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School Choice Advice You Can Ask For Choice Advice If Your Child:
Telling you about School Open Days Guarantee a place in the school of your choice Choosing a primary school Voluntary–aided schools publish their own admission criteria, which is given in the admissions booklet. Foundation 2 allocations will be made at the 31st March.
Primary School Allocations: Frequently asked questions If your child has not been allocated your preferred school there are a numbers of things you can do:
First of all, before you do anything, it is important to consider whether the school that your child has been allocated could suit their needs? It may not have been your first choice but on reflection you may find that it can offer your child everything that your preferred school could. In this case you should consider accepting the place.
However if you decide that you do not wish to accept your child’s allocated school then it is very important that you find another school that you would prefer for them to attend. You can check if another school you are interested in has places by contacting Primary Admissions (0151 606 2000) You will then be asked to put your request for a re-allocation in writing or to email it to: hotdesk@wirral.gov.uk
If the school you are interested in does not have places at the moment you can ask the Local Authority to register a continuing interest in the school and later ask that your child’s name be placed on a waiting list for your first choice school- this is started at the end of the summer term and usually runs up until the end of the autumn term, but please check as schools do vary.
These waiting lists are not operated on a ‘first come- first served’ basis and your child may move up or down the list according to how well they and other children joining the list meet the school’s oversubscription criteria as set out in their individual admissions policy and this will be used to then decide which child should be offered a place if one becomes available.
If you feel there are compelling reasons why your child should be given further consideration for a place in a particular school, you have the right to Appeal.
However, even when you decide on this action it is still very important that you have secured a suitable school place for your child just in case your appeal is not successful. This will not affect your appeal in any way (and if you win your appeal your child will be given a place in the school you have appealed for) but it is important to do as infant class appeals can be very difficult to win. By law, schools are only allowed to admit a maximum of 30 children in each infant class and may only do so in very exceptional cases; the Appeal Panel only being allowed to consider three very specific reasons for granting a place: 1. If your child’s application was treated unfairly because the Local Authority/School’s admissions authority broke their own rules as set out in their published oversubscription criteria (you’ll find details in the Admissions Policies for all Primary Schools
2. The Local Authority/School’s Admission Authority acted unreasonably in denying your child a place
3. Your child would have been offered a place had the admission arrangements been lawfully followed as set out in the School Admissions Code (document available online at: www.education.gov.uk
For further information and support, contact Angela Knox Carter, Wirral School Choice Adviser on 0844 880 1500 or by email choiceadviser@wired.me.uk (or read the ‘Choice Advice Appeals’ Leaflet)
Additionally, the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) provides a useful downloadable brochure Appealing for a School-or visit the website: www.ace-ed.org.uk and offers step-by-step advice and includes a very useful template for your appeal letter.
Appeals must be lodged within three weeks of receiving an allocation letter. Following an appeal you will be informed, by post, of the panel’s decision within 5 working days. If you feel you were not given a fair hearing, your final option is to lodge a complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman (details below) via telephone or website. Useful Contacts: Wirral Choice Adviser 0844 880 1500 Email: choiceadviser@wired.me.uk Children and Young People’s Department Hamilton Buildings, Conway St, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 4FD Tel; 0151 606 2000 Fax 666 4207 Email: children@wirral.gov.uk or hotmail@wirral.gov.uk Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) tel: 0808 800 5793 Email: www.ace-ed.org.uk Local Government Ombudsman (via LGO Advice Team) tel: 0845 602 1983 / 0300 061 0614 (8.30am - 5pm; Mon-Fri) or complete the online complaints form at www.lgo.uk Choosing a Secondary school
Gathering information about schools
Applying Apply for up to five schools in order of preference.
Secondary School Allocations: Frequently asked questions If your child has not been allocated your preferred school there are a numbers of things you can do. Firstly, consider if the allocated school would be suitable for your child. In making your decision you may wish to consider the following points:
If, all things considered, you decide to accept the offered place you should complete and return the reply slip by the date given If you would like to enquire about availability in other schools you should contact the Local Authority Admissions Dept on 606 2000. If there are surplus places in another school you can ask for a re-allocation. The Local Authority will usually ask you to put your request in writing or by emailing hotdesk@wirral.gov.uk. Any surplus places will be allocated in accordance with the school’s own admission policy. If there are too many requests for any surplus places, or there are no surplus places at your preferred school, you can ask for your child’s name to be put on a waiting list (this usually closes after the autumn term) or you can ask for an appeal.
