Feedback from all areas - see 1st post to copy feedback form

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

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U400JB9
Posts: 778
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:29 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by U400JB9 »

[/list]• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:

• 2. What you were appealing against?

NON QUALIFICATION AND OVERSUBSCRIPTION

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:

SIR ROGER MANWOOD (SANDWICH)

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?

ACADEMY STATUS SO I BELIEVE SO

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

20:05:13

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

ABOUT 3 WEEKS

• 7. Where was the appeal held?

LOCAL COMMUNITY CENTRE

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?

FEW MINUTES EARLY

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?

INDEPENDENT PANEL

• 10. Who was on the panel?

3 LAY PEOPLE.


• 11. Was there a group hearing?

NO

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

YES

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?

NO



• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

THEY SAID THEY WERE FOCUSSING ON HER NON QUALIFICATION, THE LEVELS SHE HAD PRE AND SINCE THE TEST WERE DICUSSED, THE REASONS WE THOUGHT SHE PERFORMED BADLY ON THE DAY ( BEREAVEMENTS) AND WHAT WE HAD DONE TO HELP HER SINCE. THE LACK OF EVIDENCE TAKEN TO THE HT APPEAL WAS ALSO MENTIONED.



• 15. What were the panel like?

THE PANEL WERE LOVELY, VERY FRIENDLY AND PUT US AT EASE. THEY EVEN SAID HOW LOVELY DD2 SOUNDED :wink:

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?

THE DEPUTY HEAD OF THE SCHOOL WAS THE REPRESENTATIVE, HE MET US IN THE COFFEE ROOM AND ESCORTED US OUT OF THE ROOM

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

YES WE WERE

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

NOT AT ALL

• 19. How long did the hearing last?

35 MINUTES

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?

NO

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

YES :D :D :D :D :D

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?

4 DAYS ( WE WERE TOLD 10 DAYS)

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

THEY SAID THEY`RE TAKE UP TO 8, INCLUDING US I KNOW OF 2

• b. in previous years

USUALLY ABOUT 8


• 24. Any other comments:

THEY WERE INCREDIBLY FRIENDLY, APOLOGISED FOR HAVING TO DISCUSS HER LOW SCORES IN THE TEST WHEN THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY AN ANOMALY, EVEN SAID WE DID WELL KEEPING CALM :D THEY LISTENED TO EVERYTHING WE SAID AND ASKED QUESTIONS THAT WERE RELEVENT TO HER. THEY NOTED THAT MANWOOD IS ACTUALLY OUR NEAREST GRAMMAR SCHOOL, SOMETHING WE DIDN`T MENTION AS WE LIVE OUT OF CATCHMENT. THEY ALSO ASKED WHY SHE WAS NOT GOING TO THE SAME GRAMMAR SCHOOL AS HER SIBLING. AND SEEMED IMPRESSED THAT WE HAD CONSIDERED THE DIFFERENT NATURES OF OUR GIRLS WHEN CHOSING DIFFERENT GRAMMAR SCHOOLS FOR THEM :oops:
THE LETTER SAID WE PUT FORWARD CLEAR EVIDENCE OF GRAMMAR SCHOOL ABILITY WHICH HAD BEEN DEPRESSED AT THE TIME OF THE TEST DUE TO EMOTIONAL ISSUES.
:D :D :D





If your appeal has yet to take place, please would you consider posting a report at the appropriate time?

Thank you![/quote]
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by DC17C »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Gloucestershire

• 2. What you were appealing against?- both non-qualification and oversubscription?

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: The Crypt School

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? Yes (academy)

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: first week of June

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? About 4 weeks

• 7. Where was the appeal held? At the school

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? No

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting? 20 mins

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?

• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy where the governors are the admission authority. Yes

• 10. Who was on the panel? I was given the names of the Panel with the case papers but do not know who they were.

• 11. Was there a group hearing? No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? Yes

• a. the case for the admission authority;

• b. questioning by the appellants and panel

• c. the case for the appellants;

• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;

• e. summing up by the admission authority; and

• f. summing up by the appellants.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel? No

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

I did not get asked anything regarding the academic evidence submitted but the panel acknowledged that they were familiar with all the reports and letters submitted.

I was asked about how DS was after the test and results.

