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| National secondary school offer day: everything you need to know | National secondary school offer day: everything you need to know |
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| What is offer day? | What is offer day? |
| It’s been a long time coming but on Tuesday more than half a million children who are in their final year of primary school find out whether they got into their first choice of secondary school. | It’s been a long time coming but on Tuesday more than half a million children who are in their final year of primary school find out whether they got into their first choice of secondary school. |
| After hours spent reading prospectuses, attending open evenings and filling in forms, parents submitted their applications for a secondary school place in England at the end of October. After months of waiting they will begin to receive email notifications on Tuesday afternoon, and letters later in the week, informing them which school their child will go to in September. | After hours spent reading prospectuses, attending open evenings and filling in forms, parents submitted their applications for a secondary school place in England at the end of October. After months of waiting they will begin to receive email notifications on Tuesday afternoon, and letters later in the week, informing them which school their child will go to in September. |
| So, nothing to do with children starting primary school then? | So, nothing to do with children starting primary school then? |
| No, but I can see why you’re confused. There’s another national offer day for places at primary school, which falls on 18 April this year, when we go through a similar exercise. This one, however, is purely about 11-year-olds who are currently in year 6 and who are being allocated a places at secondary school by their local authority. | No, but I can see why you’re confused. There’s another national offer day for places at primary school, which falls on 18 April this year, when we go through a similar exercise. This one, however, is purely about 11-year-olds who are currently in year 6 and who are being allocated a places at secondary school by their local authority. |
| Can we expect celebrations all round? | Can we expect celebrations all round? |
| There will be lots of happy families for whom the email from their local authority will be confirmation of all their hopes. Last year 84.2% of children were offered a place at their favourite school, which sounds high, but that means 84,000 families who did not get their preferred choice were left disappointed. | There will be lots of happy families for whom the email from their local authority will be confirmation of all their hopes. Last year 84.2% of children were offered a place at their favourite school, which sounds high, but that means 84,000 families who did not get their preferred choice were left disappointed. |
| It’s getting worse – there were 7,000 more disappointed families in 2015 than the year before, and there are fears there will be even greater disappointment this year. | It’s getting worse – there were 7,000 more disappointed families in 2015 than the year before, and there are fears there will be even greater disappointment this year. |
| Why so? | Why so? |
| A rise in the birth rate has been putting enormous strain on primary schools in recent years, and that population bulge is now beginning to move up into secondary. As a result, some councils this year have received more secondary applications than they will have spaces for in September. | A rise in the birth rate has been putting enormous strain on primary schools in recent years, and that population bulge is now beginning to move up into secondary. As a result, some councils this year have received more secondary applications than they will have spaces for in September. |
| According to figures obtained by the specialist education law firm Simpson Millar under a freedom of information request, Hounslow in west London is one of the most popular, with a difference of almost 2,250 applications; Buckinghamshire has a gap of just under 2,000 and Trafford Metropolitan just over 1,200. | |
| What do parents do if they don’t get into the school of their choice? | What do parents do if they don’t get into the school of their choice? |
| The government points out that last year, despite rising pupil numbers, 95% of parents received an offer at one of their top three preferred secondary schools. But parents who aren’t happy can appeal, and increasingly they are doing so. According to Simpson Millar, appeals by parents against their child’s school allocation went up by 10% between 2014 and 2015. | The government points out that last year, despite rising pupil numbers, 95% of parents received an offer at one of their top three preferred secondary schools. But parents who aren’t happy can appeal, and increasingly they are doing so. According to Simpson Millar, appeals by parents against their child’s school allocation went up by 10% between 2014 and 2015. |
| But it’s a tricky old business. Last year there were 54,600 appeals, and just over a fifth of appeals that went before a panel ruled in favour of the parents. The chances of success are far greater in some areas than others. | But it’s a tricky old business. Last year there were 54,600 appeals, and just over a fifth of appeals that went before a panel ruled in favour of the parents. The chances of success are far greater in some areas than others. |
