2-stage appeal process

If you are appealing for a place for your child in year groups 3 to 11 (or year groups reception, 1 or 2 where there are not 30 pupils in a class), your appeal will follow the 2-stage process. 

Stage 1: about the school’s circumstances

The presenting officer will present the case of the admitting authority, explaining why a place could not be offered for your child at your preferred school.

You and the panel may question the presenting officer on what has been said.

The panel will, separately from any other party except the clerk, consider the following:

1. Whether the admission arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, and
2. whether the arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in the case in question. The admission arrangements set out the way in which applications should be processed and also how oversubscription criteria are applied. 

If the above cannot be demonstrated, the Panel must then decide whether admitting additional children would ‘prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.’

Consideration of ‘prejudice’

Prejudice describes when admitting more children negatively impacts the education of children already attending the school. To decide whether or not there would be prejudice, the Panel can consider the following factors:  

1. what effect an additional admission would have on the school in the current and following academic years as the year group moves through the school;  

2. whether any changes have been made to the school’s physical accommodation or organisation since an admission number was originally set for the relevant year group;  

3. the impact of the locally agreed Fair Access Protocol; and 

4. the impact on the organisation and size of classes, the availability of teaching staff, and the effect on children already at the school. 

If the panel decides that the arrangements did not comply or were not correctly applied in your case, or that the year group is not full, the hearing will not go on any longer.

If yours is the only appeal for the school, your child will be admitted and the hearing will conclude at Stage 1.

Where there are multiple appeals for the same school and some but not all of the applicants could be admitted, the hearing would move to stage 2 to consider which children should be admitted.

Stage 2: about your personal circumstances

You will be invited to present your case independently of any other parents who are appealing and explain why you are appealing against the admitting authority’s decision.

You should mention all the reasons why you feel the school you are appealing for is the best option for your child, and what extenuating factors justify your child getting a place even though the panel has agreed that there was a good reason for turning you down. 

You should include all relevant information and where possible provide supporting written evidence with your written application.  Remember everything you say is confidential and it is important that the panel fully understands your reasons for appealing!

The panel and presenting officer may question you about what you have said.

All parents will be interviewed individually before any final decisions on admission are made.

Submit an appeal

If you have read and understood the 2-stage appeal guidance and wish to proceed, please complete the school appeals form to begin your appeal.