(i) Appeals Procedure under the School Standards and Framework Act
1998 (as amended by the Education Act 2002 and The Education and Inspections
Act 2006)
If
parents are dissatisfied with the decision of the LA they may lodge an appeal
against the decision. Parents wishing to appeal will be sent information
on how to appeal including a form on which to give 'notice of appeal'.
You should set out the reasons for your appeal on this form and return it to
the LA by the set date.
The
appeal will be heard by an independent appeals panel. The procedure is generally
a 'two stage' process. In the first stage the LA has to convince
the Appeal Panel of the reasons for the refusal of a place. Where the
Panel determines that prejudice would occur if a further admission was allowed
then the second stage is when the parent makes their case. The Panel can then
exercise its discretion in balancing the circumstances presented by the parent
against the prejudice that would be caused by the admission of further
pupils. The decision of the Appeal Panel is binding on the LA and on the parent.
The
'two stage' appeals process applies to all 'prejudice'
appeals except where class size 'prejudice' is an issue (see below
'Appeals for infant year groups').
(ii) Appeals for Infant Year Groups
The
LA can refuse admission to an infant year group either because the admission
number has been reached or the class the pupil would be in would exceed 30.
This
has created two types of appeals. If LA refuses because the admission
number has been reached and even with classes below 30 the Authority believes
there would be prejudice by admitting further pupils the appeal will be a two
stage hearing (as described above).
If
LA refuses because the class the child would be in would exceed 30 the appeal
will be 'one stage'. In this situation the appeal panel can
only allow the appeal if it is satisfied that the decision to refuse the child
a place was not one which any reasonable admissions authority would make or,
that the child would have been offered a place if the published admission arrangements
had been properly implemented.
In
responding to a parent who has lodged an appeal for an infant year group, the
LA will make it clear which of the appeal processes will be used.
(ii) Appeal decisions
The
clerk of the appeal panel will write to you and inform you of the decision.
The appeal panel will not consider second appeals for the same school in the
same year unless there has been a significant change in circumstances since
the original application was submitted.
(iii) If
a place is refused other than at the normal stage of transfer an appeal will
be offered.