Condition found after eleven plus

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gunnerthestunner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:40 pm

Condition found after eleven plus

Post by gunnerthestunner »

My daughter did not pass her Kent Test. However, she has since been diagnosed with Irlens syndrome and so I want to appeal. My worry is that we did not choose a grammar school when we were making the school selections as we were unaware of her condition. What can I do?
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by kenyancowgirl »

My understanding of the appeal process is this: to be able to appeal to a school, you must first be "rejected" by that school, having applied for a place, and THEN (for a selective school) provide evidence of academic ability (plus any extenuating circumstances) and still you may not get offered a place.

The first part - "you must first be rejected by that school, having applied for a place", requires you to have listed them on your CAF by the deadline set by the county in which you live (usually end October) and then get "rejected" by them on National Offer Day in March (as your child has not met the academic standard) at which point you can appeal....

You may be able to apply for a reconsideration after offer day (when you have been allocated a school), at which point you would get rejected and could then appeal but obviously you would still have to prove academic levels and how the test result may have been affected by the Irlens and battle against possible over-subscription too.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by PettswoodFiona »

You may be in for an uphill struggle about the syndrome as it is not widely accepted. One test of a cohort of children found 77% had the syndrome and I just did a test, tested DD and DH and we would all qualify as having the syndrome according to their tests. Sorry. It may be that it is better recognised in the future (or the converse) and it is more accepted and I am not judging, however I mention this as for an appeal it won't be so solid an argument as say a diagnosis of dyslexia. I think the British Medical Journal is quite a reliable source, but medics have got it wrong in the past:
http://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/763087/14" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JamesDean
Posts: 1537
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:03 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by JamesDean »

Sorry, can't help with appeal but having never heard of this before I looked it up! Could you tell me how you got a diagnosis for your DD?

JD
gunnerthestunner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by gunnerthestunner »

I appreciate everyone's reply and thank you. My daughter was referred by a reputable optician to another reputable and specialist optician who diagnosed her and measured here reading speed to.improve with an overlay by over 50 words a minute! I know of someone with the condition who has successfully appealed.
Anyhow, this is not the issue, to be honest. The issue is whether I can 'appeal' (or similar)or not after the event in the light of a new condition being diagnosed when we haven't included a grammar in the original selection of schools.
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by ToadMum »

gunnerthestunner wrote:I appreciate everyone's reply and thank you. My daughter was referred by a reputable optician to another reputable and specialist optician who diagnosed her and measured here reading speed to.improve with an overlay by over 50 words a minute! I know of someone with the condition who has successfully appealed.
Anyhow, this is not the issue, to be honest. The issue is whether I can 'appeal' (or similar)or not after the event in the light of a new condition being diagnosed when we haven't included a grammar in the original selection of schools.
You could give the admissions team at KCC a ring on Monday morning and see whether you can still change your CAF preferences, but it may be too late to do that now without making your whole application 'late', if you see what I mean. An alternative would be to leave your CAF as it is, but then ask to make a late application to one or more grammar schools after National Allocation Day (I think 'reconsideration' may be a formal process peculiar to Gloucestershire?). Even if it is too late or at least not the right time to do something now, I would try to speak to someone in Admissions before they disappear for Christmas, and get official advice.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
gunnerthestunner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by gunnerthestunner »

Thank you. I will contact them on Monday. I wondered if anyone else had experienced a similar situation and what happened. I feel certain that there must be a way of dealing with this positively as it was discovered after the event but was still extremely relevant.
gunnerthestunner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by gunnerthestunner »

Gosh! Spoke to admissions people whom advised that the date for amendment to preferences (11th December) has passed. I wasn't aware of such a date but she wasn't diagnosed until 12th December so unlucky timing.
I have been told that we need to wait until 29th April and then do an in year application so that it can then be refused so that we can appeal. I have been assured that we should have as much chance as the other appellants although it might be slightly later.

Very frustrating though!
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by Guest55 »

How does the diagnosis make the difference to being in a GS?

I'm not clear why you did not apply to a GS on your CAF.
gunnerthestunner
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Condition found after eleven plus

Post by gunnerthestunner »

My daughter didn't pass the eleven plus and so I didn't include a grammar school in the school selections because I had no grounds for appeal.
It now appears that she has Irlens syndrome which dramatically affects her reading ability without a coloured overlay or tinted glasses. With the overlay or tinted glasses she can read 50 words a minute more and without the visual disturbances which can be confusing.
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