How dyspraxia affected him and if he had any support in school? Why he was not assessed previously? What school he was allocated? What books he read and what he did when on the computer at home. Did he do any sports? Why did DS want to go to an all boys school?
• 15. What were the panel like? friendly polite & considerate. Seemed interested in DS.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? No

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? Yes

• 18. Did you feel rushed? Not at all

• 19. How long did the hearing last? About 30 minutes

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision? No I was told I would get a letter within 10 days

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful? Yes….still not sunk in yet!

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends? 9 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):

• a. on this occasion- I think 10 as the year will have 122 in it

• b. in previous years Up to 9 above PAN ( 22 successful appeals in 2012)

• 24. Any other comments: I read from typed notes summarising the academic evidence, issues relating to non-qualification and reasons for wanting specific school (2 sides of spaced writing on A4).
Evidence used:
Letter from head stating predicting high level 5/6 SATS, CAT scores all over 128
Copy of email from class teacher confirming science SAT level 5 and SPAG SAT mock results.
School reports from Yr2, 5 & 6 and KS1 summary sheet. (The reports supported issues DS had with handwriting as well as consistent high ability in maths, science, literacy throughout KS2)
Occupational Therapy report
Background Information from the Dyspraxia Foundation on Dyspraxic children in secondary education.
I was able to provide lots of reasons for specifically wanting a place at the school and why I felt the allocated school was no longer suitable with a better understanding of DS’s diagnosis.
I want to give a huge thank you to all who have given advice and kept me going along the way. I am so pleased for DS and relieved all my efforts have not been in vain.
SmallerClanger
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:08 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by SmallerClanger »

Wanted to add our appeal experience in Trafford, especially as there was very little info for Trafford when I looked on forum.


• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:

Trafford

• 2. What you were appealing against?

• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?

non qualification and oversubscription.

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:

(if a specific school was involved)
Stretford Grammar

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

no

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

mid June

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

At least 10 days.

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)

Council Offices

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?


yes

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?

• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because (i) it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority, or (ii) it's responsible for hearing Bucks 'selection' appeals.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

LA appointed.

• 10. Who was on the panel?

(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Not told.


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No.

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

yes.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

Yes, internal review of a creative writing piece.

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

No, it wasn't mentioned.

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

None.


• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Polite, friendly, reassuring.


• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)

no we entered and left together.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

I think so.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?


No, we gave the evidence and asked all the questions that we wanted to. But definitely felt they wanted it over quickly, by asking no questions.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

About 30 minutes.

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

No, we asked when the results would be sent out.

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

Not successful.

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?


17 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

not known

• b. in previous years
Can't remember accurately but about 2 or 3 out of 14 or 28 appeals over the last 2 years, then 4 out of about 40 one year.

• 24. Any other comments:

found the experience stressful, but less terrifying than expected. Over quite quickly, and we felt we had to ask extra questions and offer more information as we were asked no questions at all. Only found out on the day the actual scores in the review process, and that there had been a typing error in their evidence pack so no raw scores were printed. The subsequent letter made the whole process seem unnecessary, as it just stated that the admissions rules were adhered to and the qualifying score had not been met, so the appeal could not be successful. No reference to why our evidence or specific situation had not been enough to change the panel's decision. Luckily we are quite happy with alternative school, but knew we had to try the appeal.
Rho40
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 2:11 am

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by Rho40 »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:
Buckinghamshire

• 2. What you were appealing against?
c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?
In two separate appeal hearings – a few months apart

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Royal Latin

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
No

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
April 2013 and July 2013

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
10

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
council offices

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
First one was 20 mins late, second one on time

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?
a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because (i) it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority, or (ii) it's responsible for hearing Bucks 'selection' appeals.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
A retired businessman from the City, two lay people – one is a governor at another school in the county.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
Yes, for the oversubscription stage

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
Yes, exactly as in the papers

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
Yes, had an unsuccessful paper-based Review in January 2013

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?
Yes, we had to show that selection review had not been conducted ‘fairly, consistently and objectively’ before they would look at the evidence of academic ability.

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?
Really hard to remember!
At qualification appeal
- what happened on the days of the tests?
- how did he do in the practice papers?
- How will he cope in a challenging academic environment?
Lots of very specific questions in order to help them understand the medical evidence presented.

At allocation appeal
- How will he travel to/from school?
- How does he feel about the allocated school? Has he been to see it?
- Why do you want your children together?

