What happens at the school appeal hearing

Appeal a Reception year to year 2 school place  Appeal a year 3 to year 11 school place

What happens at the hearing

At the appeal hearing you’ll be able to explain in person why you are appealing a school place decision.

You will be able to ask questions and answer questions the Independent Appeal Panel may have for you.

How long it takes 

If there are multiple appeals for the same school, it is likely that your appeal will be held in 2 parts. The first part is called a Plenary Hearing and everyone who has submitted an appeal will be invited. Depending on the number of attendees, this hearing is likely to take 30 to 90 minutes. You will then be invited the second part, which is your Individual Hearing. The Individual Hearing is likely to take 20 to 30 minutes. All times given are approximate.

Your attendance and who you can bring with you

Yourself

You should attend the hearing if you can so you can answer any questions the panel may have about your case. However, if you are not able to attend, or choose not to, the Panel will make a decision based on the information provided in your appeal papers.

Family members

You can bring a member of your family, a friend, an adviser or a representative along with you, either to help you say what you want or to speak for you or to simply give you support.

Interpreters and accessibility

If you would like an interpreter or a signer, or if you have any mobility issues, let us know on your appeal form. You can also contact the office if you would prefer to discuss your requirements.

Your child

It is for you to decide whether your child should attend the hearing. However, in the normal course of events children are not expected to attend the hearing and they may find it difficult, particularly if their needs are being discussed by you and the Panel.

Who else will be at the hearing

If you choose to go to the appeal hearing there will be:

• you, the person appealing
• three trained volunteers on the Independent Appeal Panel
• clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel, who is not part of the Panel or involved with making any decisions
• an admission authority representative who is someone from the council or the school if you’re appealing a place at a voluntary aided or a free school

How and where the appeal is heard

All hearings where your child is discussed are held in private. If there are multiple appeals for the same school, we may hold what’s called a ‘plenary hearing’ prior to your individual hearing. At the plenary hearing, the Admission Authority and Head Teacher will present their case about the school (not about any individual child). 

If you're invited to a plenary hearing, you'll also be invited to a second hearing which will only be about your child (which will be held in private). Plenary and individual appeal hearings are conducted via Microsoft Teams. You'll be given online meeting details when you're notified of your hearing date.

About the Appeal Panel

The Panel members are volunteers and are independent of the Admission Authority, parents and any school connected with the appeal hearing. They have all been fully trained in the legislation concerning appeal hearings.

Any decision made by the panel is binding on the Admission Authority, the Appellant (parent or carer), and the school the appeal is for.

About the Clerk

The Clerk is not part of the panel and will not be involved in making any decision.

The role of the clerk is to:

• be an independent source of advice on the law and procedures
• record the proceedings, attendance, decisions and reasons; and
• after the appeal, notify all parties concerned of the Panel’s decision

About the Admission Authority

The Admission Authority representative will explain why a place could not be offered to your child at your preferred school, and the impact on the school of taking additional pupils. The presenting officer will answer any questions raised by you and the Panel members. A representative of the school may also attend the hearing. Their role is to explain the impact on the school of having an additional child or children at the school. A copy of the Admission Authority and school’s case will be sent to you before the hearing.

The decision and when you'll hear from us

Year 3 to Year 11 single appeal

The Panel must consider:

• whether the admission arrangements complied with the admissions law and whether they were correctly and impartially applied
• whether the admission arrangement were correctly applied in your child’s case
• whether the school could admit an additional child without prejudicing the efficient education or efficient use of resources
• if they think that prejudice would occur, they will then balance the reasons for your child to go to the school against the prejudice to the school

Reception year to Year 3 single appeal

The Panel must consider whether the:

• admission of an additional child would breach the infant class size limit
• admission arrangements (including the area’s co-ordinated admission arrangements) complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admission Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
• child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements been applied correctly
• decision to refuse was not one which a reasonable* admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case

The threshold for finding that an admission authority’s decision to refuse admission was not one that a reasonable authority would have made is high. The School Appeal Admission Code states “The Panel will need to be satisfied that the decision to refuse to admit the child was ‘perverse in the light of the admission arrangement’ i.e. it was ‘beyond the range of responses open to a reasonable decision maker’ or ‘a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question could have arrived at it’.

The clerk will let you know their decision as soon as possible, usually within 5 school days.

Withdrawing your appeal

You can withdraw your appeal before the appeal hearing by contacting the Clerk to the Appeal Panel. Let us know if you decide to withdraw your appeal as another appeal can then be heard instead. If you later change your mind, the appeal may be reinstated at a later date. We prefer you to confirm in writing.

More information

Download our school application guides for more information or contact our School Appeals Team.