Appealing for a school place You will find details of how to make an appeal in the Local Authority's allocation letter outlining your offer. The letter will also specify a deadline that you must meet if you want to appeal. Even if you are intending to appeal for a school it is very important that you either accept the school you have been offered or if this isn’t acceptable to you ask Mainstream Admissions for details of other schools which may meet your child’s needs. Remember that accepting a school whilst your appeal is being processed will not affect your appeal in any way but it will ensure that, whatever the outcome, you have secured a place for your child should your appeal be unsuccessful. If your preferred school was a grammar school you may have been refused a place either because your child did not achieve the required pass mark (236) or because the school was oversubscribed and other applicants were offered places according to the schools oversubscription policy. In either case you have the right to appeal. If your child did not achieve the pass mark the appeals panel would have to take into consideration your child’s academic ability as well as any other relevant factors. If your child achieved the pass mark but was not offered a place due to other reasons i.e distance, the panel would assume that your child was of the required ability level, but would have to consider the impact on the school if it were to be asked to accept more pupils than they have spaces for.
Appeals process You can appeal for each school that you included on your preference form that has not been able to offer a place. If more than one school declines to admit your child, you can make separate appeals. You can choose to attend the hearing in person or ask for them to consider your appeal based on your written submission only. You should include any supplementary evidence or documentation that might be relevant to your appeal, like a medical note from a doctor to support an application on the basis of social or medical need. You may bring your child to the hearing if you wish, but it is not advisable as they may find the process daunting and it will not influence the outcome. When will your appeal be heard? The admission authority for the school must write to you at least 10 school days before the hearing to confirm the date. Organisations such as the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) can give you advice on preparing your case and you can contact them on 0808 800 5793 or you can download a very helpful ‘How to Appeal’ brochure by visiting their website www.ace-ed.org.uk or you can contact the School Choice Adviser.
Appeals for on-time applications (decisions sent on national offer day) must be heard by 6 July. If 6 July falls on a weekend then it must be heard on the next working day.
Appeals for late applications Such appeals should be included with those being heard for the same admissions round. However, if this is not feasible, appeals for late applications must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
The hearing Step one Appeals are heard by an independent appeal panel of three to five members of the public. The admission authority's representative explains to the appeal panel the reasons for turning down your application. The panel must first consider whether the school’s published admission arrangements comply with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code. They must also decide if they were correctly applied in the individual's case. Step two If the panel decides that the LA have acted correctly in refusing the place, you will still have the chance to state why you are appealing against the decision. You will be able to:
Step three If the panel decides that your case is the stronger, it will uphold your appeal and your child will be awarded a place at the school. If it finds that the school’s admission authority’s case is stronger, it will uphold the decision not to offer your child a place. The decision The panel's decision is binding - both on you and on the school's admission authority - and can only be overturned by the courts. The panel will let you and the admission authority know by post within seven days. If your appeal is successful your child will be offered a place at school. If you are unsuccessful you can put your child's name on a waiting list. If there is a change in your circumstances you may be able to apply to appeal again, if the admission authority considers the change relevant to your application. Complaining about the appeals process If you're unhappy about the way the appeal process was carried out you can complain to your Local Government Ombudsman. While they can recommend a new appeal, the Ombudsman can't review or overturn the appeal panel's decision. Secretary of State for Education If the school to which you are appealing is an academy you can complain to the Secretary of State if you feel your complaint has not been managed appropriately. If you require any further advice after reading this information, please don’t hesitate to call Angela Knox Carter, Wirral School Choice Adviser on 0844 880 1500 or email choiceadviser@wired.me.uk and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Useful Websites Contact details: Contact: Angela Knox Carter |
What is Choice Advice?
A Choice Adviser Can Help You Make The Best Choice For Your Child By: 
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