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16 per cent rise in appeals by parents against school places
23.04.08
Popular state schools are coming under increasing pressure from desperate parents to admit their children.
The number of appeals lodged against secondary schools which turned down applications for places this September has jumped by 16 per cent on a year ago, according to a survey carried out by the Evening Standard.
The rise comes after ministers urged families to appeal if they were rejected by their preferred choices, amid government claims that faith schools were breaking the admissions rules by giving priority to affluent applicants. The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations accused ministers of giving parents "unrealistic expectations" that appealing would gain them the places they wanted, when the reality was very few appeals succeeded.
Spokeswoman Margaret Morrissey said: "It was very irresponsible because ministers know better than anyone the small possibility of getting an appeal agreed. We are still allowing a system that is failing parents and children."
The Standard asked London's 32 local authorities how many appeals had been lodged since offers were sent out to parents in the first week of last month. In the 21 boroughs that provided figures, a total of 3,331 appeals have been lodged since then.
Not all 21 were able to give comparable figures for 12 months ago but in the 14 boroughs that were, the number of appeals lodged went up from 1,688 to 1,965, a 16 per cent increase. While some boroughs had received fewer appeal requests compared with last year, others had seen numbers rocket. Hackney, for example, has seen its total jump from 454 to 572, partly reflecting the popularity of Mossbourne Community Academy, which has been rated "outstanding" by education watchdog Ofsted.
Westminster received no appeals while Sutton has received treble the number of appeals compared with last year. A council spokeswoman said: "This year, more parents have expressed a preference for Sutton schools than in previous years. Oversubscription has resulted in an increase in the number of students for whom the local authority has yet to identify places. This has contributed to an increase in the number of parental appeals lodged. Sutton council is working with parents and students to resolve the situation."
Nine local authorities said they were unable to provide figures, while Greenwich council said it did have the statistics but refused to disclose them, claiming they were "essentially meaningless".
'Admission process is far too mechanical'
SAMUEL OLIVER, from Aylesbury, who has special needs and two severely disabled sisters, was denied the secondary school of his choice in March last year.
His father Martin said: "Samuel is very vulnerable and we were desperate to send him to a school that would offer him the right educational provisions and provide the right level of protection.
"Our first two choices were Waddesdon Church of England School and Tring School."
The family collected evidence from psychologists and nurses but were allocated a place at their sixth choice, which Samuel was dreading going to.
The Olivers appealed and contacted admissions consultant John Chard. After five weeks of information gathering, a hearing was held in May.
Mr Oliver said it was so stressful that he burst into tears but he succeeded. He added: "Without question Waddesdon has proved to be the right school for Samuel. The admissions was far too mechanical and failed to process exceptional cases properly."
STATE SCHOOL APPEALS
Number of appeals 2008
Barking & Dagenham - 340
Barnet - 57
Bexley - 228
Camden - 18
Croydon - 45
Ealing - 22
Enfield - 306
Hackney - 572
Harrow - 43
Havering - 307
Hounslow - 251
Islington - 6
Lambeth - 16
Lewisham - 40
Merton - 19
Newham - 336
Richmond - 84
Sutton - 96
Tower Hamlets - 460
Waltham Forest - 85
Westminster - 0
Where figures are available to compare 2008 to 2007, there is a 16% rise in appeals
Reader views (3)
my child is totally devastated, despite presenting substantial evidence for applying under special criteria, no consideration was given to my child's welfare, despite medical support, this is haringey council for you, total disgrace.
- Hannah, haringey, london
The reason for the huge number of appeals in Hackney is partly due to the fact that 331 children were not offered a secondary school place in the borough. Their only hope (and adise from the LEA) is to appeal and we all know how many appeals are actually upheld. Out of the 331 kids with no place to go in September around 60 have been cajoled into accepting vacant places at unpopular or underachieving schools outside the borough. Of those 200+ left only 15 or so will be lucky enough to win an appeal. As advised by the LEA, I will be one of those parents appealing - not for a preferred place but just for any place at a mixed school in Hackney. I don't hold out much hope... being a normal, bright boy born in 1997 my son faces discrimination simply because of his gender, postcode and year of birth. Not good enough grounds for appeal! Hackney's Learning Trust acknowledge that, unfortunately they simply do not have enough places for it's children - even though it has 2 half full brand new Academies! So, what can we desperate parents do? Appeal! Not comforting advice from an LEA who write in their glossy 2008 Transfer Brochure "we look forward to educating your child at a Hackney Secondary School". They should add... unless you are one of 331 unlucky children, probably a boy, who lives in a wrong street in the borough and was born in 1996/7". We have pleaded with the Council and the Learning Trust for help - what else can we do? Appeal!
- Leonie Allister, Hackney
What about Haringey? It's missing from the table. Last time I checked it was a London Borough too.
- Lindsay, London
