How you can win your school appeal
The Government’s announcement this week that parents who have not got their child into their first-choice school should appeal promises to cause mayhem in educational establishments throughout the country.
I should know, because I teach in a top-achieving comprehensive in outer London. In the past, parents angry that their child has failed to gain a place have phoned sobbing, shouted abuse at staff and, in one extreme case, staggered around drunk on the premises raging against the “injustice” of the system.
During the research for my book Parent Power — The Parents’ Guide to Getting the Best Education for Your Child, I spoke to a number of parents whose children had been rejected by popular schools. They all told me about their bitter disappointment. Most of them felt that their child’s life would be harmed if he or she attended the school they had been offered. Many of them followed the Government’s current advice and appealed against the decision.
Then their fun really began. Mounting a “school appeal” is a time-consuming and nerve-racking business. Furthermore, contrary to government propaganda, statistics show that it is often unproductive: roughly one fifth of appeals do not succeed. This is largely because many parents mount emotional appeals that their child needs a place because he likes the look of one school over another, or because his best friend goes to the school, or because he is too clever to go to a poorer-performing school.
These reasons will never succeed because they are not based on what are known as a school’s “admissions criteria”, the rules by which it chooses its pupils. If a parent’s appeal is going to succeed, he or she must prove that the school did not apply its admissions criteria correctly or that the problems faced by the child in going to another school outweigh the trouble for the school in admitting the child.
A third of completed applications are faulty: forms are not filled in fully, vital questions are incorrectly answered, crucial evidence is not provided. The net result may be that a child is not offered a place simply because bamboozled parents have not mastered the bureaucracy of the process.
It is crucial to read the guidance issued by the school to the letter: one tiny slip-up can mean rejection.
Usually, the school or local authority website provides all the relevant details.
Above all, your appeal will need to show that your child does indeed meet the school’s admissions criteria. I have known parents measure the distance between the school and their home with rulers to show that they do indeed live within the catchment area. Other parents trying to get their child into faith-based schools pester their religious leaders for detailed references, in some cases attempting to butter them up with “donations”. In one case, a parent actually pretended to be a pastor in order to get his child into a Christian school.
My advice is always to be honest but put absolutely everything you can think of into your appeal. This could mean showing that your child has aptitude in the school’s “specialisms”, such as drama or sports, or that your child would benefit immeasurably from the unique curriculum the school offers, or that he has special educational needs that can only be catered for at your preferred school. With religious schools some are vague, just asking for evidence that you are practising in that faith. Others are much more hard-nosed, demanding proof of regular church attendance for at least two years. Appeals are not adjudicated by the school or local education authority, but independent “lay” people, usually drawn from the local community. They will consider all parents’ points, including those not part of the school’s admissions criteria. If there are “special considerations” you will need to spell them out fully. I have known of parents who have confessed at appeal meetings that they are ill or disabled, which means their child needs to go a school which is easily accessible by train or bus but not necessarily the closest school, and have succeeded with their appeal. The panel has the power to ignore a school’s admissions criteria.
However, parents do have to bear in mind that they are the biggest single influence upon a child’s results and happiness. A huge amount of systematic and reliable research has shown that children will do well at more or less any school if they are supported positively by their parents.
229 comments
your comment
Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/sites/francisgilbert.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/themes/francisgilbert/comments.php on line 48
Hi Francis
I am moving 100 miles away to live closer to my parents. I have two children, one in nursery and another in year 2 and I feel the change will be good for us all as we feel very isolated. After ringing the admissions team and doing some research it seems every school in the preferred area is over subscribed. I am really worried as the one school where my nieces and nephews attend was ideally my first choice school but I’ve currently no chance. I hope to find work and was relying on my sisters to help with school run as their children attend sais school.
My older son is painfully shy, was selectively mute in nursery and tends to develop tics at the start of every academic year since. They are anxiety related and he struggles greatly with change. However he is not SEN so have no written evidence to show in case of an appeal. Could I still use this?
Hi I am hoping you can advise.
