Almost 100,000 parents across the country will find out either on 1st March or soon after whether they have secured a place for their child in the school of their choice. In the London region, there are likely to be more upset and unhappy parents than most areas of the country, given the shortage of places for infant class children i.e. those joining the school at reception stage.
Many London boroughs are facing cutbacks and, with a slightly rising population, the pressure on reception places this year will be extreme and in some areas, school capacity will simply not be able to cope. This will leave many parents not securing their first preference in terms of school allocation, but also having none of their preferences accepted.
There is a statutory appeal system that any parent can use to appeal the decision of an admission authority (either a school or a local education authority) to try and reverse the decision and secure a place for their child at the school of their preference.
Unfortunately, if you are appealing for a school place in a reception year group and that school organises its classes in groups of 30, then your chances of success at appeal will be slim.
Many schools and admission authorities will deliberately put off parents from appealing and while as stated above, chances of success are not high, there are some that do not appeal that could have a potential winnable case.
Matt Richards of School Appeals Services, the largest independent provider of legal advice in relation to school admission appeals has told us that “it is true that what is known as an infant class size prejudice appeal is very difficult to win. That said, I am surprised that so many parents are put off by people in councils or schools who tell them ‘don’t bother to appeal, you have no chance.’ Bear in mind that when given advice by the admission authorities that they are the opposition and parents need perhaps to look at some independent research or professional advice to potentially before making a decision about whether to appeal or not.
As a company, in 2010 we noticed an increase of around 50% in those appealing for reception places who won their appeal. The reason I believe is that some of the decisions that admission authorities were making were not deemed to be reasonable by independent appeal panels, so my advice would be not necessarily to spend a lot of money, but do check out whether you might have a possible winnable case.”.
Set out below are Matt’s top tips for dealing with an admission appeal.
1. PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE…
If you think you are going to knock together a couple of sides of A4 and send this in prior to the Appeal Hearing, turn up on the day and read it out, there will be only one outcome – you will lose your Appeal! You should be planning your appeal from the moment you choose to apply for the school. Start collecting relevant information from the school as early as possible and gathering everything you can in relation to the school and the Appeals process. The more time, effort and work you put into your Appeal Submission and preparation you undertake, the greater your chances of success.
2) KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Schools and Admission Authorities usually ask for parents Appeal Submissions to be submitted by a given date well in advance of the Appeal Hearing. Why is this? Administratively it is easier for them if all parental submissions come in on one day. It is also advantageous to them if you are rushed in terms of your preparation! Here’s the crunch – the only statutory deadline placed upon you as a parent to submit your information is to have that information submitted 3 days before the appeal hearing. If you cannot meet the deadline supplied to you by the school or Admission Authority, you should tell them so and also tell them when they will have your Submission. I usually advise parents to submit at least 7 to 10 days prior to their Hearing to enable prior circulation to all parties as the 3 day deadline can mean that the first time the Panel see your material is the day of the hearing – not a great idea. (You must however, give notice of your intention to appeal in writing within the required timescales. This can however be a one liner that says you exercise your right of appeal and no more, or simply complete the Appeal Form provided to you but in relation to the section which asks for your reasons for appealing, mark this “To Follow”).
3) EVIDENCE
Every claim you make in your Appeal Submission is just that, a claim, without it being evidenced independently. Seek out documentation from appropriate professionals or associates to evidence the information you are providing. Remember, an Appeal Hearing is a legal process and you will be questioned about your case and have to defend it.
4) THE SCHOOL’S / LEA’S CASE FOR OVER CAPACITY
In the vast majority of Appeals, the school has to convince the Appeal Panel that it is at its capacity or admission limit and cannot take pupils over and above this figure. In my experience, nine out of ten parents do not question this, or make any attempt to negate this argument. This is a big mistake. The more you can weaken the school’s case, the more the Appeal Panel will think the school is not as overcrowded as it is stating, and they may therefore be more sympathetic to individual Appeals.
THE AUTHOR: Matt Richards of School Appeals Services can be contacted on 020 8523 0887 or by visiting the School Appeals Services website at www.schoolappeals.com. SPECIAL OFFER TO LONDON MUMS: Mention London Mums and you will be able to have a no obligation chat about your case. Matt and three other members of staff covered the London area in relation to assisting parents with their appeals. Both he and his colleagues are happy to have a no-obligation chat with any London Mums member should they wish to call School Appeals Services.
Hi can u please help me fill in my appeal form.
