FOI & other questions

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DaddyNo1
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:42 am

FOI & other questions

Post by DaddyNo1 »

Members
I submitted my appeal yesterday for a boys GS. It's an academy. I sent them an email 2 weeks ago asking for information under FOI such as the number of appeals in the past three years. Including the number of successful appeals. I have not had any information back. I requested this from the local education Authority however they said it is not held by them and it's held by the school.
Does anybody know if I have the right to this information under FOI as its academy status? Please advise.
Many thanks.
hawkeye
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:43 pm

Re: Appeal - FOI info

Post by hawkeye »

Admission authorities should respond to any reasonable requests for information (whether made under FOI or not) but if you emailed 2 weeks ago there might be a delay due to the school holidays?
lancs2000
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:31 pm

Re: Appeal - FOI info

Post by lancs2000 »

I asked for the same information, as well as pupils admissions over the last few years. Just to see if they had gone over PAN previously.

I received a reply stating that all the figures will be available at the meeting. I'm not the sharpest when it comes to figures, especially under pressure! It's highly likely it will all go over my head :(
DaddyNo1
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:42 am

Re: Appeal - FOI info

Post by DaddyNo1 »

lancs2000 wrote:I asked for the same information, as well as pupils admissions over the last few years. Just to see if they had gone over PAN previously.

I received a reply stating that all the figures will be available at the meeting. I'm not the sharpest when it comes to figures, especially under pressure! It's highly likely it will all go over my head :(
Why do they hide such information? Afraid to give an advantage to the appellant?

I keep asking myself why I want to send my DS to such a school when the administration is so fustrating!
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Appeal - FOI info

Post by capers123 »

I asked for the same information, as well as pupils admissions over the last few years. Just to see if they had gone over PAN previously.

I received a reply stating that all the figures will be available at the meeting. I'm not the sharpest when it comes to figures, especially under pressure! It's highly likely it will all go over my head :(
Why do they hide such information? Afraid to give an advantage to the appellant?

I keep asking myself why I want to send my DS to such a school when the administration is so fustrating![/quote]
I can understand your fraustration. All the schools I hear appeals for tend to give out this information upon request as far as I'm aware - at least, quite a few parents come pre-prepared with the information (and if they don't, we are likely to ask the school side anyway during the appeal). Whilst I guess some parents may send in formal letters under FOI, that really shouldn't be needed. Some of the schools used even to publish the intake for the previous few years in the admissions docs, but may have been discouraged by the LEA - it implied that they could take more than the PAN, and if that was the case, there might have been a case for raising the PAN to the detriment of other local schools...
Capers
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal - FOI info

Post by Etienne »

In brief

Anyone has a right to request information from a public authority. You have two separate duties when responding to these requests:

to tell the applicant whether you hold any information falling within the scope of their request; and to provide that information.

You normally have 20 working days to respond to a request.

For a request to be valid under the Freedom of Information Act it must be in writing, but requesters do not have to mention the Act or direct their request to a designated member of staff.
[Information Commissioner]
2.8 Admission authorities must comply with reasonable requests from parents for information which they need to help them prepare their case for appeal. [Appeals Code]
lancs2000 wrote: I received a reply stating that all the figures will be available at the meeting.
As far as the Appeals Code is concerned, I doubt that this response is good enough - generally speaking, you ought to have time to consider the information in advance of the hearing (the clue is in the words "help them prepare their case"!!!).
Etienne
DaddyNo1
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:42 am

Paranoia?

Post by DaddyNo1 »

Dear Members,
Please can you reassure me?
I have submitted the appeal, but am feeling nervous.
DS is on the waiting list at position no. 10. He missed out by 4 marks! My other half thinks that by submitting the appeal it will affect his position on the waiting list.
Also the Admissions secretary processes the paperwork for the appeals at this particular school and will the appeal single us out as trouble maker parents if my DS does get through (regardless of weather it’s through an appeal or through the waiting list).
Are we being paranoid?
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Paranoia?

Post by hermanmunster »

Hi DaddyNo1

Lots of people on waiting lists appeal at the same time as waiting hopefully on the list. It won't affect the waiting list place.

Snowdrops got to within a few days of going to appeal for oversubscription when a place came up on the waiting list.
DaddyNo1
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:42 am

Appeal - strong enough?

Post by DaddyNo1 »

Dear Members

Perhaps this is late for me to ask advice as I have already submitted the appeal, but I’ve only just discovered this forum.

Anyway here are the facts:

DS missed out on place at GS by 4 marks and is on the waiting list. However really not sure if this is likely to move.

Basis of appeal:

Academic – sitting level 6 English, expected high level 5 maths. Top of his class academically. (Didn’t mention he missed out on place on allocation day by 4 marks – should I have? ). Offered scholarships at 2 indies for year 7 entry.

Music – on gifted & talented program. Plays 2 instruments and sings. Plays in orchestra. Offered a music scholarship at 2 indies.

Sports – plays in school teams (balls sports), represents school at national athletics tournament. Plays at club level and on a diving program with a specialist swim school. Offered a sports scholarship at 2 indies.

Distance – the local GS is a short drive from home (max. 20 minutes one way), but the GS we are offered is over an hour’s drive from home one way (leaving home early to avoid traffic). If we accept this GS then he’ll have to drop out of all the music and sports extra activities / programs.

No other local school can support DS on the music, sports and academically. Any thoughts – am I wasting my time?
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal - strong enough?

Post by Etienne »

We prefer a single thread on Appeals, so I've consolidated your various posts.

A few comments:
Academic – sitting level 6 English, expected high level 5 maths.
See:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Top of his class academically.
The more able the class, of course, the better .........
Is this a high performing school?
(Didn’t mention he missed out on place on allocation day by 4 marks – should I have? ).
No - it might be part of the admission authority's case anyway - or you could mention it at the hearing.
Offered scholarships at 2 indies for year 7 entry.
Difficult for the panel to judge what this means, but I suspect the more prestigious the indies concerned, the better!
Music – on gifted & talented program. Plays 2 instruments and sings. Plays in orchestra. Offered a music scholarship at 2 indies.
G&T is not an absolute standard - it's relative to the standard within the school.
Grade 4/5 would probably impress!
Sports – plays in school teams (balls sports), represents school at national athletics tournament. Plays at club level and on a diving program with a specialist swim school. Offered a sports scholarship at 2 indies.
The more evidence, the better!
No other local school can support DS on the music, sports ......
Do you mean purely from the point of view of logistics, or is this school noted for its music and sport?
Any thoughts – am I wasting my time?
Impossible to say - only your particular appeal panel can answer that! :)
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... school#c20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
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