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
Yes – very. Tried to put us at our ease. Took all the time they needed. Felt like we’d had a fair shot at it. One asked a couple of leading questions and nearly caught me out.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time?
No

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
Yes – although I still kept thinking afterwards of all the things I should have said – having a checklist of points you want to make is useful

• 18. Did you feel rushed?
No

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
Qualification appeal – 90 mins
Allocation appeal – 40 mins

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
We asked if we could but told no

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
Yes

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
4 days

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
Don’t know

• 24. Any other comments:
Things that seemed to help our case:
- Having very specific, unusual circumstances. We pulled together lots of different evidence for both appeals and showed that this was a particularly weird combination of circumstances that had led to the position we were in.
- For FCO, showing that something has gone wrong. We showed that the SRP had had sight of documents that we were not aware existed until the case papers arrived for the qualification appeal- and that there were errors in these documents that would have changed how we would have prepared our case at selection review. We also showed that reasonable adjustments put in place for him to take the tests had not been sufficient and we parents accepted responsibility for this.
- For Qualification, the ed psych report was worth the money if you can. Gather evidence, we had letters from hospital consultant and head teacher, along with clerk’s notes from SRP and hand remarking of VTRS papers.
- For Oversubscription, it’s all about prejudice, show why your child cannot go to the allocated school not why you prefer the one you are appealing for.
I found it very helpful to go through my arguments with friends and family to see how it would appear to the panel who didn’t know us. That was very helpful and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who gave me some of their time (you know who you are!).
Debby1967
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:07 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by Debby1967 »

Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:

Kent

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
Mitigating circumstances

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
Wilmington Grammr school for girls

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:
June
• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?
10 days
• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)
Gravesend day centre

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?
Late

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?
3/4 hour
• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because (i) it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority, or (ii) it's responsible for hearing Bucks 'selection' appeals.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

LA Appoineted panel

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

One was an MP I think, one was a "lady" something and the other one was a retired businesman

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)
No
• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

No I felt that it was all over the place, they followed their part a bit then through the table open for me to speak

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)
No
• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?



• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)
Polite, felt that wasnt that interested, felt that had already decided not to uphold before I even got in the room!

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)
No
• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?
No
• 18. Did you feel rushed?
Totally
• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)
1/2 hour
• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)
No wasnt allowed to
• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?
No
• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?
3 weeks
• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

• b. in previous years


• 24. Any other comments:
MedievalBabe
Posts: 1191
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:56 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by MedievalBabe »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:

Gloucestershire

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?

Both non-qualification and over subscription on medical grounds

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)

Sir Thomas Rich's and Crypt

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

Both are Academies

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

STR was the 17th May 2013, they had a week of appeals and Crypt was 6th June 2013

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

3 1/2 weeks beforehand

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)

STR held theirs at Kingsholm and Crypt was at the school

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?

Few minutes late

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

10 mins no more

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because (i) it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority, or (ii) it's responsible for hearing Bucks 'selection' appeals.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

I can only say that the panel did not have children or connections with the school.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Retired lawyer as chairman, a business woman and another business man.


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No group hearing

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

Sort of, the admissions authority lay out their case and then we put our case forward and it ended with questions being asked of us. No need for summing up.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

No idea

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

We were asked to explain DS's medical condition and how he dealt with the exam, main part of our case.
How he is expected to do in the SATs.
What else does he like to do.


• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Friendly, polite and attentive

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)

Not as far as we could tell.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

No, but we didn't need any more time as we had put forward all of our case.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

We were in with them for over 45 mins and might have caused everyone following to be late. Sorry!

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

Nope

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

Yes

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?

Less than a week

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

We know 6 appeals were successful as they are over PAN by 6.


• 24. Any other comments:

We were appealing on medical grounds due to sons sight problem, which was under investigation at the time of the exam and not diagnosed until afterwards. So we made sure we had a letter from the hospital consultant to confirm the condition. We also provided evidence of what he could see at the time of the exam, a kindle was very handy for this as we photocopied the print size he could read at the time of the exam and during treatment. I also took an old pair of his glasses he was using during treatment. All of these helped the panel understand how poor his sight was. Luckily for us the school provided a sample of the enlarged paper, which showed that the print was far too small.

We also provided written evidence from DS's school in the form or reports and a letter from the head confirming his intelligence and how they had been supporting him with his condition.

The other thing is we dressed smartly. We wanted to show that this was important to us as parents and we were serious about the school. But the clothes we chose were also comfortable for us as they were similar to the sort of clothes we wore day to day at work.
Npowell999
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:42 am

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by Npowell999 »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place:

Kent

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?

Both non-qualification and over subscription.

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for:
(if a specific school was involved)

Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School

• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)



• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing:

Late appeal on 7th July 2014

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

Knew date 2 weeks before and time on the day

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)

Salamons Centre Southborough

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?