| Imogen Jolley, head of education law at Simpson Millar, said there appeared to be a regional lottery when it came to secondary school appeals. “We’ve carried out a further review and found staggeringly low appeal success rates in a number of districts including Portsmouth, Westminster, Newham and Kensington, while parents in the Isle of Wight, north Somerset and Barnsley enjoyed some of the country’s highest success rates.” | Imogen Jolley, head of education law at Simpson Millar, said there appeared to be a regional lottery when it came to secondary school appeals. “We’ve carried out a further review and found staggeringly low appeal success rates in a number of districts including Portsmouth, Westminster, Newham and Kensington, while parents in the Isle of Wight, north Somerset and Barnsley enjoyed some of the country’s highest success rates.” |
| Take me through it step by step | Take me through it step by step |
| First of all, don’t panic, says Matt Richards, of schoolappeals.com. “Just because you’ve not got what you want on 1 March, 4 and 5 September when school starts is a long way off and there’s always a lot of movement.” | First of all, don’t panic, says Matt Richards, of schoolappeals.com. “Just because you’ve not got what you want on 1 March, 4 and 5 September when school starts is a long way off and there’s always a lot of movement.” |
| The first step is to contact the admissions authority, which may be the council or the academy or free school itself that you want to get into, and ask to be put on the “continuing interest list”. | The first step is to contact the admissions authority, which may be the council or the academy or free school itself that you want to get into, and ask to be put on the “continuing interest list”. |
| In the meantime you can start an appeal process. If you get your third preference you can appeal for a place at your first or second choice; if you didn’t get any of your six choices you can appeal against all of those decisions. | In the meantime you can start an appeal process. If you get your third preference you can appeal for a place at your first or second choice; if you didn’t get any of your six choices you can appeal against all of those decisions. |
| Can you do it yourself or do you need legal advice? | Can you do it yourself or do you need legal advice? |
| You don’t need legal advice, but increasingly it seems parents who can afford it are seeking it, sometimes spending thousands of pounds on their efforts to secure a place at a highly sought-after school in what is becoming an increasingly competitive environment. | You don’t need legal advice, but increasingly it seems parents who can afford it are seeking it, sometimes spending thousands of pounds on their efforts to secure a place at a highly sought-after school in what is becoming an increasingly competitive environment. |
| Legal firms will always want your business and they will know their stuff, but parents can equally pursue their appeals themselves. Jolley has this advice: “Parents tend to launch appeals based on their child’s academic strengths rather than focusing on what is required under the school admission appeal code. | Legal firms will always want your business and they will know their stuff, but parents can equally pursue their appeals themselves. Jolley has this advice: “Parents tend to launch appeals based on their child’s academic strengths rather than focusing on what is required under the school admission appeal code. |
| “The independent appeal panel is not concerned with which school is the best academically for your child, but whether missing out on their first choice will be of genuine detriment. A well-evidenced case of harm to the social, emotional or medical needs of the child or a close family member if the child does not attend that school is likely to be successful.” | “The independent appeal panel is not concerned with which school is the best academically for your child, but whether missing out on their first choice will be of genuine detriment. A well-evidenced case of harm to the social, emotional or medical needs of the child or a close family member if the child does not attend that school is likely to be successful.” |
| It sounds daunting | It sounds daunting |
| Don’t worry, with luck it may never get to the appeal stage. Things may look bleak on national offer day. Get on the waiting lists and see what happens. | Don’t worry, with luck it may never get to the appeal stage. Things may look bleak on national offer day. Get on the waiting lists and see what happens. |
| • This article was amended on 2 March 2016. An earlier version said that Hounslow suffered a “shortfall of almost 2,250 places”. To clarify: according to the figures aquired by Simpson Millar, Hounslow received a total of 5,151 applications for 2,907 secondary school places. According to later figures supplied by the London Borough of Hounslow, 2,894 applications were for children from Hounslow and the rest were for children outside of the borough. |
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