Headteacher appeals
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Headteacher appeals
I keep reading lots of posts about Head teacher appeals and wondered exactly what the process consists of. Do schools choose which children to appeal for? Or is it an automatic thing for those just short? What does the Head actually do i.e do they write in support or just provide books and levels etc. It seems quite a mysterious process to me and a bit of a lottery for some with some surprising outcomes both ways. Does your area and amount of already 'qualified' pupils from your school make a difference? I feel very sad for some of these posters who seem to have had what appear to be quite harsh decisions. Plus I know of a child with very high vr and non vr scores who was three marks short on maths and whose HT appeal was rejected on the basis of the essay (this is in Kent) Surely this childs maths would have been the subject they needed to scrutinize as she had already shown her ability in the other areas?
Just trying to understand it all. Any enlightenment very welcome.
Just trying to understand it all. Any enlightenment very welcome.
Hi - I've said elsewhere that this process does seem to be rather inconsistent. I can let you know what happened to us, as our HT explained it all on Tuesday.
My daughter got 140 VR, 132 NVR and 116 Maths. The HT said that she looked at all the results, and picked out those that she thought were worth appealing for, then she checked that the year teacher agreed.
They had a form which they had to fill out, including their reasons for the appeal, plus supporting evidence. In our case, she said that my daughter's work showed her ability, plus she had shown rapid progress recently. They sent off her work so far this year, along with a letter from her year teacher. They also supplied her recent SATs results. I don't think she mentioned the written piece of work.
The form came back with a comment saying something along the lines that the panel agreed, and that she was suitable for a grammar place.
My daughter got 140 VR, 132 NVR and 116 Maths. The HT said that she looked at all the results, and picked out those that she thought were worth appealing for, then she checked that the year teacher agreed.
They had a form which they had to fill out, including their reasons for the appeal, plus supporting evidence. In our case, she said that my daughter's work showed her ability, plus she had shown rapid progress recently. They sent off her work so far this year, along with a letter from her year teacher. They also supplied her recent SATs results. I don't think she mentioned the written piece of work.
The form came back with a comment saying something along the lines that the panel agreed, and that she was suitable for a grammar place.
my daughter was similar in that she missed by 1 point on the maths & over on the others, I have now seen the HT review forms and they didnt allow her though because of her English paper on the day!
As you say, the issue that was under question was her maths - NOT her literacy so it seems madness that she was denied automatic entry on the thing she had passed on.
Madness I tells ya
As you say, the issue that was under question was her maths - NOT her literacy so it seems madness that she was denied automatic entry on the thing she had passed on.
Madness I tells ya
Thanks for the reply, and well done to your daughter for doing so well. Sounds like your Head was on the ball and your daughter got the selective result she deserved. As you say though, in general the process seems inconsistant. Am wondering if they allow a certain number per school and how much they go by the HT input rather than sats/work examples alone?. Some HTs do seem to be more supportive and 'pro active' regarding these appeals than others and I wondered how much of a difference this made to the eventual decision!
thank you observer. my dd's head is pretty confident - dd works to lowe level 5's at mo in lit & reading comp, 4a into a 5 in maths so she is where she should be to fit in.
She was saying that its all madness, some kids who werent expected to pass, who are in lower bandin for maths and or lit are going automatically, 2 of the girls are 3a for literacy! but they pulled it out of the bag!
Admissions dept were lovely, i wanted her raw score, and they told me how low automatic admission always is in FSFG.
ta x
She was saying that its all madness, some kids who werent expected to pass, who are in lower bandin for maths and or lit are going automatically, 2 of the girls are 3a for literacy! but they pulled it out of the bag!
Admissions dept were lovely, i wanted her raw score, and they told me how low automatic admission always is in FSFG.
ta x
Would like to add my support to you Ogremum. Glad your head is confident. Having good support from the school can make a huge positive difference to the strength of your appeal. I know from experience that this is a stressful, time consuming road, but If you are confident it is right for your daughter then it is the right option.
Best of luck with it all x
Best of luck with it all x