Thirty minutes late

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

35 mins no more

• 9. What sort of independent appeal panel did you have?
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because (i) it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority, or (ii) it's responsible for hearing Bucks 'selection' appeals.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

I can only say that the panel did not have children or connections with the school.

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

Did not say what they did anywhere


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No group hearing

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

Yes

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

No idea

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

It was so brief and rushed they did not ask anything about dd really except how would she cope when her overall score was 368 and there would be children there who had scored over 420.


• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Polite

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)

Not as far as we could tell.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

Yes, but I did not feel I had time I felt rushed.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

Yes

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

20 minutes

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

No

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

No

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?

Less than a week

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

I know 6 appeals were successful as they are over PAN by 6, hence why dd did not get in as they never go to 148 in the year and where they did two girls were off school with illnesses so have never gone to exams with 148.


• 24. Any other comments:
Yes this was a very distressing case for me, the headmistress at dc's school is awful, we fell out in the past due to ds who is never going to be grammar school material not getting any help and the year 5 teacher carrying on with another teacher. I have also heard of last years students who had problems with her supporting them. I tried to go through this process alone and was unguided by the school at all. A great maths teacher there wanted to help but his hands were tied by the ht.
Anyhow when trying to download the appeal form the kent website was being changed, and I could not get on the website. I complained to KCC and the manager Andrew Ballard said he would on this occasion send the appeals out with an explanation even though they do not normally send appeals to TWGGS. To cut a long story short he had sent it to the wrong email address I only found out when I got my appeal through for Weald of Kent. I wrote to TWGGS and they wrote back saying they had never received an intent to appeal and that I could have a late appeal but six successful appeals had already taken them over pan by 6!
My appeal paperwork that was not sent recorded was delivered but I did not know the time of my appeal until the day itself royal mail had not left a calling card!
Anyway the appeal was meant to be at 2:55 I got in at 3:30!!! I was so nervous by then and the panel kept saying what a long day it had been I felt like I shouldn't bore them or keep them and missed out many of my points.

Feeling quite awful about this and how I have let dd down, her sats were 5b 5b 5b : ( Her SPAG was so advanced for her age too.
discreetmum
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by discreetmum »

1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Trafford

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?

c - both

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: Stretford Grammar


• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

Yes

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: mid-June 2014

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

We saw them 5 days in advance because they arrived during the school holidays when we were away. In any case, based on the date of the covering letter, they must have arrived fewer than 10 days beforehand.

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)

Council offices

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?

Yes

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

N/A

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

c. a Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

3 women, 1 man. 2 x person with interest in education, 2 x lay person. Not given any other information. Range of ages.


• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

Yes

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

No

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

Most questions were based on trying to find out if anything had happened on the day of the exam to account for the scores. Had child done any timed practice papers? One panel member said child's primary school had a good reputation so surely they would have ensured child was well prepared. Checked name of allocated school (which had had to be submitted on appeal form). Had child sat any other entrance exams?

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

Very pleasant, interested, made it a comfortable process. Felt listened to.Thought some of their questions/points indicated they were not particularly familiar with the current selective school system in Trafford.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)

No - entered and left with us.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

Yes.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

Can't remember exactly but finished comfortably within allocated time (35 minutes)

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

Not permitted.

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

No

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?

just under two weeks

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

not known

• b. in previous years

provided as part of school's case:

2/32 - 2009/10
4/45 - 2010/11
1/13 - 2011/12
3/39 - 2012/13

• 24. Any other comments:

School's representative put case for the school in a very kind way.
discreetmum
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by discreetmum »

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Trafford

• 2. What you were appealing against?
• a. non-qualification only?
• b. oversubscription only?
• c. both non-qualification and oversubscription?

c- both

• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: Sale Grammar School


• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority?
(e.g. academy, foundation or voluntary aided)

Academy

• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: late June 2014

• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers?

Just over two weeks I think - arrived while away during the school holidays

• 7. Where was the appeal held?
(e.g. council offices)

Council offices

• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time?

Yes - panel was ready for us at least 15 minutes before appointment time but clerk asked if we would like time to gather our thoughts.

• 8b. If not, how late was it in starting?