My youngest son (H) has and EHCP and he has downs syndrome. We applied to the school we felt could best meet his needs although it is 5 mile from our home, however he has been offered a place and he will start in sept 2017. This is the tricky bit … We hope that our eldest son (J) can also attend the school however we know that that particular year group are at their maximum currently at 30. (The school has an official LCC PAN of 25 for each year group, although can increase to 30 for each year group if appropriate. ) Having said this his current school have an PAN of 30 and there are 31 in class. I believe I can only appeal on grounds of sibling link to try to get him accepted and it is so very important to us that the boys go to the same school for emotional and practical reasons. When I addressed this issue with the Head teacher she seemed quite confident that on the grounds of sibling link we could perhaps win an appeal. Having researched more about this issue it seems that her opinion may be invalid and I now fear that our case may look weak at appeal considering we chose a school which we knew was already full for my eldest year group. I hope that his makes sense!? What would you advise?
Hi,
We have appealed after having found out that the school my son was allocated (our 2nd choice) allows kids to bring nuts to school. My son has a severe nut allergy and although of secondary school age and able to manage a lot better in terms of making sure he doesn’t eat any food containing nuts, this still worries us. The school, which was our first choice has a strong no nuts at school policy. I have a letter from GP confirming he needs nut free environment. Has anybody won appeal on this kind of medical evidence alone?
I don’t know about this. I think you’d need to show more general points like the way in which the preferred school uniquely meets your child’s educational needs as well, e.g. its SEND/G and T provision etc. But it’s worth a shot…
Yes, the sibling link is a good one. You need to show vitally how your preferred school uniquely meets your child’s needs and that the trouble incurred upon the school by getting an additional teacher/resources etc to admit your child is greatly outweighed by the suffering incurred upon your child (not you) if he does not get a place.
Get your child assessed ASAP! Ask the SENCO at your child’s school to do this; you have a legal right to this assessment if you are worried with good cause — which I think you are. Then you need to show how your preferred school uniquely meets your child’s needs over and above the other schools.
Short answer, no. You need to meet the individual admissions’ criteria for each school. The only exception is that the other school has the same 11+ requirement in which case you could show that they have already passed etc.
Hi Francis Can you help. My wife and I recently separated. We own two houses so I moved into the second house. with six month all my three children moved in with me. My daughters go to a local private school within walking distance from where we live.
My youngest son travels quite away to school and is doing 11 hours days with travelling.
I applied to a very good local school within walking distance from where live and was invited to apply. I was then asked to show where the child benefit was paid as they saw that we were living apart. I replied that my wife received the payment. With this they retracted the offer on the grounds that the benefit has to be paid to me at the address where we live at the time of application. Is this far? We invited them round to see for themselves. But they just go on the waiting list or appeal.
What advise can you give?
Hi- I am appealing for my son do you think we stand a shot? We live out of catchment but he currently attends a feeder school which is part of the admissions criteria(4th in priority). The feeder school is right next door to the middle school and his two younger brothers go there. But that isn’t my main concern for wanting him to go there. He has ADHD, autistic traits, dyslexia and suffers anxiety. The two schools have a very good working relationship and the pastoral care would help him transition much easier as it will be difficult for him and he struggles with changes. All of his friends are going there and he is at risk of bullying because of his unusual traits but they all accept him and stand up for him. He was also given a school that the only way for him to attend would be by bus and he is not capable of handling on his own. He doesn’t pay attention to his environment, gets lost easily and very vulnerable. He would also have to take medication almost an hour earlier which would mean it would run out before he finished school and then have a 40 minute bus ride home unmediated and at risk of behavioural issues and his impulsivity being more pronounced (risk of running into the road for example). Is my case strong enough? He is academically doing alright and therefore the school doesn’t think he needs an EHCP but his executive functioning is where he really struggles. Thanks
Hi my daughter currently attends a co-ed primary school and the school in my catchment that I really want her to go to for secondary is an all girls school. It was over subscribed this year and based on location we would not have got in. If I need to appeal, what grounds could I appeal on? This year the school only went as far as 2.1 miles and we are 3.09. I don’t feel I have a strong enough argument just to say that I want her to go to an all girls school. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
It’s worth appealing on the grounds you set out, but you need to show that your preferred school uniquely meets your child’s needs in terms of its policies/resources etc as well.
