Official reports (DfE, LGO, EFA, AJTC, OSA)

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Etienne
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Official reports (DfE, LGO, EFA, AJTC, OSA)

Post by Etienne »

DfE - Department for Education
LGO - Local Government Ombudsman (investigates complaints against appeals for maintained schools)
EFA - Education Funding Agency (investigates complaints against academy appeals)
AJTC - Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council
OSA - Office of the Schools Adjudicator




Ombudsman criticises Slough GS appeals

http://www.lgo.org.uk/news/2009/jul/slo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... l-process/
(Date Published: 08/07/09)

Re: appeals held 1 and 2 September 2008 - the full report can be downloaded by following a link on the above page
Etienne
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Post by Looking for help »

Thank you for posting this, Etienne, it makes for interesting reading.

A bit scary though that it has taken almost a year for this to be sorted, what a shame for the families involved.

LFH
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Slough Grammar School 'named' again.
The Ombudsman is not satisfied with the response of Slough Grammar School to a report he issued earlier this year criticising its mishandling of school admission appeals, where it failed to follow the mandatory Code on admission appeals. He therefore issued a second (further) report.
the Ombudsman remained unsatisfied by the School’s response, and therefore issued his further report calling upon the School to consider this report and provide the full remedy he recommended.

Date Updated: 25/11/09
http://www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-outcome" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... er-report/

Note: The ombudsman cannot make admission authorities do as he recommends, but he can, in effect, 'name and shame'. In practice, admission authorities are almost always willing to accept and act on what he says. This is exceptional.


Update: I'm pleased to see the following update to the ombudsman's report:
"LGO satisfied with School's response after further report: 14 June 2010"
Etienne
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Latest appeal statistics + Digest of ombudsman cases

Post by Etienne »

1. 2007-08 admission appeals statistics were published at the end of October. (Unfortunately appeals for selective schools are not shown separately.)
The main findings from today’s 2007-08 admission appeals statistics are:

All Schools

• 61,950 appeals heard – 3.6% of the total 1,717,180 admission offers in all primary and secondary schools

• 19,150 appeals heard were decided in parents’ favour – 30.9% overall

• Overall, the proportion of appeals heard has increased from 3.3 in 2006/07 to 3.6 in 2007/08, with successful appeals falling by 3.5 percentage points

Primary Schools
• 22,220 appeals heard – 2.1% of the total 1,059,190 admission offers in all primary schools

• 6,190 appeals were decided in parents’ favour – 27.8% overall

• Overall the proportion of appeals heard has risen 0.4 percentage points since last year while successful appeals have fallen 4.4 percentage points

Secondary Schools

• 39,730 appeals heard – 6.0% of the total 658,000 admission offers in all secondary schools

• 12,970 appeals were decided in parents’ favour – 32.6% overall

• Overall the proportion of appeals heard has increased by 0.1 percentage points since last year, while successful appeals have fallen 2.7 percentage points

All parents have the right to appeal to an independent panel if any school they applied to does not give them a place. The appeals process is completely independent of Government, local authorities or schools’ own governing bodies.
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'

1. Admission Appeals for Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools in England 2007/08 is published at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway [easier to go straight to: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR ... ndex.shtml - Etienne]

2. Local authority level data on School Applications and Offers on National Offer Day 2009 is published at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cg ... =2009_0050

3. The mandatory School Admissions Code and School Admissions Appeals Code is at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/sacode

4. The Parent’s Guide to Admissions, published in April, sets out the appeals process: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/sacode

5. School Admission Code came into force in February 2007 for admissions from the 2008 school year, builds on the ban on school admission interviews for parents or children imposed by the Education and Inspections Act 2006. A revised Code came into force in January 2009.

6. School Admission Appeal Code (came into force January 17 2008). All admission authorities, governing bodies, admission forums, schools adjudicators and appeals panels now have to adhere to the mandatory School Admission Appeals Code previously they only had to have regard to it. A revised Code came into force in January 2009.

Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Press Notice 2009/0204

2. Digest of ombudsman cases (scroll down to 'education' and select year)

http://www.lgo.org.uk/publications/digest-of-cases
Etienne
Etienne
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Ombudsman report - Reading School, maladministration

Post by Etienne »

Maladministration causing injustice

28 January 2010
Reading School should offer a place to a boy with a hearing problem after his appeal was mishandled. The Ombudsman said: "The panel failed to properly consider [the complainant's] arguments that [his son] had been discriminated against and this means that the Panel's decision was reached with maladministration."
Etienne
Etienne
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Ombudsman report: Warwickshire County Council

Post by Etienne »

Maladministration causing injustice

25 March 2010
A Warwickshire County Council school admission appeal panel failed to consider properly whether a [primary] school was full. The Ombudsman said that she suggested to the Council that a fresh appeal would remedy the injustice of the first, flawed appeal, but the Council delayed in agreeing. She said: "It is most regrettable that the Council's resistance caused [the complainant] and her daughter to have to wait more than five months before being offered a remedy for the injustice caused to them. I hope that the Council will reflect on the consequences of its stance both for [the complainant] and for the effective use of its and my resources."
Etienne
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Latest appeal statistics + Digest of ombudsman cases

Post by Etienne »

Etienne
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: STICKY: Appeal statistics / Ombudsman

Post by Etienne »

The conduct of admission appeals organised by Kent County Council on behalf of Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School was seriously flawed, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Anne Seex. In her report, issued today, she found that the appeal panel became hopelessly muddled in its decision making. It failed to manage hearings, take account of parents’ needs or record its reasoning.

The Ombudsman said: “The appeal panel’s eccentric and idiosyncratic consideration of the appeals and poor time keeping caused uncertainty for most of the parents who complained to me.”
The full report can be found on the ombudsman's website:
http://www.lgo.org.uk/news/2011/jul/han ... syncratic/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(click on 'downloads' on right-hand side)
Etienne
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: STICKY: Appeal statistics / Ombudsman

Post by Etienne »

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School

School admissions

Maladministration causing injustice


http://www.lgo.org.uk/complaint-outcome ... 0-004-884/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In response to the Ombudsman’s findings, the School initially agreed to arrange a fresh appeal for Mrs K, but it reneged upon that agreement, saying that Mrs K’s personal case was weak and that the proper decision was made. But the Ombudsman said “This is a decision for an Independent Appeal Panel to make after following the correct process and giving proper consideration to all relevant information.”
It is unusual for admission authorities not to co-operate with the ombudsman, and IMHO they deserve to be 'named and shamed'.
Etienne
Etienne
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Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: STICKY: Appeal statistics / Ombudsman

Post by Etienne »

There is a discussion of the above item in the Birmingham section:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=23122" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
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