N/A

• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? For example:
• a. A panel appointed by the Local Authority? - because it's dealing with a community school for which the LA is the admission authority.
• b. A panel appointed by the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority.
• c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel from the LA.
• d. Some other panel acting at the request of the school? - because it's an academy, foundation or VA school where the governors are the admission authority, and they 'hired' a panel not from the LA but from a commercial organisation, charity, or some other body.

c. A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school

• 10. Who was on the panel?
(if you were told, e.g. a retired teacher, a businessman, and school governor - no names, please.)

2 women, 2 men. 2 x lay person, 2 x person with interest. No other information provided.

• 11. Was there a group hearing?
(This is where stage 1 - the LA or school case - is presented to all the parents as a group)

No

• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business?
• a. the case for the admission authority;
• b. questioning by the appellants and panel
• c. the case for the appellants;
• d. questioning by the admission authority and panel;
• e. summing up by the admission authority; and
• f. summing up by the appellants.

Yes.

• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel?
(sometimes applies to non-qualification)

No.

• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly?

N/A

• 14. What questions were you asked about your case?

Virtually nothing from panel except whether anything had happened on the day of the exam or whether there were any extentuating circumstances. Asked name of allocated school (which had already had to be filled out on appeal form).

School's representative asked if child had taken other entrance exams.

• 15. What were the panel like?
(e.g. Were they friendly? polite? considerate?)

The 2 women came across as disdainful and hostile; they did not smile once. The 2 men were much more pleasant.

• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? (It's acceptable for the representative to be waiting outside the room, but he/she must not be already in the room with the panel when you arrive, or remain in the room with the panel when you leave.)

No - entered and left with us.

• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)?

Yes - given plenty of opportunity to add any further points.

• 18. Did you feel rushed?

No but hearing felt perfunctory and we sensed that some members of the panel had probably already made up their minds before we even walked in.

• 19. How long did the hearing last?
(excluding the group hearing, if there was one)

15 minutes at most (35 minutes were allocated)

• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision?
(most authorities do not allow this, although some do)

Not permitted.

• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful?

No

• 22. How long did you have to wait for the decision, including weekends?

Just over two weeks. Decision letter sent well after Sale Grammar's induction day and, as far as I know, those for other local secondary schools.

• 23. Success rates for appeals for this school (if applicable, and if known):
• a. on this occasion

not known

• b. in previous years

Lots of appeals made but generally, few, if any, are successful. Trafford School Admissions advised me that to be successful, you needed to be able to prove procedural irregularity (or words to that effect).

• 24. Any other comments:

School's representative was unnecessarily aggressive in tone when presenting case and in responding to a politely put question.
1lurker
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 11:19 am

Re: STICKY: Feedback from all areas

Post by 1lurker »

Looks like I am the first to give feedback this year! I have found the information on this forum invaluable over the past 3 years and I am hoping and praying my youngest two children pass outright… (unlike the elder two!) So thank you, to all those who post and comment. Our stage two hearing was this morning and I don’t know what to do with myself, sleep, eat, shop or cry! The STT / review / appeal process is not for the faint hearted! My one piece of advice to anyone considering relocating to Bucks with a young family would be don’t ! Find an area with good comprehensives and save yourself and your children from years of turmoil!

