Information overload

banksy1 · Post by **banksy1** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:07 pm

So are you saying if a child misses out by a couple of marks on 1 paper but passes the other 2 that you have no right to appeal???? As my headteacher told me if i wanted to appeal i had every right to ( though my daughter was over the moon with her allocation) so i decided not to but i know parents that are appealing that haven't passed all 3 papers!!1

perplexed · Post by **perplexed** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:27 pm

C'est la vie - there was no need to send back snappy message to me. You were not clear

perplexed · Post by **perplexed** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:28 pm

banksy, what c'est la vie is saying is not relevant to parents this year, and will hopefully not be relevant in the future either. Just confusing on this thread at this point in time

2nd time arround · Post by **2nd time arround** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:49 pm

I can back Peter up, I have applied to go on the waiting list for a school I did not name on my CAF and have received a letter from them stating that although I have been added to the waiting list there are no places to offer but I can appeal for a place.

c'est la vie · Post by **c'est la vie** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:57 am

stevew61 wrote:c'est la vie and Peter and others,

I have tried to read and understand the current discussion relating to Kent but it seems very technical to me.

Speaking as an outcider I am concerned at this concept of a "pre-appeal" which blocks a parents appeal could gain traction and spread to other areas.

Any chance you could stop fighting each other and move the discussion forward.

steve

Steve,

I'll try to explain the sequence of events that led to this element in the new Appeals Code.

Previously, parents who appealed against a decision not to offer a place to their child at a grammar school were encouraged by their LA's to produce evidence to the Appeals panel by way of documentation and expert reports and circumstances of mitigation. The Appeals Panel could then consider whether the child was of grammar school standard and if it was judged thus, the child could be given a place even though they had not passed the 11+.

However, some Counties have a process whereby after the papers are marked they are sent to the head teachers of the various primaries who can then refer them to the Head teacher Appeals Panel if that head had expected the child to pass and the child had not passed, with comments on mitigation. The Head Teacher Appeals panel would then review the results along with the evidence provided and decide whether the child was of grammar school standard. This process takes place before the results of the 11+ are given to the parent. Parents could then appeal against not being given a place, in these circumstances because the child had not qualified, and therefore had not met the admissions criteria of the schools. At the Appeals panel meetings, the same sort of evidence would be considered as had already been considered by the Head Teacher Appeals panel during review.

Equality enactments require that all children are afforded equal opportunities to access what the parents perceive as the best education for them. In the above scenario, parents of some children applying to grammar schools have two opportunities for appeal - one from the head teacher and the other from the Appeals Panel.

Because of the new Appeals Code that states if the given results have been through a non-statutory 'local review' the Appeals Panels can only consider whether the 'review' was carried out in a fair and consistent manner. After legal advice, Kent maintained that their Head Teacher Appeals were not a 'local review' but part of the assessment process, thereby negating the need to change the procedures of Appeals Panels. However, the DCSF have decided that the Head teacher assessments come within the intended remit of the new code; of 'non-statutory' local reviews and hence, the new Appeals code applies.

There is still confusion over this so clarification is being sought of the DCSF to ensure that current appeals are being handled in adherence to the legalities imposed by the new code. One would imagine that the DCSF will be scrutinising very closely those LA's with academically selective schools before clarification.

I hope this makes things a little clearer.

Tracy · Post by **Tracy** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:54 pm

What would happen if the Head Teacher's review was a shambles? By that I mean the school not passing on the correct academic evidence or maybe details of extenuating circumstances during the tests. Surely the parents would have a right to appeal and produce all the correct evidence?

c'est la vie · Post by **c'est la vie** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:43 am

The Appeals Panel can only look at whether the assessment was carried out in a fair and consistent manner. (Paragraph 3.37)

If there is no evidence that this has been done, it must follow the process in paragraph 3.36

which states:

the panel should consider any factors which parents contend may have affected their child's performance, whether the family made the admission authority aware of these before they sat the test; and whether it offered alternative testing arrangements or made reasonable adjustments (e.g. in the case of children with disabilities). The panel may then need to consider any clear evidence presented by the parents to support their claim that the child is considered to be of grammar school ability.

In the latter circumstances, the new code returns to the procedures invoked when there is no non-statutory 'local review'/additional assessment process.