Introduction

If your child has been refused a place at your preferred school, you have the right to appeal the decision. This section guides you through submitting an appeal, understanding the process, and key deadlines to keep in mind.

School place appeals explained

A school place appeal is a formal process that allows parents or carers to challenge a decision to refuse their child a place at their preferred school.

If your child is not offered a place at your chosen school(s), you will receive a letter explaining the reasons and providing information about how you can appeal.

Appeals are heard by an appeal panel, which is independent of both the school and the local authority.

You can:

• appeal for a place at more than one school
• only appeal for a place at the same school once in a school year, unless there has been a significant change in your circumstances.

After the appeal hearing, you’ll be sent a letter telling you the outcome. The decision made by the independent appeal panel is legally binding on all parties including the parent, school and local authority.

How school places are allocated

Understanding how school places are allocated can help you decide if you want to appeal a decision.

You can find out more about how school allocations work by visiting about school admissions.

Who can make an appeal

Only someone with full parental responsibility for the child can submit an appeal. Those with shared parental responsibility can only appeal if all parties with shared responsibility agree.

What to consider before making an appeal

There are a few things to bear in mind when deciding whether to appeal a school place decision:

• Infant class size appeals

  By law, class sizes in reception, year 1, and year 2 are limited to 30 pupils. If your application is refused because admitting your child would exceed this limit, the appeal is treated as an infant class size appeal.

  These appeals follow different rules and can only be upheld in very specific circumstances, so it’s important to consider this before making your appeal.

  You can read more about infant class size appeals on the GOV.UK website:

  GOV.UK - Advice for parents and guardians on school place appeals

• Accepting another offer

  To make sure your child has a school place if your appeal does not succeed, you may wish to accept any offer you receive. Accepting another school place offer won’t affect your appeal in any way.

• Impact on sibling applications

  It’s important to be aware that if the school you are appealing for is outside your catchment area, and your appeal is successful, then you may have less chance of being successful when applying for any younger siblings in the future.

Further guidance

We recommend that all parents and carers read the detailed guidance below, available in PDF format, before making an appeal.