Please read the Statutory Appeal process information carefully, and ONLY submit an appeal if you can evidence an exceptional reason why your child should be given a place at the school you applied for and were refused a place.
Ensure that you write down the exceptional reason why you are appealing against the refusal of a school place on the form. Your submission will not be processed if you do not provide your reasons for making an appeal.
Your right to appeal
If you have been refused a place at a school you have named in your application, you have the legal right to appeal against that decision (unless your child has been permanently excluded from two schools).
An appeal cannot be made because you do not want the school that you have been offered.
If you can show that there are exceptional reasons why you should be offered a place at your preferred school, then you can appeal. Everyone has the right of appeal, but It is only in exceptional circumstances that an appeal will be successful.
In 2023, out of the 49 Primary Reception appeals that were heard between June and July, only three appeals were allowed. Out of the 165 Secondary Transfer appeals that were heard between April and June, only 15 appeals were allowed.
Before submitting an appeal, you should read the school’s admission arrangements carefully. Be realistic about your reasons for wanting your child to attend the school, and the chances of being successful in proving that your child should be given a place above all other children on the waiting list.
You cannot appeal for a school you have not made an application for.
You can only appeal for the same school once in each academic year.
The statutory appeals process has been designed to ensure that any parent is able to present their case to an independent Appeal Panel without the need to turn to companies that offer to assist them in preparing and presenting their appeal at a significant cost. There is no evidence to show that paying for any of these companies will improve your chances at a hearing. If you have a strong case to justify your child being given a place at a particular school, then the Appeal Panel will consider it, no matter who presents your case.
Some schools are responsible for their own appeals. Please contact these schools directly about their appeal process:
Primary schools
- Al-Noor Primary School
- Atam Academy
- Avanti Court Primary School
- Clore Tikva Primary School
- Isaac Newton Academy
- St Aidan's Catholic Academy
- St Antony's Catholic Primary School
- St Augustine's Catholic Primary School
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School
- Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School
- SS Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary School
- Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School
- Wanstead Church School
Secondary schools
- Atam Academy
- Chadwell Heath Academy
- Isaac Newton Academy
- King Solomon High School
- Mayfield School
- The Palmer Catholic Academy
- Trinity Catholic Academy
- The Ursuline Academy Ilford
Make your school admissions appeal
The most common reason for not being offered a Reception or Secondary Transfer place is because the school had more applications than places available, and other children had a higher priority for a place at the school than your child based on the school's admission policy.
For in-year applications, it is because the school is full and has no vacancies.
In both instances, the school will not wish to admit more pupils, as this would adversely affect resources and the education of other children at the school. The cost of every appeal must be paid for by the school, which puts further pressure on their available resources. It currently costs schools approximately £17,000 a year for appeals to be heard.
For more information on appeals, please read the advice provided by the DfE.
Before submitting your appeal form and going through the appeal process, it is important to be aware of how the Appeal Panel reaches its decision on primary school appeals.
Appeals for a place in most Infant classes can only be upheld in very limited circumstances.
The law requires that Infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) should not contain more than 30 pupils with a single teacher.
By law, when considering an Infant Class Size appeal, the Appeal Panel can only consider three specific grounds if the class limit had already been met:
- Whether the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admission Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;
- Whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in the case(s) in question; and
- Whether the decision to refuse admission was one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
An Appeal Panel can only uphold an Infant Class Size appeal where:
- It finds that the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or
- it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied: or
- it decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
Due to these legal limitations, an Appeal Panel cannot take into account your personal reasons for wanting a place at the school for your child, so you will need to be sure that your reasons for appealing fits these legal grounds.
It is also likely that an Appeal Panel would consider it reasonable for a child to be refused a place at their nearest school if other children had higher priority for the places available, even if this resulted in you being offered a school place some distance from your home.
For all Key Stage 2 (Years 3,4,5 and 6) appeals, Appeal Panels must follow a two stage decision making process.
The Appeal Panel must first consider:
- whether the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; and
- whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied.
The Appeal Panel must then decide whether the admission of an additional child would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must uphold your appeal at the first stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admission law or had not been correctly and impartially applied, and your child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
b) it finds the admission of additional children would not prejudice the provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must proceed to the second stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did comply with admissions law and that they were correctly and impartially applied to your child; or
b) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied but that, if they had complied and had been correctly and impartially applied, your child would not have been offered a place; or
c) it finds that the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must balance the prejudice to the school against your case for your child to be admitted to the school. If they decide that your case does not outweigh the prejudice to the school they must refuse your appeal.
