Appealing for Kent (Missed HT review)

[MrGrimes]

Hello all. Shiv, I feel for your situation. I hope I'm not hijacking your thread, but I'd like some opinions on my own situation. [split from Shiv's thread]

My DC's total aggregate score was comfortably over the pass mark. However, he missed out by one mark in one of the sections. From everything I have read, this was a prime example to be sent for a Head Teachers Assessment (HTA). Apparently, the success rate for HTA was 50% in 2014, and that this is part of the 11+ assessment process, rather than being an "appeal". I.e. there are provisions made in the total number who pass automatically, to allow for a certain number of HTA to also qualify.

Unfortunately, the school has (inadvertantly) missed the deadline for a HTA. And Kent have not allowed any leeway on this, despite the schools protests one day after the deadline (yet still before the HTA panels sat). The panels have now sat and apparently cannot be reconvened. This is all incredibly frustrating, because as a parent I was not involved in any of these decisions.

Kent are now saying I need to go to appeal, directly to the school, after the rejection is received in March 2016. The grammar school we are interested in, their criteria for entry is not based on score, as long as the child is selective. That means, had our DC been selective, there was a very high probability of getting in based on distance from the school. By not being selective during the CAF process, this avenue is lost and DC is now treated as all other appeals are, not accounting for the series of circumstances which have occurred as described above. The worry I have now is that the school appeal panel is probably not interested in all of the above, and that the chances of getting through on appeal based on oversubscription and under qualification are very, very low. So DC's chances of getting in have now gone from around 50% to less than 10%.

Please, if anybody can share similar situations, or provide any advice, I would very much appreciate it. At the moment, I feel like the system has massively let us down, and there seems to be nowhere for us to go to try to reason it out.

MrGrimes.

[kenyancowgirl]

Hello all. Shiv, I feel for your situation. I hope I'm not hijacking your thread, but I'd like some opinions on my own situation.

My DC's total aggregate score was comfortably over the pass mark. However, he missed out by one mark in one of the sections. From everything I have read, this was a prime example to be sent for a Head Teachers Assessment (HTA). Apparently, the success rate for HTA was 50% in 2014, and that this is part of the 11+ assessment process, rather than being an "appeal". I.e. there are provisions made in the total number who pass automatically, to allow for a certain number of HTA to also qualify.

Unfortunately, the school has (inadvertantly) missed the deadline for a HTA. And Kent have not allowed any leeway on this, despite the schools protests one day after the deadline (yet still before the HTA panels sat). The panels have now sat and apparently cannot be reconvened. This is all incredibly frustrating, because as a parent I was not involved in any of these decisions.

Kent are now saying I need to go to appeal, directly to the school, after the rejection is received in March 2016. The grammar school we are interested in, their criteria for entry is not based on score, as long as the child is selective. That means, had our DC been selective, there was a very high probability of getting in based on distance from the school. By not being selective during the CAF process, this avenue is lost and DC is now treated as all other appeals are, not accounting for the series of circumstances which have occurred as described above. The worry I have now is that the school appeal panel is probably not interested in all of the above, and that the chances of getting through on appeal based on oversubscription and under qualification are very, very low. So DC's chances of getting in have now gone from around 50% to less than 10%.

Please, if anybody can share similar situations, or provide any advice, I would very much appreciate it. At the moment, I feel like the system has massively let us down, and there seems to be nowhere for us to go to try to reason it out.

MrGrimes.

I would ask a kind moderator to move this to its' own thread - Etienne may have something to say about the HTA appeal being missed by your school (not your fault) and whether that means that the process hasn't been allowed to be carried out fairly....

[MrGrimes]

Thank you - sorry, Im new to the forum. How do I ask a moderator to move this to it's own thread? Or shall I just start a new thread.

I'm intrigued to hear who Etienne is, and anxious for any advice he/she can give.

[mitasol]

Hi Mr. Grimes,

I'm going to split this thread and move you to appeals.

[ilesoleil]

Mr Grimes,
I really don't know about the fairness of the situation and I am surprised KCC did not listen to the school and let them lodge the appeal! I didn't have the exact situation as yours, but I had to appeal last year for my daughter and it was based on a "fault" from the school.. (long long story!!). I won the appeal. The main thing is to focus on the appeal now as the HT appeal is long gone. Evidence is an important factor: academic abilities (year 5 and 6, incl. CATs and SATs), progression in year 6 (especially in failed test), any extenuating circumstances.
I don't know the HT appeal will weight for the panel but I feel that it should of course be taken in consideration as you might not have had to be in this situation had the school lodge the appeal on time!
I hope the moderator will be able to lighten the situation on the unfairness of procedure!
All the best

[kenyancowgirl]

All the moderators are mines of information and exceptionally helpful. Etienne has specific expertise with appeals - there is a whole lot of information in this section of the forum - read as widely as you can - Etienne will also give you specific pointers/starting points - but like all moderators, is voluntary, has a "real" life away from the forum (so may not pop up immediately) and will be uber busy today as several counties' results all come out today.

