appeal help please!!!!!

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mn4538
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:59 am

appeal help please!!!!!

Post by mn4538 »

I know you are going to be getting loads of subjects on this over the next few days, but I am wondering if you could help me. My daugher currently attends a private school which I have been struggling to pay. She goes there and attends tutoring because she has some learning issues that I have found the state primary system couldn't help her with. However I am now a single mum and can't afford this anymore, I also wanted her to get exposure to a main stream school. I applied to Parmiters, Watford Girls Grammar and Queens. However she didn't get any of her preferences and was offered Bushey Academy, the school that was failing and they gave Academy status. We have recently been offered a new housing association property in garston so her allocated school would now be too far for her to travel to. In addition, I have a educational phychologist who assessed my daughter and says that a school like Bushey or even Francis Combe Academy would be detrimental to my daughters psychological wellbeing as well as social and educational. Her tutor is also supportive of my appeal. I have found that in our current area South Oxhey, all of the children are allocated Bushey Academy, more so than people that actually live in Bushey. My daughter is also from an ethnic minority who hertfordshire say they have pledged to keep from being disadvantaged. I was wondering if you had any ideas or help as to how to get a successful appeal. My DS has worked so hard, up until midnight sometimes studying for her common entrance exam, with me being very hard on her as she was a bit behind the other children in her year. She is soooo disheartened now, she feels like what was the point of studying as she isn't going to get anywhere.

Thanks for any help you can.
PJ
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2010 12:33 pm

Post by PJ »

As a fellow new member of the forum I can't really offer any practical advice other than to suggest that you appeal the decision of all of the schools (I understand you can put in an appeal to more than one school).

I also understand that you can apply to other schools which weren't on your list after the 1st of March (so you may be able to apply for one in Garston) and if you don't get a place in that one then appeal against that decision.

I can, however, strongly relate to your daughters reaction - my son had the same one. The way we addressed it was lots of TLC and projection of the lack of sucess in the exam onto external factors (ie its not your fault - just the luck/ the exam paper etc) we also talked to his current school to ensure that they ensured that he got lots of positive reinforcement in class. We also downplayed the effect of not passing ...

Good luck with your appeal.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Welcome, mn4538!
I have a educational phychologist who assessed my daughter and says that a school like Bushey or even Francis Combe Academy would be detrimental to my daughters psychological wellbeing as well as social and educational.
It's important to realise that an appeal panel will be looking for reasons why you want a place at the school you're appealing for, rather than why you don't want a place elsewhere.
Her tutor is also supportive of my appeal.
Whether this would carry any weight rather depends on how well qualified the tutor is to comment on why the school being appealed for would best meet your daughter's needs.
My daughter is also from an ethnic minority who hertfordshire say they have pledged to keep from being disadvantaged.
This is important with regard to local authority policy, but I'm afraid it doesn't mean that you would be given any sort of preference at an appeal. An appeal panel is independent, and has to take its decisions strictly in accordance with the Appeals Code.

My advice is as follows:

1) I think you will need to be realistic about the chances of admission to schools within range of your new address. The county's Choice Advisers might be able to guide you.

2) If appealing. it's important to find out the success rate for appeals to a particular school in recent years, as it gives a realistic idea of the chances of success. (For some of the more popular Herts. schools, there seem to be very few successful appeals.) This information (which you are entitled to under the Freedom of Information Act) should be available from the local authority - or from the school in the case of foundation or voluntary aided schools.

3) If appealing, you must put forward positive reasons for needing a place at the school you want. See our Q&As:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... #section-C
(C2 in particular)

The rest of section C explains the process of appealing for a place at an oversubscribed school.

PJ's comments above are also helpful.
Etienne
hilltop
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:34 pm

Post by hilltop »

When are you moving to Garston? Can you move now? Will you then be very very close to a preferred school and so might qualify on distance if any places come up.
mumofboy
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 8:09 pm

Post by mumofboy »

Her tutor is also supportive of my appeal.
Whether this would carry any weight rather depends on how well qualified the tutor is to comment on why the school being appealed for would best meet your daughter's needs.

What would make the tutor (class teacher) qualified to make comment on why the grammar school you are appealing for is the best one to meet the child's needs (abilities)?

If HT is happy to give a support for the child to go to a grammar school, do you still need a letter of support from the tutor?

Does it make a stronger case if you have both letters to present to the panel?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you
Mum of boy
mn4538
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 12:59 am

Post by mn4538 »

Thanks PJ, Etienne!
I will try applying for another school now and see how that works out. Also I will be moving in the next month, and have already contacted my prefereed school so that they can move me up on the distance continuing interest list. I will let you all know how I get on and thanks again.
watfordmum66
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:45 pm

Post by watfordmum66 »

hi,

Sorry to hear your news.

As has been suggested you can now place yourself on continued Interest list for schools in the area even though you may not have listed them on your CAF.

One of the reasons that children in south Oxhey would get allocated Bushey acadamy will be that it is their nearest school.

I would not discount Francis Combe Acadamy as there appears to have been many changes and it certainly does not have the reputation it once did.

Do you know where you are the Continued Interest lists. Queens is likley to move more significantly than the others so this may be a possibility dependent on where you are placed.

regarding travel there are certainly children from North watford who travel by bus to Bushey Acadamy so I would imagine that a bus would run from Garston.

South West Consortium School appeals have had a very poor success rate however this should not stop you from trying as long as you are aware of this from the outset.

Good Luck.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Dear mumofboy

Sorry I missed your post. I'll try and deal with your questions here, but could you please start a seperate thread if it's your case you wish to discuss, and you have any further questions?
- Thanks
What would make the tutor (class teacher) qualified to make comment on why the grammar school you are appealing for is the best one to meet the child's needs (abilities)?
The original poster wrote: "She ..... attends tutoring because she has some learning issues." It's not entirely clear what this means. If the tutor happened to be a dyslexia specialist, for example, she might be in a position to recommend a particular school because of her previous experience of its special needs provision. If it's a private tutor, teaching general subjects, I'm not sure that he or she would be in a position to recommend a particular school - in such a way that an appeal panel would take any notice!
If HT is happy to give a support for the child to go to a grammar school, do you still need a letter of support from the tutor?
The original case seemed to me to be primarily about oversubscription. If we're now discussing non-qualification, and if tutor = class teacher, I would say it's an optional extra. The support of the head should be sufficient, unless the class teacher can shed new light on some aspect of the case.

Hope this is of some help.
Etienne
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Post by capers123 »

mumofboy wrote:Her tutor is also supportive of my appeal.
It's unusual to mention at an appeal that a child has been tutored, especially if they didn't pass the test.

Whilst panels shouldn't ask if the child has been tutored, if the information is volunteered ('here's a letter from the tutor'), then they might come to the conclusion: "This child didn't pass (or passed but didn't get a high enough score) the test that (supposedly) needs no tutoring yet had been tutored. Had she not been, then she would have had an even lower score."

Now some panel members know that many children are tutored because their parents want to try & make it a less uneven playing field, but don't rely on that. I would tend not to supply a letter from the tutor. CAT / SAT or any other quantifiable measures of academic ability from the current school will be much more useful.
Capers
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Mumofboy, I think, was referring to the class teacher, whereas the original poster was referring to extra help for some learning issues .....
Etienne
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