If the Appeal Panel is hearing more than one appeal for the same year group at the same school (multiple appeals) it must balance the arguments for each appeal on an individual basis. However, if the Appeal Panel finds that there are more appeals that outweigh the prejudice to the school than the school could cope with, it must compare the cases and only allow those appeals with the strongest case for admission.
Please ensure that you have also read the appeal information notes before taking the decision to appeal.
Submit your appeal
Before appealing for a school, be sure that you have strong grounds for doing so. Whilst you may be initially disappointed at not being offered this particular school, remember that appeals are only successful in exceptional circumstances.
As the school you have applied for is full, they will not wish to admit more pupils, as this would adversely affect resources and the education of other children at the school. The cost of every appeal must be paid for by the school, which puts further pressure on their available resources.
Redbridge has many good schools and the offer you have received may also be a suitable choice for your child.
If you decide to go ahead, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents via an online form:
After you have submitted your written appeal you will be informed of the date of the hearing at least 10 school days before the hearing.
You will be allowed to provide additional information for your appeal up to three working days before the hearing. Information submitted later or on the day of the hearing may not be considered, as it may not be possible for the panel to copy and read it in the time available for your hearing.
Before going through the appeal process and completing your appeal form, it is important to be aware of how the Appeal Panel reaches its decision on a secondary school appeal.
Appeal Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process for all Key Stage 3 (Years 7,8 and 9) and Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) appeals.
The Appeal Panel must first consider:
a. whether the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; and
b. whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied.
The Appeal Panel must then decide whether the admission of an additional child would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must uphold your appeal at the first stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admission law or had not been correctly and impartially applied, and your child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
b) it finds the admission of additional children would not prejudice the provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must proceed to the second stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did comply with admissions law and that they were correctly and impartially applied to your child; or
b) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied but that, if they had complied and had been correctly and impartially applied, your child would not have been offered a place; or
c) it finds that the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must balance the prejudice to the school against your case for your child to be admitted to the school. If they decide that your case does not outweigh the prejudice to the school they must refuse your appeal.
Please ensure that you have also read the appeal information notes before taking the decision to appeal.
Submit your appeal
Before appealing for a school, be sure that you have strong grounds for doing so. Whilst you may be initially disappointed at not being offered this particular school, remember that appeals are only successful in exceptional circumstances.
As the school you have applied for is full, they will not wish to admit more pupils, as this would adversely affect resources and the education of other children at the school. The cost of every appeal must be paid for by the school, which puts further pressure on their available resources.
Redbridge has many good schools and the offer you have received may also be a suitable choice for your child.
If you decide to go ahead, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents via an online form:
After you have submitted your written appeal you will be informed of the date of the hearing at least 10 school days before the hearing.
You will be allowed to provide additional information for your appeal up to three working days before the hearing. Information submitted later or on the day of the hearing may not be considered, as it may not be possible for the panel to copy and read it in the time available for your hearing.
This school appeal process is for children born between 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013. If you are unsuccessful in gaining a place at the school you were hoping for on 1 March 2024, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents to the online form.
The deadline to submit admissions appeal online is 30 March 2024.
Before going through the appeal process and completing your appeal form, it is important to be aware of how the Appeal Panel reaches its decision on a secondary school appeal.
Appeal Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process for all Secondary Transfer (Year 7) appeals.
The Appeal Panel must first consider:
a. whether the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; and
b. whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied.
The Appeal Panel must then decide whether the admission of an additional child would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must uphold your appeal at the first stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admission law or had not been correctly and impartially applied, and your child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
b) it finds the admission of additional children would not prejudice the provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must proceed to the second stage where:
a) it finds that the admission arrangements did comply with admissions law and that they were correctly and impartially applied to your child; or
b) it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied but that, if they had complied and had been correctly and impartially applied, your child would not have been offered a place; or
c) it finds that the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The Appeal Panel must balance the prejudice to the school against your case for your child to be admitted to the school. If they decide that your case does not outweigh the prejudice to the school they must refuse your appeal.
If the Appeal Panel is hearing more than one appeal for the same year group at the same school (multiple appeals) it must balance the arguments for each appeal on an individual basis. However, if the Appeal Panel finds that there are more appeals that outweigh the prejudice to the school than the school could cope with, it must compare the cases and only allow those appeals with the strongest case for admission.
The appeal hearings for the following schools are scheduled to be heard between late April to Mid-June 2024 for:
- Beal High School*
- Ilford County High School
- Loxford School Trust*
- Oaks Park High School
- Seven Kings School
- Valentines High School
- Wanstead High School
- Woodbridge High School
- Woodford County High School
*Both Beal High School and Loxford School Trust are academies, they have asked us - Redbridge Council, to arrange and progress the appeals on their behalf. The appeal hearing schedule dates are just a guide and may be subject to change depending on the number of appeal cases received for an individual school.