• 1. Local Authority area in which the appeal took place: Bucks, Aylesbury Vale.
• 2. What you were appealing against? both non-qualification and oversubscription?
• 3. Name of school you were appealing for: Royal Latin School
• 4. Was this a school where the governors are the admission authority? Yes
• 5. Approx. date of appeal hearing: Stage 1- 6th May, Stage 2 -14th May
• 6. How many days in advance of the hearing, including weekends, did you receive the case papers? 8 days
• 7. Where was the appeal held? Bucks County Council Offices in Aylesbury
• 8a. Did your individual hearing start more or less on time? Yes
• 9. Do you know what sort of independent appeal panel you had? A Local Authority appointed panel acting at the request of the school
• 10. Who was on the panel? Two retired teachers and an accountant
• 11. Was there a group hearing? Yes
• 12. Did the appeal follow the recommended order of business? Yes
Interestingly the group hearing did not go into FCO issues at all and focused purely on the schools inability to take additional children. We were told 32 children were appealing 2/3 had qualified but could not be offered a place as they live out of catchment and others lived closer who have been allocated the available spaces (50% of the intake). The remaining 1/3 had not qualified, some of whom had been to review but not all. The hearing took 1 ½ hours. We were told at stage 2 non-qualified cases had an hour slot and qualified 30 mins.
• 13a. Had your case already been considered by a Review Panel? Yes
• 13b. If so, were you told that, because your case had already been reviewed, the only issue for the appeal panel was whether the review had been conducted properly? Yes
• 14. What questions were you asked about your case? At the Stage 2 hearing we were asked to start with FCO. We focused purely on aspects which specifically related to our case and did not go into process technicalities at all. When we received the schools paper work we spotted a major inconsistency in the description of a level 3 recommendation. The school summary sheet refers to a level 3 recommendation as – Recommend WITHOUT reservation, whereas the HT manual and selection review form state a 3 recommendation as – Recommend WITH reservation. Our DD was the only child in her school of 80+ students who received a 3.1 with a ‘very slight reservation’. We put the point across that whichever wording was correct, it was a fundamental inconsistency in the process. The schools representative said it has always been ‘with reservation’ and played it down as a typo, however we were able to say that it is possible the review panel assumed the wording had been changed, as this change appears to provide more measurable criteria base on ability. A reservation could be based on any factor (behaviour, personality, focus) it is not specifically an academic reservation. We stated that were the HT given these criteria to assess our child against her review form would have read more positively, as the HT is not having to justify a negative reservation. We also had evidence that the reservation was because DD worries and had no academic basis at all as the head had confirm very strong academic evidence indicating if it were not for the ‘worrying’ DD would have been given a 2.1. The school summary confirmed all 1.1s and 5 out of 7 with a 2.1 qualified. Both the 2.1s who did not pass, qualified through a review and so we had a case that this ‘very slight reservation’ was in effect a major influencing factor in the outcome of DDs review case. The chair picked up that the moderation form did not appear to have considered all the academic evidence, as only SATs were referred to and could the schools representative confirm CATS and spelling / reading age were looked at and he could not.
We were asked lots of questions around ‘worrying’ and ‘ illness’ in the lead up to the test and why we let DD sit the test if she were not 100% … a trick one! We were also asked about tutoring.
We discussed DDs lower maths CAT score (121) as one of the retired teachers stated she would expect this to be higher for a child suitable for grammar school and questions relating to application of knowledge and that the test was designed to select children who can apply their knowledge (specific to Maths). I accepted Maths is DDs weakest area, which was why we were so surprised it was the highest score in the STT.
We were asked about the ‘reservation’ and why the HT had given a 3. We stated the ‘worry’ is related to DD’s handwriting more than written content. We confirmed there is no issue with DD’s written skill (5B/5A)but she struggles to write neatly and is fully aware compared to her peers, her work is messy and she finds this upsetting and worries about it.
We briefly discussed ‘standardisation’ as DD is born in early October and highlighted if her score was standardised to account for her individual characteristics (maturity etc) her score would be much closer to 121.
• 15. What were the panel like? Friendly and knowledgeable, but they did ask some probing and challenging questions and certainly didn’t give us an easy ride. They were however also understanding and kind and had clearly read through all the paperwork and had questions ready to ask. We submitted our case in full and only presented additional points we had considered after seeing the schools case. The points were also written as a statement which we read out and provided copies for the panel members / school and clerk to read. This worked for us and meant we did not spend time going over old ground, we barely mentioned our case for prejudice as this was written in full and the panel were satisfied they understood this fully (Catchment, Sibling, Walking Distance etc) We essentially spent 45 minutes answering their questions which demonstrated they had read all the evidence submitted.
• 16. As far as you know, was the representative of the admission authority left alone with the panel at any point in time? No
• 17. Were you asked at the end of the hearing whether you had had sufficient time to state your case (or words to that effect)? Yes
• 18. Did you feel rushed? No
• 19. How long did the hearing last? Stage 2 - 1 hour including the waiting time whilst the panel looked at school work.
• 20. Were you told you could telephone for the decision? No a letter will be sent out within 5 days of the last hearing (may have been 7 days… I can’t remember!)
• 21. If you have the result, was your appeal successful? I will let you know!
I would be very surprised if the FCO hurdle was upheld in our case, as for qualification your guess is as good as mine! DD had a very bad day at the office with a STTS of 109! We did everything we could and hopefully the academic evidence (SATS 5A,5A, 5B - CATS 121, 128,135, spelling age 15 ½) and her school work convinced the panel she has the ability. We did have some mitigating evidence, illness in the weeks leading up to the test and DD was assessed by an EdPsych who confirmed DD displays several indicators that she may have Autistic spectrum traits which would explain the anxiety issues. If she qualifies I know she has an extremely strong case for prejudice but who knows!
I will update in 3 ½ weeks time!
Good Luck to all and I hope this is useful to someone in the future!
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