Appealing against a school decision

Moving house, rediscovering their faith and joining the same golf club as the headteacher - such underhanded tactics merely reflect the desperation parents feel over getting their children into a good secondary school.

And news that some secondary schools in England have been abusing the admission system by charging parents money to secure a place shows how sinister that battle has become.

For the first time this year the Government published figures showing how many families received an offer of a place at one of their preferred schools. With the new admissions code prohibiting schools from rejecting an application on the basis that the school was not indicated as the first choice, the data shows that around 80 per cent of parents were offered a place in their first preference school.

Many of those who were disappointed will be considering appealing. Parents have the right of appeal against any application that has been turned down; and over the summer, local authorities and schools will be re-allocating places that become available where others have moved address or chosen a different education for their children.

Appealing against the decision

But the appeal process can appear to be a very difficult one for parents and many are unsure of how to go about it.

‘This is often a very stressful time for parents and their children as they try to get into the best possible school,' said Julia Thomas, solicitor at the Children's Legal Centre. ‘Parents are often unsure as to how they can go about ensuring that the admission authority followed the correct procedure and applied the decision fairly.'

She says parents should not feel put off from seeking specialist help, advice and representation if they need it.

So how do you appeal against a rejected application for a school place? The Children's Legal Centre says the admissions appeal is a two stage process.

The fundamental grounds of appeal are:
1 To ensure that the code of practice has been followed
2 If the code of practice HAS been followed, then you need to establish that there are reasons for ‘over-riding the prejudice'.

The admissions code details on what basis a child may acceptably be refused a place. You would need to ensure that the full reasons provided for refusing admission is provided for by the admissions code of practice. If not, then the code of practice has not been followed and therefore the refusal cannot be accepted.

If the code of practice has been followed, you need to look into if there are factors that mean that the chosen school could admit your child. Questions you may ask include:

• What is the actual number of pupils in each year group at the date your child would start school if admitted?
• How many children in each year group are on the special needs register and have a Statement of Special Educational Needs?
• What is the average capacity of the classrooms? For example, will they accommodate more or less than 30 pupils at a time?
• What is the width and safety of the corridors and stairwells?
• What is the capacity of common areas, such as the sports halls and dining room?
• Is the school fully-staffed with teachers?

Having obtained this information, the parent or guardian can prepare to attack the authority's case on the following issues:

• Whether the school is full in all year groups. If not, the school building still has capacity, even if the child's year group is full.
• The number of children in other year groups. If some groups are larger than their child's year group, it is clear that the school has been able to handle a larger group effectively and could do so again.
• If there are fewer than average children with special educational needs in the relevant year group, there may be spare teaching capacity.
• If the classrooms generally accommodate more than 30, and the forms in the year group are 30 or less, a larger group can be taught without difficulty.
• Whether the effect of the admission policy is discriminatory in relation to the child. It is necessary to show that this particular child has suffered discrimination.

If the admission authority has correctly applied its oversubscription criteria, it is very hard to challenge the decision not to admit. It will not suffice, for example, to allege that a child living further from the school has been offered a place. The other child may have been admitted with priority as a sibling, or because of exceptional medical circumstances.

 

Further info

The Children's Legal Centre is a unique national charity offering legal advice and representation. Members of the public can contact the education advice team on 0845 345 4345 and select the ‘Education' option.