You would need to show that you meet the admissions’ criteria for the girls’ school, if that’s distance then it’s unlikely you will succeed…
It’s worth appealing and honestly saying where your child is living. Good luck.
Hi, my son received an offer of a school which was quite far away, in and bad area, with an awful ofsted report. Based on this I declined the offer of the school. My son now has no school to attend next week, so I am desperatley looking at options. We live 5 minutes walking distance of a catholic school, so I had him baptised in July. He is currently third on the waiting list, but having spoken with the school, they do not feel there will be any movement on this when the children start school. The catchment area appears to be from the church and not the School, which is why we are not first on the waiting list. Do I have a shot of an appeal based on religion grounds? Would it also help that I am a single mom?
Hi Francis
This is a long shot but my daughter was allocated her third preference school and is still on the waiting list for her first choice.
She is currently 19 on the list and realistically probably will not get a place before it is disbanded at Christmas.
She was an enthusiastic learner at her primary school, independent and fell short of ‘above expected’ in the SATS. Her current placement is causing her extreme anxiety: she was the only pupil to attend from her primary school, there are no local students living where we live so she has to encountered rival schools by her self, she is isolated, becoming more withdrawn, depressed, feigning illness to get out of school and to make matters worse all of her friends have now transferred to her first choice (the last being 100 yards from our home) and she is in danger of becoming a school refuser. Her work is poor, she is in fear from the low level disruption and unable to learn. I have spoken to the Head of year 7 Pastoral who has teamed her with a buddy but I am afraid for her seeking further into depression. Behaviour is challenging at home and we have to wait 3 weeks for a GP appointment. She has problems with her memory and single word spelling (I have some previous SEN assessments from primary school) – in short she is not thriving at all. How to I make a case for in year admission against the usual LA PAN admission criteria. We live 1.6miles from the school but it is in another borough. Please help.
Jackie Tunney
My son has not been offered any of his secondary school choices, instead he has been allocated a school that he would need to catch 2 buses there and 2 buses back both resulting in him entering the main town centre on his own and encountering a main busy road. My son does not go anywhere on his own, is not confident and would not go on a bus by himself therefore if he had to go to this school I would have to take him by bus myself as I don’t drive which could result in being late for work and eventually dismissal. The letter I have received from the council just states that they were all oversubscribed/not enough places available.
Do I have a case of appeal based on the above?
Hi Francis
We are appealing the decision not to offer a year 7 place for September 2018 to our son.
Mill Hill County High School is the closest secondary school to our home, at under a mile. This is important as my husband and I start work very early in the morning (I am a teaching assistant at a nearby local primary school) and we also have a younger child who attends primary school. A major concern us ensuring that our son has a safe and straightforward journey both to and from school.
Our home has always been within the school catchment area, but this year we have been unfairly disadvantage by the decision to alter the boundary.
We are offered a school which it is 3.5 miles away, and our son must to take 2 buses and 10 minutes walking to reach to school every day.
Do you think we should appeal to their decision?
Thanks for support
You won’t win your appeal unless you show you meet the school’s admissions criteria, so appealing solely on these grounds might not help…
I’m sorry to hear this. I think the main thing you could do is to talk to the headteacher of the school now, as clearly the HoY has not made a huge impact. You could also look at other schools, but it’s difficult moving schools at this stage, so I would try and see if you can improve things at the current school by speaking to the headteacher.
You will need to look very carefully at your preferred school’s admissions’ criteria and see if you meet any of them. In the meantime, you will need to find a school ASAP for him to attend.
