Appeal process
Appeal arrangements
You have the right under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 ( as amended by the Education Act 2002 ) to appeal to an independent appeal panel if your child has not been allocated a place at your preferred school ( s ). There is no right of appeal in respect of applications for nursery schools or classes .
Appeals in respect of community schools in the London Borough of Ealing
You will receive a letter or email advising whether a place is to be offered at the school of your preference . If you decide to appeal , please contact the School Admissions Service for an appeal form or download the form from Ealing ’ s website : www . ealing . gov . uk . You should return the completed form by the date stated on it . An independent appeals panel , advised by an independent clerk , hears all appeals . Staff in the : Committee Section , 5th Floor ( NE3 ) Perceval House , 14-16 Uxbridge Road , Ealing W5 2HL will write to advise you of the date and time of the hearing and where it will be held . You can phone them on 020 8825 8292 . You will be invited to attend the appeal and we strongly advise you to do so . If you have any questions regarding appeals please contact the Committee Section and not School Admissions .
Guidance for parents
Independent advice on how to appeal can be sought from
• ACE , Advisory Centre for Education . www . ace-ed . org . uk ACE offer free advice via telephone 0300 0115142 Mon- Wed 10am to 1pm Term time only
• Coram , Children ’ s Legal Centre provide free advice on the appeals process : www . childresnlegalcentre . com telephone 08088 020 008 Mon-Fri 8am to 8pm .
Parents wishing to ascertain how likely it is that their appeal will be upheld can look at the statistics on pages 6 and 7 .
Appeals in respect of community schools in other boroughs
Please contact the relevant Local Authority . The telephone numbers of neighbouring authorities are listed on page 58 .
How to appeal for a place at an academy , voluntary-aided or foundation school
You will need to contact the school ( s ) for details of their arrangements and an appeal form as these schools manage their own appeals .
Powers of appeal panels
Appeals other than those against decisions made on the grounds of class size prejudice ( the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 as amended by the Education Act 2002 , limits infant classes to 30 pupils ) must follow a two stage process .
First Stage : establishing the facts , at which the panel considers whether the school ’ s published admission arrangements :
a ) comply with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 . b ) were correctly applied in the individual ’ s case , and decides whether “ prejudice ” to the efficient provision of education would arise were the child to be admitted .
Following the first stage if the appeal panel is not satisfied that there would be prejudice if the child were admitted to the school , where there is only a single appeal for the school the panel should allow the appeal . For multiple appeals for the same school , the appeal panel can only uphold the appeals if they decide that all the children who are the subject of the appeals could be admitted without prejudice to the school . If prejudice is proven for either a single or multiple appeals , the panel must move onto the second stage .
Second Stage : balancing the arguments : at which the panel exercises its discretion , balancing the degree of ‘ prejudice ’ caused to the school by the admission of an extra child against the prejudice caused to the child by not being admitted to their preferred school . The panel will consider both arguments and evidence in support of each before arriving at their decision .
Decision of the appeal panel
The decisions of admission appeal panels are binding on admission authorities and parents and can only be overturned by the courts .
Complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman
The Local Government Ombudsman can investigate written complaints about maladministration on the part of a panel that considered an appeal relating to a community , voluntary aided or foundation school . Complaints relating to academy appeals should be made to the Young Persons Learning Agency ( YPLA ). This is not a further right of appeal and must relate to issues such as the panel ’ s failure to follow correct procedures or act independently and fairly .
Judicial review
Judicial review may be available where an independent appeal panel is wrong on a point of law . Any application for Judicial Review must be made within 3 months of receipt of a decision . Parents might wish to seek legal advice before pursuing this option .
14 Starting High School 2022