I was 1 day late returning the form because me
And my two boys had stomach bugs. They hav allocated
My youngest son a place in A primary school 2.2 miles
Away from my eldests shcool. I am a working mom and have
To start work at 7 am which means relying on
Other people to take my children to school
They do not drive i cannot see a way even if they did drive
We cannot possibly be in 2 places at once.
Leigh, children are entitled by law to the same schools as their siblings. This is a clear mistake that should be resolved by contacting the council. Email me at monica@londonmums.org.uk
My youngest(4) is starting school Wednesday yet my eldest son (7) is still on the waiting list for the same school for a yr 3 place. We have moved u see so my eldest is still at longlands in sidcup yet my youngest is going to gravel hill bexleyheath. Obviously this is impossible as I cannot b in two places at once!? I have continuinly phoned the education and all they keep telling me is that he is 1st on the waiting list and as soon as a place becomes available it’ll b his but this doesn’t help my current situation! When I accepted the school closer to home for my youngest I was aware there were no spaces BUT I was with my partner who drives and we were gonna take the school runs in turns, however we have been seperated since the end of June so my circumstances now r that I’m on my own and cannot b in sidcup and bexleyheath at the same time every morning and afternoon. I could really use some advice. Thanks
I am posting a new article which might help your case. we have helped lots of mums so please keep persevere. thanks and good luck.
I have my sons Infant School appeal tomorrow. It is based on the fact they can’t put more than 30 children in a class. They have 3 classes of 30 starting. My sons two half brothers attended the school and the feeder primary. I am a single parent and can’t pick up my sons from two different schools at the same time. I have no family in the area or friends and work part time so money is too tight for after school club. I’m desperate! Any advice would be gratefully received!
Just try to be calm and be focused. I have been there and I was determined to get what was in my right to get. You have to have the place because of the siblings’ rule. You need to make sure you explain that properly. It would make it impossible to pick up all your children from two different schools. Just don’t let them break you down. Always stay focused on your end result, visualise success and be always factual and to the point. Don’t get any emotions spoil your day and appeal. Offer all availability from your end to cooperate the best you can to make this appeal work, but you need to also make sure they appreciate that being a single parent means that you are the main carer and it is impossible for you to be in two places at the same time. I am sure you will get what you deserve.
Good luck!
What is the sibling rule?
I don’t think they care about siblings, they have offered 40 children a place with no sibling in the school. Not right.
The siblings criterium is very important and it certainly applies to you Claire.
Here are some examples of oversubscription criteria commonly used by
admission authorities (it’s not a full list):
? social and medical need – for example, if one of the parents or the child
has a disability which makes travel to a distant school difficult. They must be
clear about what evidence they need to support the application. This might
be a doctor/professional’s statement and is not the same as a Statement of
Special Educational Need
? siblings – that is, children who have brothers or sisters at the school. The
older child must be attending the school when the younger child is due to
start. Check the wording in your admissions pack to see if it covers halfsiblings, step-siblings and adopted siblings
? distance from home to school – giving priority to children who live closest
to the school. How this is measured will vary between admission authorities
? catchment area – this is not always the same as distance from the school.
Some school catchment areas are oddly shaped and you may find you do
not live in the catchment of the school nearest to you. If catchment areas
are used where you live, the school’s admission arrangements must be clear
about which locations are included
? random allocation – a random ballot may be used alongside other criteria
to allocate places to children. It is often used as a tie-breaker.
Check also the Government guidelines http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_073385.pdf
i hope this helps
The siblings criterium is very important and it certainly applies to you Claire.
Here are some examples of oversubscription criteria commonly used by
admission authorities (it’s not a full list):
? social and medical need – for example, if one of the parents or the child
has a disability which makes travel to a distant school difficult. They must be
clear about what evidence they need to support the application. This might
be a doctor/professional’s statement and is not the same as a Statement of
Special Educational Need
? siblings – that is, children who have brothers or sisters at the school. The
older child must be attending the school when the younger child is due to
start. Check the wording in your admissions pack to see if it covers halfsiblings, step-siblings and adopted siblings
? distance from home to school – giving priority to children who live closest
to the school. How this is measured will vary between admission authorities
? catchment area – this is not always the same as distance from the school.
Some school catchment areas are oddly shaped and you may find you do
not live in the catchment of the school nearest to you. If catchment areas
are used where you live, the school’s admission arrangements must be clear
about which locations are included
? random allocation – a random ballot may be used alongside other criteria
to allocate places to children. It is often used as a tie-breaker.
Check also the Government guidelines http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_073385.pdf
i hope this helps