Please ensure that you have also read the appeal information notes before taking the decision to appeal.
Submit your appeal
Before appealing for a school, be sure that you have strong grounds for doing so. Whilst you may be initially disappointed at not being offered this particular school, remember that appeals are only successful in exceptional circumstances.
As the school you have applied for is full, they will not wish to admit more pupils, as this would adversely affect resources and the education of other children at the school. The cost of every appeal must be paid for by the school, which puts further pressure on their available resources.
Redbridge has many good schools and the offer you have received may also be a suitable choice for your child.
If you decide to go ahead, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents via an online form:
After you have submitted your written appeal you will be informed of the date of the hearing at least 10 school days before the hearing.
You will be allowed to provide additional information for your appeal up to three working days before the hearing. Information submitted later or on the day of the hearing may not be considered, as it may not be possible for the panel to copy and read it in the time available for your hearing.
This school appeal process is for children born between 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020.
If you did not get the school you were hoping for on 16 April 2024, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents to the online form.
Before going through the appeal process and completing your appeal form, it is important to be aware of how the Appeal Panel reaches its decision on Infant class appeals.
Appeals for a place in most Infant classes can only be upheld in very limited circumstances.
The law requires that Infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) should not contain more than 30 pupils with a single teacher.
The grounds for allowing an Infant Class Size appeal are extremely limited and the success rate is very low.
By law, when considering an Infant Class Size appeal, the Appeal Panel can only consider three specific grounds if the class limit had already been met:
- Whether the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admission Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;
- Whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in the case(s) in question; and
- Whether the decision to refuse admission was one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
An Appeal Panel can only uphold an Infant Class Size appeal where:
- It finds that the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or
- it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied: or
- it decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
Due to these legal limitations, an Appeal Panel cannot take into account your personal reasons for wanting a place at the school for your child, so you will need to be sure that your reasons for appealing fits these legal grounds.
It is also likely that an Appeal Panel would consider it reasonable for a child to be refused a place at their nearest school if other children had higher priority for the places available, even if this resulted in you being offered a school place some distance from your home.
Please ensure that you have also read the appeal information notes before taking the decision to appeal:
The deadline to submit admissions appeal online was 18 May 2024. Appeals received after this date may not be heard as part of the grouped sessions set out below.
The appeal hearings for the following schools were heard between June/July 2024 for:
- Aldersbrook Primary School
- Chadwell Primary School
- Christchurch Primary School
- Churchfields Infants School
- Cleveland Road Primary School
- Cranbrook Primary School
- Fullwood Primary School
- Goodmayes Primary School
- Grove Primary School
- Highlands Primary School
- Loxford School Trust*
- Nightingale Primary School
- Oakdale Infants' School
- Redbridge Primary School
- Seven Kings School
- Snaresbrook Primary School
- Wells Primary School
- any other school an appeal is received for
*Loxford School Trust is an academy, they have asked us - Redbridge Council, to arrange and progress the appeals on their behalf. The appeal hearing schedule dates are just a guide and may be subject to change depending on the number of appeal cases received for an individual school.
Submit your appeal
Before appealing for a school, be sure that you have strong grounds for doing so. Whilst you may be initially disappointed at not being offered this particular school, remember that appeals are only successful in exceptional circumstances.
As the school you have applied for is full, they will not wish to admit more pupils, as this would adversely affect resources and the education of other children at the school. The cost of every appeal must be paid for by the school, which puts further pressure on their available resources.
Redbridge has many good schools and the offer you have received may also be a suitable choice for your child.
If you decide to go ahead, you can appeal online and upload your supporting documents via an online form:
After you have submitted your written appeal you will be informed of the date of the hearing at least ten school days before the hearing.
You will be allowed to provide additional information for your appeal up to three working days before the hearing. Information submitted later or on the day of the hearing may not be considered, as it may not be possible for the panel to copy and read it in the time available for your hearing.
Appeal process for children who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan
If your child has an EHC Plan you cannot use this process to submit an appeal because your child’s school place is allocated through a different process.
Please contact the SEND team by email: senteam@redbridge.gov.uk.
The Appeals Panel
Appeals are heard by an Independent Appeal Panel of three to five members of the public. The Panelists appointed to decide these appeals are volunteer members of the public, some may have experience in education.
When your appeal will be heard
Your appeal for a Reception, