taken into account. I have written the start of an appeal letter and wondered if anyone with appeals knowledge would be so kind as to have a read and offer their opinions and help?


Thanks

That is certainly a high criteria for some of the Church schools close to me, but you have to get it in writing from the Vicar/Priest confirming this is the case. Just saying you attend wouldn't be taken into consideration, not even if you never miss a service and always sit on the front pew. Did you read all the details in the criteria relating to Church attendance?

squashy

Ask the school for a copy of the admissions criteria and which one you have qualified under. If a category is oversubscribed it usually goes on distance. Do you live in the parish(es) associated with the school? If not, this could explain the lower ranking, even if you worship at the parish church. In my school, some families living in adjacent parishes have been unsuccessful this year, despite being practicing catholics.

Daisymoocow

Thank you all, included with the rejection letter was indeed a list of the criteria they used, as well as details of how many children were accepted under each criteria - there were 60 places available and it went like this:
*Children with siblings at the school - 21 accepted
*Children who attend the church ( or their parents) AND live within 0.75 miles - 2 accepted
*Children who live within 0.75 miles - 19 accepted
* Children who themselves or their parents regularly attend the church - 1 accepted
*Children who themselves or their parents regularly attend any other Church - 1 accepted
* Children of staff at the school - 0 accepted
* Children living closet to the school - 16 accepted ( furthest away was 1.65 miles)


In my opinion, my daughter should have been accepted under the criteria 'attendance at the church' - we have confirmation from the vicar who is also helping our appeal. This means that 17 children have been accepted who were further down the list of criteria than my daughter :-(

warehouse

Daisymoocow wrote: »

Thank you all, included with the rejection letter was indeed a list of the criteria they used, as well as details of how many children were accepted under each criteria - there were 60 places available and it went like this:
*Children with siblings at the school - 21 accepted
*Children who attend the church ( or their parents) AND live within 0.75 miles - 2 accepted
*Children who live within 0.75 miles - 19 accepted
* Children who themselves or their parents regularly attend the church - 1 accepted
*Children who themselves or their parents regularly attend any other Church - 1 accepted
* Children of staff at the school - 0 accepted
* Children living closet to the school - 16 accepted ( furthest away was 1.65 miles)


In my opinion, my daughter should have been accepted under the criteria 'attendance at the church' - we have confirmation from the vicar who is also helping our appeal. This means that 17 children have been accepted who were further down the list of criteria than my daughter :-(

How far away do you live?

Daisymoocow

3.5 miles away

balletshoes

Daisymoocow wrote: »

*Children who attend the church ( or their parents) AND live within 0.75 miles - 2 accepted


In my opinion, my daughter should have been accepted under the criteria 'attendance at the church' - we have confirmation from the vicar who is also helping our appeal. This means that 17 children have been accepted who were further down the list of criteria than my daughter :-(

Daisymoocow wrote: »

3.5 miles away

unfortunately not - the criteria you think applies to you only does so if you live less than 0.75 miles away from the school.

tiny_courageous

balletshoes wrote: »

unfortunately not - the criteria you think applies to you only does so if you live less than 0.75 miles away from the school.

would they not come under this one?

* Children who themselves or their parents regularly attend the church - 1 accepted

Which, assuming the list of criteria is in order of priority, would put them above

* Children living closet to the school - 16 accepted ( furthest away was 1.65 miles)

If that is the case it does look like the evidence of church attendance has been disregarded for some reason