School admissions - guide to appeals
This guide is designed to help you with your appeal against the
Children's Services Authority's decision not to offer your
child a place at the school you prefer.
Appeal panels
A panel normally has three members, none of whom will have any
connection with the schools involved in the appeal, or with the
decision not to offer your child a place. The panel will include
people who have experience in education and are familiar with
educational conditions in the area; and people who sit on panels as
lay members. These people have had no personal experience in the
management of any school or the provision of education in any
school.
When will appeal panels meet?
You will get 14 days notice (from the date of posting) of the
date, time and place for your appeal hearing.
If your case is urgent, for example, the school term is about to
start, it may be possible to arrange an earlier hearing. In this
case, you will be asked whether you agree not to be given 14 days
notice. The appropriate papers will normally be sent to you 7 days
before the hearing.
Appeal hearings are mainly held in the Town Hall
in Rochdale and the majority take place during the months of
May and June when most appeals are lodged.
The role of the Clerk
Each appeal panel will have a Clerk who will be present at your
hearing to ensure that relevant facts are established and that the
appeal hearing is fair. The Clerk is an employee in Legal and
Democratic Services. They will provide independent advice on
procedure and evidence and will take full notes of the hearing.
These notes belong to the appeal panel and remain confidential.
Neither you nor any school are allowed to see or have a copy of
them.
The Clerk is not a member of the panel and does not take part in
discussion of the case with members. However, the Clerk will remain
with the panel to record their decision. The Clerk will write to
you outlining the appeal panel’s decision.
Attending the appeal hearing
You should attend the hearing if at all possible. You know
your child best and will be able to give information which will
help the appeal panel make a decision. You may bring along a friend
for support or a representative to present your case.
If you cannot attend the hearing your case will be heard in your
absence, although it may be possible to arrange another date. If
you are unable or do not wish to attend, the appeal panel will
consider carefully all of the written evidence which has been made
available before coming to a decision.
If you have any special requirements, for example, if you would
like an interpreter, please contact the Committee Services Section
as soon as possible.
Bringing your child
It should not be necessary for your child to attend the hearing.
As your child’s representative, you will be expected to explain
their wishes and your own views to the panel. If you have any child
care problems please contact the Committee Services Section.
Privacy
Even when there are several appeals for admission to one school
you will be able to present your case in private.
At the hearing
We try to make Appeal Hearings as informal as possible.
Usually,
- The Chairman will welcome you and introduce the appeal panel
members. They will also introduce the Education Officer and the
Clerk
- The Chairman will explain the procedure to be followed to make
sure you understand how the appeal will be run
- The Education Officer will put the Local Authority’s case and
will explain why your child has not been offered a place at your
preferred school. You and the panel are then able to ask any
questions on what has been said
- The Chairman will then ask you to put your case. You should
state your case clearly and emphasise the relevant points. The
appeal panel will have already received your written submission.
The panel and Education Officer are then able to ask you any
questions on what has been said
- The Chairman will give both the Education Officer and yourself
the opportunity to sum up your cases before they ask you both
to leave
- The Clerk will remain with the panel to record the
decision
These arrangements may vary slightly as the emphasis is on
informality. The main thing is to ensure you receive a fair hearing
and that you say everything you wish to say.
The appeal panel will take account of any preference you have
expressed about your child’s school, and our pupil admission
arrangements.
If it is necessary to obtain further information during the
hearing, neither you nor the Education Officer will be left alone
with the Panel. The hearing may be adjourned or rearranged to an
alternative date while the information is obtained.
The decision
For Infant class size appeals relating to five, six
and seven year olds, the panel will only be allowed to uphold
an appeal if it is satisfied that:
- The decision not to allocate a place was one which a reasonable
admission authority or governing body would make in the
circumstances of the case, or
- That the child would have been offered a place if the admission
arrangements had been properly implemented.
For other Primary year groups and Secondary School appeals, the
panel will consider each appeal on its own merits. In considering
an appeal, the appeal panel will make its decision in two
stages.
The first stage is the factual stage where the panel must decide
as a fact whether prejudice to the provision of efficient education
or the best use of resources would arise if your child were to be
admitted to the school. The Education Officer will have to satisfy
the panel that the duty to offer your child a place at your
preferred school would lead to such prejudice.
If the appeal panel decides that such prejudice would arise, it
will move onto the second stage. This is the balancing stage where
the Committee will consider the reasons for your preference and any
special circumstances before deciding whether or not to override
the Children's Services Authority decision.
The appeal panel is not bound by the our admission
criteria.
When will I hear about the outcome of my appeal?
The Clerk to the appeal panel will write to you and the
Children's Services Authority as soon as possible after the
hearing, to let you know the panel’s decision and the reasons for
it.
This may be delayed if there are a lot of appeals for admission
to one school. In this case, the appeal panel will hear all of the
appeals before coming to any decisions.
The decision of the independent appeal panel is binding on the
Authority.
Appealing again
You cannot re-appeal for a place in the same school in the same
academic year unless there has been significant or material changes
in the circumstances of the parent or school.
Appealing to the Secretary of State
If you think we or the independent appeal panel have not
acted properly (not simply because the Appeal has been dismissed),
you have the right to complain to the Secretary of State for
Education and Skills. The Secretary of State cannot review
decisions of individual appeal Panels but can consider whether
the Children's Services Authority or the governing body
has correctly constituted the appeal panel and whether the
Children's Services Authority or governing body has acted
reasonably in exercising functions in respect of the appeals
process. If, for example, the Children's Services Authority or
governing body failed to constitute an appeal panel properly, the
Secretary of State can exercise his powers by directing that a
properly constituted appeal panel be set up.
The Local Government Ombudsman will also consider a complaint if
you feel we or the panel have not followed proper
procedures.