Secondary National Offer Day 2024: What to do in case your baby misses out on their first alternative

Families throughout England and Wales will discover out on Friday whether or not they have been supplied a spot at their secondary college of alternative.

Education leaders have warned there will probably be “extra pressure” on admissions this 12 months due to an 11-year-old inhabitants bulge that’s hitting secondary colleges. 

Many colleges are oversubscribed, in line with the college leaders’ union NAHT.

While most households are nonetheless anticipated to win a spot at their most popular college, it is very important be ready for the worst-case state of affairs.

Secondary college admissions introduced on National Offer Day in 2023 confirmed that 82.6 per cent of candidates acquired a proposal from their first choice college, down from 83.3 per cent a 12 months earlier.

The best space for a household to win a spot at their first choice college was in London, the place in Lambeth, solely 61.6 per cent acquired a proposal. In the London boroughs of Redbridge and Wandsworth, the provide price was 63.3 per cent and 64 per cent respectively. 

However, in different components of the nation, the success price was far greater. In Rutland, 98 per cent of candidates acquired a proposal from their first-choice college, whereas in Cumbria and York, the determine was 96 per cent. 

What are you able to do in case your first alternative is rejected? 

Accept the place you might be supplied 

Elizabeth Coatman, a state training marketing consultant for the Good Schools Guide, mentioned that she all the time advises mother and father to just accept the college they’ve been supplied, “just as a back up”.

The native authority just isn’t obliged to give you one other college place, so households would run the chance of getting no place in September in the event that they turned it down.

Children will be added to the ready record for any college greater on their record of most popular choices, she says. “The situation can change between now and September. Sometimes parents are just using a state school application as a backup in areas where there are lots of independent schools.”

Try to not be too destructive together with your baby

“If it does end up that your child has to go to that school you don’t want them to be thinking they are going to have a dreadful time there,” she says.

Ms Coatman additionally advises mother and father to “dig a bit deeper” into the college the place they’ve been supplied a spot. 

“It might not be as terrible as it seems,” she says. “Sometimes a school [Ofsted] report will lag behind some improvements.”

She advises mother and father to take a look at the college’s most up-to-date GCSE outcomes as indicator for a way the college is at present performing.

Appeal the choice

If you actually can’t countenance the considered one other college, it’s doable to enchantment.

Local authority web sites will set out methods to enchantment and the related timeline. Parents also needs to be despatched details about methods to enchantment alongside particulars of their provide.

There is normally a deadline of about 20 days that folks should meet. Parents might want to make the case for why the college they didn’t get is the most effective place for his or her baby.

How are you able to win an enchantment?

The Good Schools Guide advises mother and father to “concentrate on education and wellbeing arguments, not the number of Brownie badges your daughter has, or the fact that your son always helps old ladies across the road”. 

It provides: “Bear in mind the need to establish that only the school you want can meet your child’s needs. 

“And in all instances, remember that you have to show an exceptional case – at some schools, only one or two appeals may be successful. And be completely truthful – you will be questioned at the hearing.”

Be concise and centered, and supply proof

Ms Coatman advises mother and father to proof their claims. For instance, if a toddler has psychological well being difficulties, you would wish supportive proof from a hospital specialist and presumably a letter from a major college head trainer. 

She advises mother and father to be “concise and focused” when making a written private case, as a panel doesn’t need to should learn via an extended letter. 

When showing earlier than an appeals panel, it’s “better to have bullet points”, and to not learn out from a sheet of paper, however make eye contact, she says.

How can I win a grammar college enchantment?

Ms Coatman says she has been “most successful” in supporting purchasers whose baby has missed out on a grammar college place.

Families who might need an opportunity of interesting embrace those that have been supplied an academically poor college. In these instances, she advises getting a letter from a major college head as proof of excessive educational capability. 

Another argument which has weight is that if a toddler faces “a really difficult journey” to get to highschool, which might be a journey which takes greater than 75 minutes or includes numerous adjustments on public transport.

When must you not hassle?

“Just objecting to the admissions policy because of your postcode or faith doesn’t work,” Ms Coatman says. 

“If you are appealing because your child really wants to go to school with their friends, that’s going to look a bit flimsy for an appeals panel,” she provides.

“What you’ve got to establish is that the disadvantage to your child of not getting a place at the school that you want is greater than the educational disadvantage to the whole cohort they would join as they go through the school to the end of GCSE and that this is the only school that can meet your child’s needs. That’s a pretty high bar.”