What can we do as parents if the place that we choice for our children has been denied?
Any parent or guardian who has been refused a school place for their child has the right to appeal the decision.
This is the information provided by HantsWeb on how to appeal a decision.
You’ll be sent a letter with the decision about your child’s school. You can appeal against the decision. The letter will tell you how.
You must appeal against each rejection separately.
The ‘admission authority’ for the school (usually the school itself or the council) must give you at least 10 school days’ notice of the hearing.
Appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal.
There’s a panel of 3 people at the appeal hearing. The panel must be independent.
- The admission authority will explain why they turned down your application.
- You’ll be able to give your own reasons why your child should be admitted.
- The appeals panel must decide if the school’s admission criteria were properly followed and are legal according to the school admissions appeals code.
- If the criteria are legal and were properly followed, the panel must decide if they were followed fairly and thoroughly.
- If the criteria weren’t properly followed or are illegal, your appeal must be upheld.
- If your appeal has not already been upheld, the panel will decide if your reasons for your child to be admitted outweigh the school’s reasons for not admitting another child.
- The panel will send you and the admission authority their decision within 5 school days.
A panel’s decision can only be overturned by a court. If there’s a change in your circumstances which could affect the decision, you may be able to appeal again.
Good luck
