trnsfer appeal
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Guest
trnsfer appeal
I've just received a letter from my local authority to say that my appeal for an in year transfer has been unsuccessful. I have a a couple of concerns about the way the appeal went. I almost felt that the decision was made before we entered the appeal room.
My first concern is about about questions I asked about the school's case. The school has has bands for different ablities - I asked about the size of the classes and which bands the children who are currently over PAN are in. I asked this to establish whether the band that my child would need to be in is overstretched. The school's representative was not able to answer these questions and the panel did not follow up my questions. Should the panel have followed this up?
My second concern is that the whole appeal was rushed. I felt very uneasy with this - I was being asked questions but then was interrupted by the chair before I had a chance to finish. I also had a problem with a piece of key evidence that I needed to present during the presentation - I tried a couple of times to present this information, but because of the rush I wasn't able to. As I was asked to read the summary, the clerk came over, he had clearly noticed and accepted the evidence. As he started to distribute it, the chair again asked me to read my summary. The chair by that time had still need received her copy and the clerk was noticeably annoyed with her and stated that this was an important piece of evidence so she should wait until it had been received by all the panel members.
Overall, the hearing did not have the feel of those described by yourself and Capers.
My first concern is about about questions I asked about the school's case. The school has has bands for different ablities - I asked about the size of the classes and which bands the children who are currently over PAN are in. I asked this to establish whether the band that my child would need to be in is overstretched. The school's representative was not able to answer these questions and the panel did not follow up my questions. Should the panel have followed this up?
My second concern is that the whole appeal was rushed. I felt very uneasy with this - I was being asked questions but then was interrupted by the chair before I had a chance to finish. I also had a problem with a piece of key evidence that I needed to present during the presentation - I tried a couple of times to present this information, but because of the rush I wasn't able to. As I was asked to read the summary, the clerk came over, he had clearly noticed and accepted the evidence. As he started to distribute it, the chair again asked me to read my summary. The chair by that time had still need received her copy and the clerk was noticeably annoyed with her and stated that this was an important piece of evidence so she should wait until it had been received by all the panel members.
Overall, the hearing did not have the feel of those described by yourself and Capers.
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Sally-Anne
- Posts: 9235
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
- Location: Buckinghamshire
Hi Guest
Whilst I realise that 90 minutes can seem an eternity when you are worrying about something, it is Christmas Eve, and we do have one or two other things to do.
The panel has a duty to consider the evidence fully. If you feel that they did not do so, the next steps are outlined in Etienne's Appeals Q&A, Section D "The Dissatisfied Appellant".
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... #section-D
You should apply for the Clerk's notes from the hearing (there will be a nominal fee, usually a few pounds, to obtain them) and they will show whether your evidence was fully considered by the panel in their deliberations.
The notes may also show the outcome of your question concerning the in-school banding - it may not have been considered entirely relevant by the panel, but it is hard to judge without seeing the clerk's notes. The panel will generally have been looking at the wider implications for the school of going further over PAN.
Sally-Anne
Whilst I realise that 90 minutes can seem an eternity when you are worrying about something, it is Christmas Eve, and we do have one or two other things to do.
The panel has a duty to consider the evidence fully. If you feel that they did not do so, the next steps are outlined in Etienne's Appeals Q&A, Section D "The Dissatisfied Appellant".
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... #section-D
You should apply for the Clerk's notes from the hearing (there will be a nominal fee, usually a few pounds, to obtain them) and they will show whether your evidence was fully considered by the panel in their deliberations.
The notes may also show the outcome of your question concerning the in-school banding - it may not have been considered entirely relevant by the panel, but it is hard to judge without seeing the clerk's notes. The panel will generally have been looking at the wider implications for the school of going further over PAN.
Sally-Anne
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Guest
Dear "Guest"
I know you must be feeling pretty raw from the decision, but despite all the pressures of our Christmas preparations (we are, after all, unpaid volunteers
), Sally-Anne has taken time to give you some very good advice above.
From your description it does not really seem like a fair appeal to me. A good chair would have instructed the LA to find out the information about banding, and it would have been good practice at the very end to check with you "Have you had sufficient time? Is there anything you wish to add?"
See if you can get hold of the clerk's notes, but it sounds as if this could be worth taking to the ombudsman to see what he thinks.
(edited) ..... PS: As this was an LA appeal, I suggest starting with a complaint to the office that made the arrangements.
A happy Christmas to you ......
I know you must be feeling pretty raw from the decision, but despite all the pressures of our Christmas preparations (we are, after all, unpaid volunteers
), Sally-Anne has taken time to give you some very good advice above.From your description it does not really seem like a fair appeal to me. A good chair would have instructed the LA to find out the information about banding, and it would have been good practice at the very end to check with you "Have you had sufficient time? Is there anything you wish to add?"
See if you can get hold of the clerk's notes, but it sounds as if this could be worth taking to the ombudsman to see what he thinks.
(edited) ..... PS: As this was an LA appeal, I suggest starting with a complaint to the office that made the arrangements.
A happy Christmas to you ......
Etienne