If a school decides not to offer your child a place, you can appeal against that decision.
Where there is a limit of 30 children to a teacher
There is a limit of thirty children to a teacher in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes.
If taking on another child means that the school would have to take extra steps which could cause problems, this is called class size prejudice.
If your child is refused a place because of this class size prejudice the appeal panel may only change that decision if:
- The admission arrangements were not properly put into place and your child would have been offered a place if they were.
- If the decision to refuse your child a place was not a reasonable one.
Where there is not a limit of 30 children to a teacher
This includes:
- All secondary school places
- Primary school places other than in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2
- Primary school places in those classes where class size limit doesn’t apply because the classes arranged to keep the numbers under 30 children to a teacher.
These appeals take two steps:
Step 1:
The appeal panel looks at whether the admission arrangements for the school were used properly when deciding if your child should get a place.
If they were not, and your child would have been given a place if they had been, the panel should allow your appeal.
Step 2:
The panel looks at your reasons for choosing that school. If they decide that the school could not cope with taking on more children, they should refuse the appeal.