Appeals

If you apply for a place in a Church school for your child and you receive a letter from the governors telling you that they have not been able to allocate you a place, you are entitled to appeal against that decision. The school's brochure or prospectus should contain full details of how you should make the appeal, and these details will probably be repeated in the letter from the governors. The appeal panel is independent of the governing body and you should be confident that you will receive a fair hearing. The process is designed to be as informal as possible, but inevitably it is important that you are clear about your reasons for making the appeal so that you can present your argument effectively.

There are two main grounds for any appeal. The first is that you do not think that the governors have administered their policy fairly. That means that you think their decisions as to who should be admitted were wrong in the light of their published policy, not that you think that the policy itself is wrong because it gives places to others before it gives a place to you. The governors have to consult widely on their policy before it is published and once it is published for a particular year it cannot be changed. If you believe that the governors have not correctly administered their policy you should produce evidence to show where they have made a mistake in your case. Remember that they can only decide on the basis of the information that you supplied to them in support of your application. You cannot expect them to know things that you did not tell them.

The second ground for appeal is that the governing body could admit your child to the school without difficulty, even if this means exceeding their admission number. The admission number will have been set in a way that the governors believe will make the best use of the educational resources at their disposal. It is always possible to argue that different approaches could lead to an increase in the number of pupils that the school could take, but the debate is one of balance and the appeal panel has to weigh the arguments carefully. Even if the panel believes that the school could take in one or two more children, they can only require the school to take in the children whom the appeals panel believes have the highest priority according to the admissions policy.

From time to time The National Society receives complaints from disappointed parents about the way a school has dealt with the admissions process. These are rare. It is not possible to take any action on these if the complainants have not been through the appeal process. Therefore, if you feel that the admissions process has not been conducted properly, the first step is always to use your right of appeal.

The decision of the appeal panel is binding on the school, so if you "win" the appeal the school will have to admit your child.

You should not assume that the school's decision that they cannot admit your child means that they do not want to admit him or her, or that they will make life difficult if you subsequently "win" an appeal. Most schools regard the appeal process as an important check on the way that they are conducting their admissions procedures. Schools dislike having to turn anyone away. So if the appeals panel does give your child a place in the school, you can expect that she or he will be welcomed in just the same way as every other child.

Further information

Introducing Church schools
Diocesan Education contacts
Applying for a place
Parent governors
PTAs / Friends