Appealing against the Local Authority as to why your child didn’t get into their chosen school (or schools) sounds like a daunting process, however it needn’t be! Every parent has the right to appeal and as long as you follow the correct procedures laid down under the School Appeals Code, available on the Department for Children Schools and Families website (see www.dcsf.gov.uk) your case will be reviewed on its own individual basis. An Independent Appeal Panel will assess the claims and evidence and decide whether a place can be awarded or the appeal rejected.
Common Grounds for appeal made by the Parent
- Living within the Catchment area
- Medical reasons ie child requires specialist help that only that school can offer
- Social reasons ie siblings or friends attending that school
- Travel issues ie no direct bus train routes to the school; you or your child is disabled
- Religious reasons ie you are of a particular faith and applied to a specific faith school
Common Objections made by the School
Admissions and over subscriptions are set by the Admissions Authorities and could argue the following:
- Catchment area ie if the school in question is outside your catchment area but is attended by a sibling. The school may operate a catchment only requirement rather than sibling priority
- Pupil ability branding ie a school could justify that their intake of pupils is over a broad range of children’s abilities. This could be backed up if testing their applicants takes place.
THE APPEAL PROCESS
Contact your local education authority who will send you an appeal form.
The LEA will send you the form within 14 days of acknowledgement of the appeal and will state a return date in which to send your case back. The date of return is not the deadline for the appeal but used for the LEA’s administration. Bear in mind the longer it takes to return the form, the slower the appeal may take.
Once your case is logged on the system, the Admissions Authority will give you at least 14 days before the date of your appeal. If you prefer a shorter time period, you can book a cancellation but be sure any witnesses can make it at that time.
Gather evidence
As with any appeal, you will have to argue your case as to why your child should go to that school. Remember, the stronger the evidence, the stronger the case. For example if your child requires specialist help that only that school can offer, bring documents from the doctor or an Independent specialist backing this up or you can take it one step further and use them as a witness.
The Hearing
You will be invited into a room for the hearing. Three representatives from the Independent Appeal Panel will sit facing you and either a person from the Admission Authority or the school will also be invited to come.
You may decide to make your appeal yourself or use somebody acting on your behalf, such as a legal representative.
The usual appeal order is set out below:
- The spokesperson for the Admission Authority or School will be requested to put the school’s case to the Appeals Panel
- The parent / representative and the Appeal Panel have the opportunity to ask questions
- The parents will argue their case for the appeal
- The representative of the Admission Authority/Panel may also ask questions
- The Admission Authority’s argument will be summed up
- The parent will have the opportunity to speak one last time
The panel will write to you with their decision.
If you are successful
A place will be made available and your child will start there at the beginning of the school term.
If you are unsuccessful
Once a decision has been made it is legally binding and you have no rights of appeal. If you feel there have been faults in the procedure which the appeal did not adhere to, you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.
Further information is available at the following addresses:
This posting was contributed by Juliet Golz, founder of the website chiswickschools.co.uk, who help to make it easier to navigate the education options available to families and provide valuable information on the process.
