How to appeal your allocated primary school place
Families across the North East are today finding out if they have been given their top choices of primary school place for their children.
For some, the letter or email from their local council will come as a disappointment - but there is the chance to appeal if children have not been awarded a place in their desired schools.
Do you have grounds for an appeal?
Primary schools are limited to a maximum of 30 students per class for five to seven-year-olds, meaning any initial application can be turned down if a school has already reached that limit.
However, parents can still appeal decisions by these schools if any of the following apply:
The admission arrangements (a summary of which can be found here via Coram Children's Legal Centre) haven't been followed properly
The admission criteria applied by the school do not comply with the school admissions appeal code
The decision not to offer your child a place was "not reasonable"
How to appeal:
Contact your local council to find out where there are still places. Click here to find your local council.
Separate letters must be sent for each school to which a parent wishes to appeal.
Once this letter has been received, the school or council must give you at least 10 days' notice of the hearing.
Appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal.
There's an independent panel of three people at the hearing.
The reasons for your rejection must be explained.
You can give your reasons why you think your child should be admitted.
The panel will decide if the school's admission criteria were correctly followed and balance your views against the school's reasons.
You'll be sent the decision within five working days.
What to do if an appeal fails?
If an appeal is unsuccessful, the only way to overturn it is through the courts.
It is possible to complain about the process - for example, if a badly carried out appeals process ruined the parent's chance of winning - but not to complain about the decision itself.
Details of who to contact for complaints can be found on the Government's website.
Parents can also request that their child is added to a waiting list for the school(s) in question, so their child can receive a place should any become available in future.
Useful links: