Appeal Hearing Advice

Consult our experts on 11 Plus appeals or any other type of school appeal

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shazzagirl
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:37 am

Appeal Hearing Advice

Post by shazzagirl »

Hi

We have been given a date for our appeal in middle of January, but it is at the local county offices instead of at county hall. Two other appeals from our school are all being heard at county hall. Is this significant, or does it mean we have been discounted already!

Also I would like some advice on what to present to the panel. Our son has just been diagnosed with dyslexia and would qualify for extra time in exams as he has poor working memory and poor phonlogical processing. However he has very high processing speed top 12% and high reading comprehension skills in top 16%. His spelling puts him in the bottom 14% . Should we try to explain how his problems would affect him answering the questions in the 11+ or just say we feel that his dyslexia is why he only got 116.

The Ed Psych also said his thinking skills profile indicated a high degree of distractability (echoed in his school reports, along with he is a very bright boy ,but ) could we use this, do you think, to say that he needs an all boys school where expected levels of discipline in the classroom are higher. They would also provide a laptop for him to use in lessons. He also wants an all boys school as he is very good at Maths Science and Sport, predicted level 5's in Maths and Science but only a 4 in English .
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Appeal Hearing Advice

Post by Etienne »

Dear shazzagirl

Assuming this is a Bucks selection appeal (you don't say!), then you cannot argue for a boys' school. The only issue the panel can consider is whether your son should be deemed "qualified" - it cannot consider any particular grammar school or type of grammar school.

There is absolutely no significance in the choice of venue. They probably ran out of slots at the local venue - there are more panels operating at County Hall (at least four a day, I would guess).

Normally I would be inclined to draw the panel's attention specifically to those parts of the EP report that support your case. Bear in mind that the panel will be more interested in an expert opinion than in your explanation. If the EP hasn't explained things clearly enough, go back and ask for written answers to some specific questions, and introduce these as evidence.

Regards
Etienne
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Post by Guest55 »

Shazzagirl,

You do not say what his other score is - this will be considered. Also did the Head recommend him on the order of suitability? What are predicted KS2 NC levels - you must concentrate on academic evidence of his suitability for GS.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi Shazzagirl

Welcome to the Forum. I agree with everything that Etienne and Guest55 have said.

The issue of wanting a specific school, or being more suitable for it, is not relevant at this Appeal.

Your primary task is to prove that your son is academically suitable for a GS, using the type of information that Guest55 has mentioned.

Your secondary task is to explain to the panel why he wasn't able to reach the qualifying mark. You should certainly speak to that expensive EdPsych to get a written opinion of how his dyslexia will have affected his performance in a VR test.

Please have a read of Etienne's wonderful "Appeals Q&A", which you can find by clicking here. The Section that is most relevant to you is Section B, Appeals against Non-Qualification. I suggest that you glance through it all though, as there is other advice that you may find helpful.

Good luck
Sally-Anne
Guest

Post by Guest »

Shazzagirl,

Have you spoken to all your catchment schools to see which one can give him the most help with his dyslexia?
shazzagirl
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:37 am

Post by shazzagirl »

I already have 2 children at secondary school. 1 at grammer and 1 at the local upper who is also dyslexic. We did not appeal for that child as we felt an upper school would be more suitable as they were just above average ability in all areas of school curriculum.
So we have experience of the help dyslexics get at the local upper school and it isn't very much if they are able and running along at an average level. Even the school SEN co-ordinator said 'they don't have the money for nice children who can't spell when they have a lot more serious i.e unable to read /spell or write properly' which I can understand.
However my friends experience of the local grammer school is that as they do not have large numbers of SEN children and those they do have are still very able, the support offered to them is greater and expectations higher!
As my son is very able in maths and science but a bit weaker in english due to his dyslexia we feel he should be at grammer school, but trying to convince a panel of that fact may be quite difficult
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