There is a new Government Code of Practice for Admission Appeals which, for the first time carries the force of law, and has major consequences for grammar school appeals in Medway. You will find the new Code here.
Excerpts from the relevant sections are:
3.37) Where a local review process has been followed an Appeal Panel MUST NOT make its own assessment of the child’s ability but MUST consider whether the child’s review was carried out in a fair, consistent and objective way
3.36) Where NO local review process has been applied, the panel SHOULD consider any factors which parents contend may have affected their child’s performance. The Panel may then need to consider any clear evidence presented by the parents to support their claim that the child is of the required academic standard (excerpt).
What the two clauses mean is that if there is a local Review such as in Medway, then an Independent Appeal Panel can only carry out its traditional role as outlined in 3.36 if it judges that the Review process has not been carried out in a fair, consistent and objective way. Unfortunately, there is no definition of the content of a local review, and so this has been a new factor for each Independent Appeal Panel to decide, although they are obliged to follow the Code. This consideration has therefore become the first part of every Medway grammar school appeal (although the appeals at Fort Pitt sensibly truncated the process).
All the Medway Grammar School appeals that took place last summer confirmied the problems with both the new code and the Medway Review process. Apppeal Panels at Chatham Boys, Chatham Girls, Fort Pitt Grammar Schools and the Maths School all concluded that the Review process as operated by Medway Council was unfair, and then proceeded to judge the merits of each case, clients of mine achieving good success at these appeals. Rochester Grammar School concluded the Review process was fair but the ombudsman reveersed this decision for a client of mine who was subsequently offered a place at the school.
KCC does NOT regard Headteacher Assessments as a Local Review, but as part of the assessment process. As a result, there are no problems in Kent and so Kent parents need not consider this as an issue. Sadly, misleading advice about the Code was posted on another website last year and although I warned the moderators in good time, they ignored my advice. As a direct result, some parents either pulled out of appeals they may have won, or else turned up to appeals prepared for an issue that did not arise .
Surprisingly, whilst there was a consultation on the new Code, these requirements were not part of the original consultation and so have not been subject to scrutiny, which may have contributed to the problems they bring with them.
The Code is being revised again, and a new edition is expected soon, although I understand this is still unlikely to address the issue.