Hi,
My DD passed 11plus and assessed suitable for grammar school in Kent ,even though we live in Greenwich council. 1st of march the result indicates ” declined :Your child was offered a higher preference so the place was not need” although we are waiting patiently as we don’t know what is happening.My question is should we appeal ,though they have sent a waiting list form which we did put DD on and submitted. Shall we appeal the decision ?Your response highly appreciated urgently please. Thanking you all in anticipation for prompt response.
It sounds like it might be worth appealing. You’ll need to show how the grammar school uniquely meets your child’s needs during the appeal I imagine.
Is there any way you can win an appeal based on SEN even when you fall under the last possible category in the criteria? The consequences of my daughter not getting our choice of school are going to be horrific but I don’t know how to evidence this.
Hi, I just need some advice, my daughter is in y2, we have since moved and now applied for my son, we are only 2.26 miles from the school as the crow flies but as we have broken the 2 mile sibling rule my son didn’t get in, we live in a rural location so all that separates me is a golf course, I have been told by the school all the places have been filled and I won’t know till June where I am on the list. I am at the moment appealing, I have contacted a lot of people to help, my parents don’t live near me and his preschool friends are all going to the new school, I rely heavily on the mums for childcare, the school they have given me would take me 30 minuets ro so 2 school runs and would mean my daughter would be 15mina late every morning and have to wait 15mina for me every night, please I need help as Its making me very ill with worry and I’m starting to get panic attacks just thinking about it
Hi Francis
My son is due to start Yr 7 in September, our closest school is a grammar and he has passed the entry test showing he’s suitable and his brother attends there in the year above, we didn’t apply for a place until the school was already full and there have also been 4 places granted on appeal so the school is now oversubscribed. My son is the top of the reserve list (with him having the sibling link) and we have lodged an appeal but they say they will not hear this until September when the school year has already started and that currently 4 people would have to leave before he is offered a place. Any advice on how we can argue that he should be allowed entry straight away and whether we would win an appeal based on him being bullied by older children at the school he has been offered a place for and with us meeting every admission criteria there is for entry?
My granddaughter was refused a place in all three choices of primary schools she is a F2 nursery , the school she has been allocated, needs improvement in all areas , they have taken their FB page down due to all the complaints from parents , the staff are all leaving, myself and my husband take her to and from school 4 times a week we have a blue disabled badge and the nursery school that she was in F1 allowed us to park in the staff car park for ease of escorting her to her class, as my daughter works nights my granddaughter sleeps over and as we live about 5 miles away from the primary school she is placed in the one where we were allowed to park is nearer for us to take her, the primary school she is placed in is failing in all subjects which I think is unfair to place children in as education should be good for all children. Any advice how to apply again for all the 3 primary schools which would be my daughters choice.
Hello Francis, can you please advise? I applied for a secondary school place for my son, it isn’t our catchment but it’s our nearest (in a straight line distance) he has connections with the school with him taking part in sports at this school we applied for and also his current primary school is a feeder school. Unfortunately he was decline this school and instead were offered a school the furthest away (3 miles away) which would take my son 56 mins to walk there and again back. I will worry about him walking that distance alone especially in dark winter months and I suffer badly with anxiety and depression. He is not a confident child and is extremely scared. He will become isolated from all his friends. Also the school they’ve offered is a religious school to which we are not in anyway. What are my chances of appeal?
Hi Francis, your advice will be gratefully received here. My son was refused a place out our only secondary school choice. This school is our nearest (straight line distance) but not our catchment. My son also plays sport at the school we wanted as well as his current primary school being a feeder school. Instead he was offered the school furthest away, 3 miles infact. It would take him an hour to walk there and an hour back. I suffer with anxiety and depression and I will be constantly worried about him waking there alone, as I work out of town, Id like him to be able to get home on his own quickly and safely. Also the school he’s been given is a religious school to which we are not in any way. My son will be become extremely isolated and his social life affected hugely with not knowing anyone at the school far away. Also the school we’ve been offered has poor Ofsted which I’m worried will affect my sons education massively. Am I likely to pass this appeal or not so much?
Hi
Do I have to appeal to have a place on a waiting list to secondary School?