Just take a deep breath, start reading the Appeals section and she will appear at some point!

[MrGrimes]

Thanks both. The overriding concern about the appeal is that the criteria is somewhat different to what the HTA was. And it's not clear if the missing of the HTA, and the chances of getting through on that, will weigh favourably in any way on their decision.

My feeling is that I need to get the decision reversed now so that my DC is "selective" for the CAF application process. But I've no idea whether there is any chance at all of this happening. I cannot believe the admissions team do not have a procedure in place to deal with the scenario of a HTA being missed. It's also unclear what (if any) procedure there is to dispute this or take this complaint to a higher level.

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals!

Kent are now saying I need to go to appeal, directly to the school, after the rejection is received in March 2016.

Very sorry to hear what has happened, but it looks like the correct advice.
I think you'd be told exactly the same thing in every part of the country where there is any sort of internal review process.

My feeling is that I need to get the decision reversed now so that my DC is "selective" for the CAF application process. But I've no idea whether there is any chance at all of this happening.

It would be good to get some quick answers, but I'm very doubtful.

Apparently, the success rate for HTA was 50% in 2014

Not a surprising figure when presumably only the strongest cases are being put forward for consideration.
Weaker cases are not 'filtered out' for appeal panels!

That means, had our DC been selective, there was a very high probability of getting in based on distance from the school.

What you need is certainty, so you'll have to ask the LA to address the following question at the beginning of March: "If my child had been qualified, would he have got a place?"

If the answer to that question is 'Yes', and subject to the appeal panel being satisfied with regard to academic suitability, then I would have thought you could ask the panel to consider whether there has been maladministration (i.e. whether the admission arrangements - of which the HTA is a part - have been incorrectly applied, depriving your son of a place to which he should have been entitled.)

I think you have a good case, although I cannot of course guarantee the outcome.

[MrGrimes]

Thank you Etienne. I'm feeling less and less hopeful of a decision to have an HTA done now, or to deem him selective now. The school has also been trying to have evidence looked at now, to no avail.

I spoke to admissions for the GS we are interested in and they said that the maximum distance to be allocated a place last year was over 5 miles. We are some way below that (around 3.5 miles). I know this is a positive for the appeals process, but it's also very disheartening because it means if he was deemed selective now, he'd have been even more likely to have been given a place

What you need is certainty, so you'll have to ask the LA to address the following question at the beginning of March: "If my child had been qualified, would he have got a place?"

If the answer to that question is 'Yes', and subject to the appeal panel being satisfied with regard to academic suitability, then I would have thought you could ask the panel to consider whether there has been maladministration (i.e. whether the admission arrangements - of which the HTA is a part - have been incorrectly applied, depriving your son of a place to which he should have been entitled.)

I will make sure I do this. Could you tell me who specifically I would direct this question to? Would it be to my local authority (I am OOC), or would it be to the LA of the school (or the school itself)?

The wait till next year is so daunting and demoralising. They really should have allowed parents some sort of insight into this process, which is effectively part of the assessment. Only the parents would give it the attention to detail it requires and could keep on top of deadlines and required submissions. To be kept out of the loop and then have to suffer the consequences does not seem right.

[Etienne]

I will make sure I do this. Could you tell me who specifically I would direct this question to?

Try ringing anyone who might have the answer! Kent LA, of course, and possibly the GS (although I'm not sure whether they'll have the distances at that point in time).
Once you have successfully elicited an answer, ask for it to be put in writing, so that you have the evidence.

The wait till next year is so daunting and demoralising. They really should have allowed parents some sort of insight into this process, which is effectively part of the assessment. Only the parents would give it the attention to detail it requires and could keep on top of deadlines and required submissions. To be kept out of the loop and then have to suffer the consequences does not seem right.

I appreciate how distressing this is, but you need to switch focus and direct all your energy towards an appeal.
Between now and March you must gather as much academic evidence as possible, because 'qualification' is the first hurdle to be overcome.

There is also plenty of reading to do:
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