Primary school admission appeals

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are covered by a law called Infant Class Size legislation. This law limits classes in these year groups to 30 children per teacher.

If admitting another child would take a class over this limit, an appeal panel can only allow the appeal in very limited circumstances.

The appeal panel can’t normally award a place because of personal, social, childcare, travel, employment or other family circumstances. The panel can only allow the appeal if there has been an error in the admission process or the admission authority's decision was legally unreasonable.

How does Infant Class Size Legislation affect my appeal?

If your child's admission would create a class with more than 30 children per teacher, it is very unlikely that an appeal will be successful. Due to the restrictions of the law, it’s very difficult, even for an appeal panel, to allow an extra child to be admitted.

The panel can’t allow an appeal because:

• Siblings, relatives or friends attend the school
• The journey to another school is difficult
• Having children at different schools would make school drop-offs and pick-ups difficult
• Childcare or working arrangements are affected
• Your child attended the nursery at the school
• Your child may be upset at attending a different school
• You prefer the school because of its reputation, curriculum, faith or non-faith ethos, exam results or Ofsted rating.

These, or similar reasons, may be important to your family and the panel may sympathise with your circumstances, but the law does not allow a panel to admit an additional child if doing so would breach Infant Class Size legislation.

When can an infant class legislation appeal be successful?

An appeal panel can only allow an infant class appeal if it finds that:

1. The admission arrangements were not applied correctly, and your child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had been applied properly or
2. The decision was not one which a reasonable admission authority, properly aware of its responsibilities, would make in the circumstances of the case. This doesn’t mean that the panel, or you, disagree with the decision or believe a different outcome would have been preferable. The panel would need to be satisfied that the decision was clearly unreasonable, or wrong, as defined in law, not just difficult or disappointing for your family. This is a very high legal threshold and is rarely met.

I understand the restrictions on appeals for Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, but I am unhappy with the school offered

If you're unhappy with the school place offered, please contact the School Admissions Team at school.admissions@rochdale.gov.uk. They can advise you about alternative schools that might have vacancies and explain any other options available to you.

Can I still appeal for an infant class?

Yes, the statutory right to appeal exists for all school year groups and you are entitled to submit an appeal, including where infant class legislation applies.

However, before submitting an appeal for Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, you should carefully consider if your reasons for appeal fall within one of the limited circumstances where an infant class appeal may be allowed.

Due to the limited circumstances, most infant class size appeals are unsuccessful.