Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

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Browser
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:05 am

Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Browser »

My son has a somewhat borderline mark for the grammar of our choice.Fortunately he is one mark above the cutoff from last year. We do not know as of yet what the cutoff will be this year.
I will be putting it first on my CAF form. And it's really the only school we want. It suits us most in the fact of its location and we have other boys from our primary there already who are really happy.

One of the many main reasons we have gone for grammar is because in general they are smaller schools and have less children in each year group, compared to the local or any really comprehensive school.

My son has food allergies which warrant an adult administering medicine to him if and when he has problems..It is a three tier stage treatment and because it has been well managed at his primary school, we have thankfully never had a very serious situation.
I would need to let his new secondary school know and be aware of this wherever he goes. The thought of him going to any super school with approximately 10 classes per year worries me as then he may just be a number and not get the due attention that he requires in an emergency.

I am wondering is this the type of thing that could be mentioned in an appeal and would it be in our favour.
Do I have to have mentioned it on the CAF form as I'm applying , because currently I have answered that section as "no".
If I leave it as "no" then will I not be allowed to mention it in an appeal if we get to that stage. I'm wondering if I answer it as "yes" will he be penalised for being a nuisance in any way.I mean any school would probably not want to be liable in any way, would they if something awful happened on their premises.
I dont know -- just thinking out loud.?????

I am hoping that he will get his first choice school anyway through his merit.

I would be very grateful if somebody could advise me before this evening when I submit my caf form. This is my first time applying and it all seems like a black hole at the moment.
I know I have left it very late , but procrastination seems to be my middle name at the moment.. and now I'm in a panic.

Thanking you in advance.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by mystery »

I am not sure personally whether safe administration of his medicines at the right time is more / less likely to happen in a large or small school. I know small schools where it might not get deal with efficiently, and large schools where it would happen very swiftly.

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works there! I really hope you get the school of your choice. Maybe you can bring it in to the extra info in a more roundabout fashion - some other reason why this school is better e.g. the distance from you or relatives or something or other makes it more suitable if there is an emergency with your son's allergies (heaven forbid).

I think the prime argument at appeal if your son does not make the cut-off score will be an academic one - are you preparing for this? I do hope you make the cut-off.

Good luck.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Etienne »

I am wondering is this the type of thing that could be mentioned in an appeal and would it be in our favour.
Yes - a brief mention might help your case at appeal, but I wouldn't overplay it.
As Mystery says, if he misses the cut-off score, academic evidence is likely to be more important.
Do I have to have mentioned it on the CAF form as I'm applying
No, but if you want to keep open the option of raising it at appeal, it would be wise to make a brief comment - e.g. "Son has a medical condition/serious allergy/potentially life-threatening allergy - we believe this school would provide the safest environment" (choose preferred option!).
If I leave it as "no" then will I not be allowed to mention it in an appeal if we get to that stage.
You would certainly be allowed to raise the matter, but if the CAF is included in the appeal paperwork, someone might query why this issue wasn't significant enough to merit an earlier mention.
I'm wondering if I answer it as "yes" will he be penalised for being a nuisance in any way.I mean any school would probably not want to be liable in any way, would they if something awful happened on their premises.
No - rest assured that only the admission rules will affect the allocation of places.
Anyway, I doubt anyone would even read your reasons before the appeal stage!
I am hoping that he will get his first choice school anyway through his merit.
Good luck! :)
Etienne
Rob Clark
Posts: 1298
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Rob Clark »

One of the many main reasons we have gone for grammar is because in general they are smaller schools and have less children in each year group, compared to the local or any really comprehensive school.
I don't know what part of the country you are in browser but please be aware that this isn't true nationwide - the upper school DD attends is quite a bit smaller than the GS that DS attends, and as it happens both are equally useless at dealing with their chronic medical condition.
Browser
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:05 am

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Browser »

Thank you Etienne for your help and reply.

In the end I left that section as a "no".

It just felt right to do so.

Heres hoping we get our first choice.
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by KS10 »

I hope I didn't confuse you, Browser, with my response in another thread. Here's hoping you get your 1st choice.
ginx
Posts: 2151
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:47 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by ginx »

Hi Browser

Our dd has diabetes and is in year 6. Throughout junior school, whenever she has a problem, she and a friend go to the office and she has insulin or a snack, after pricking her finger. It works well. Her friends and teachers recognise when she is unwell.

We've chosen a gs; smaller than our local comp. The comp. is good, though, and has lots of diabetic children (because it has 1700? students). So it has a specialist nurse there most of the time, special needs staff know all about diabetes, and plenty of diabetic children for support if necessary.

The gs has NO diabetic children nor experience! So that's a worry too - it may be smaller and have 3 classes a year rather than 10; but I'm not sure how she will cope there.

Of course, diabetes is not like your ds' food allergy which in a way sounds more complicated (diabetes isn't straightforward, though).

I wouldn't dismiss large schools, as I've said - I think they are better equipped and staffed to deal with medical problems.

That said, of course our dd is going to the gs (assuming she gets a place) so I hope you get your first choice and that all goes well. Good luck. Just wanted to point out large schools are more likely to have experience of medical problems.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Amber »

I worked, and still occasionally do, in a massive comprehensive school. In the staff room is a wall dedicated to displaying photos of children with medical conditions, along with details of symptoms, action to be taken, points of contact etc. Every new member of staff, or even visiting member of staff as I now am, is invited to familiarise him/herself with the up-to-date photos pretty much before anything else. There is a wide range of conditions on there, from diabetes and allergies through mental health issues which might impact on behaviour, through to the odd child on chemo, that kind of thing.

Another school I work in has a pager system with named staff (and a backup) for each child with a medical or behavioural condition. Any sign of bother and the named person is paged and appears. This is a school in and out of special measures but this system is fantastic - I have used it and it is like a magic fairy appearing.

In short, I am not sure that the effectiveness of a school in dealing with medical issues is necessarily related to the size or profile of the school.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by mystery »

Agreed. There are huge schools that would be great at this and small schools that would be terrible and vice versa. The trouble is, until you see the system in action you don't know whether it works or not. It's very hard for an outsider to choose which is the right school for a medical emergency.
Rob Clark
Posts: 1298
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: Borderline pass mark, and has medical condition

Post by Rob Clark »

Gosh, Amber's schools sound brilliant (in this regard at least :D ) I agree that the size of the school might be a bit of a red herring, it's much more to do with attitude
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