Ombudsman & child's need for a place

[penelope.p]

My eldest daughter attends Chelmsford County High & youngest daughter missed a place there and was awarded a place at Westcliffe. Can I appeal directly to the head of CCHS for support in the appeal providing my academic evidence and mitigating circumstances?

[bungeeful]

My Nephew didn't get his 1st choice & his Dad emailed the Head of his present school for their support. We've received a lovely letter in return which we aim to use at the appeal. I recommend you do the same but due to time constraints I'd do it quickly, best of luck

[Etienne]

No, it would not be lawful for any panel to take into account a letter of support from the school being appealed for.

Panels must not allow representatives of schools to support individual appeals for places at their school at the hearing itself or by providing letters of support for appellants, because of possible conflicts of interest and the possibility of unfairness to other appellants.

[bungeeful]

I agree with Etienne that unfairness that one child got in & the other didn't isn't grounds for an appeal & asking a Head to submit a letter of support for this reason isn't ethical but if there was other mitigating circumstances aside from this then that is different. Our situation is altogether different & I didn't make this clear.

[hermanmunster]

Bungeeful , I think the difference is that your nephew got a supportive letter from the head of his current school - that happens frequently and actually it is rather difficult to go to apeal without the currents head's support.

The OP was trying to get help from the school she wanted her DC to go to, which is not allowed.

[penelope.p]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. We do have extenuating circumstances and good reasons for needing CCHS as opposed to just a grammar school. I have read and reread all the advice and do's & dont's with regards to appeals. One thing I havent managed to establish though, is the time frame. When are the appeals heard? And when are the second round of places offered to people on the waiting list? The question is, if we win the appeal (i know it is not very likely), would we and any other successul people, then be allocated a place BEFORE they start offering to people on the waiting list. OR would the refused places already have been re allocated before the hearings take place?
many thanks

[Etienne]

When are the appeals heard?

Someone local may know when the appeals are usually held, and I know you've sensibly asked on the Essex forum. The only legal requirement is as follows:

Secondary admissions round – appeals for on-time applications (i.e. those relating to decisions sent on national offer day) must be heard by 6 July or the next working day, if 6 July falls on a weekend.

I'm afraid this means the admission authority is free to choose any time in the summer term (but no later than early July).

if we win the appeal (i know it is not very likely), would we and any other successul people, then be allocated a place BEFORE they start offering to people on the waiting list. OR would the refused places already have been re allocated before the hearings take place?

Good question! The two processes must continue independently of one another. If the waiting list vacancy occurs first, then the place must be offered - it cannot be held back pending appeals.

[penelope.p]

Hello

My appeal hearing is in one week.
My daughter didnt get a place at Chelmsford County High but was awarded a place at Westcliffe. I already have a daughter at County and it is only a few miles away from home. Westcliffe will take about 60 minutes to travel to.
My daughter excells at school and had fantastic scores in her 11+ practice papers. It was assumed she would do well in the 11+ exams. Unfortunately her results were uncharacteristically low meaning she is not even close to the top of the waiting list.
However, she has been offered a Grammar School place, just not our local grammar school. I decided my appeal would not be based upon non qualification or over subscription as I realised I didnt stand a chance with these arguments. Instead I have appealed on the basis that my child needs a place at her local grammar school and that her need outweighs any prejudice to the school.
my daughter has suffered from exzema since she was a baby but over the last few years it has become progressively worse. It afffects her face, trunk, arms and legs. We have hoped that it is something she will grow out of as none of the skin preparations seem to work long term. The day before the exam she wasnt outwardly nervous or worried, in fact she is quite a calm girl and was "sort of" looking forward to it. However, her exzema became more inflammed and itchy resulting in a slightly more restless night, but unfortunately did cause quite a bit of discomfort and distraction during the exams.
Clearly she wasnt unwell enough to have kept her away from the exams and I am not using this as a reason for appeal.
However what it did do was draw to our attention that her condition had worsened and needed addressing to prevent it from disadvantaging her in the future.
We asked our GP to refer her to a specialist and she is now under the care of a Dermatologist. Having done a lot of personal research on this condition we also discovered that the other thing she suffers from, extreme Travel Sickness, could possibly be linked to the skin conditions which could be attributed to an excess of histimine in the body.
My reasons for needing her to attend the nearest grammar school are two fold:
1. she will be having regular appointments with the specialist in order to diagnose and treat her condition. to collect her from school and return her after the appointment would mean her losing nearly 3 hours out of a school day
2. her travel sickness is so bad that I fear she would be seriously disadvantaged at school if she is subjected to a 60 minute bus ride before she even starts school. she will feel sick for about an hour after the ride and quite possibly will have a headache that unfortunately does not go with pain killers but needs her to lie down somewhere quiet for about an hour. I also worry how the stress of the anticipated journey will have on her skin condition and subsequently her school work.

I have submitted as supporting evidence a letter from her GP, the local pharmacy regarding her travel sickness, the appointment cards and copy prescriptions from the specialist together with extracts fromm medical journals regarding the links between exzema and motion sickness and the effects of the condition together with the specific diagnosis and treatment plans.

As secondary evidence I have enclosed a letter from her headmaster and her 11+ tutor confirming her ability and expressing their surprise at the results that she achieved. I have only enclosed these to highlight the effects of her condition being untreated at that time. Now she is having treatment and we hope to control it meaning that we can pevent it from becoming a disability to her and causing her to be disadvantaged.

I am hoping that the panel will see that to make her travel 60 minutes to a grammar school is not in the best interests of the chilld and that her need to attend her local grammar school outweighs any prejudice to the school.

Please can you give me your thoughts and advice on this appeal. I was quite calm when I completed and compiled all the dcumentation, fueled by the passion of doing the right thing for my child. But now I am starting to feel very sick and nervous at the prospect of standing up and presenting the appeal in person.

I am particulary aware that very rarely are appeals for Chelmsford County High School ever successful.

What are the most important reasons that I should use to highlight my case under the banner of "childs need for a place at the school outweighing any prejudice......" and maybe also "exceptional medical/social criterion"

Sorry this was so long but I thought it best to explain the whole basis of my appeal.

Many thanks to anyone who can offer some guidance on giving the appeal presentation.

[Etienne]

I decided my appeal would not be based upon non qualification or over subscription as I realised I didnt stand a chance with these arguments. Instead I have appealed on the basis that my child needs a place at her local grammar school and that her need outweighs any prejudice to the school.

Sorry, not sure I understand, but it may just be a matter of terminology.

Am I right in thinking places at this school are allocated by rank order? If so, is there a minimum qualifying score and did she achieve it? The Code of Practice states:

the panel must be satisfied that there is evidence to demonstrate that the child is of grammar school ability and, where applicable, that the appellant’s arguments outweigh the admission authority’s case that admission of additional children would cause prejudice.

I would avoid the phrase "exceptional medical/social criterion" as this is normally used as an oversubscription rule in the published admission arrangements, rather than in an appeal, and is a very stiff test. Assuming there is no issue about qualification, the test at an appeal is the one you mention (the need for a place simply outweighing the prejudice to the school).

You don't normally stand up for an appeal presentation, and you should try not to worry too much about it. I wouldn't attach much weight to the written statement of appeal or to the presentation! In my view what matters is the evidence, and how you respond to any questions.

One question you might well be asked is just how frequent the "regular appointments" are going to be.

[tiredmum]

Hello

My appeal hearing is in one week.
My daughter didnt get a place at Chelmsford County High but was awarded a place at Westcliffe. I already have a daughter at County and it is only a few miles away from home. .

Will this point also help you appeal?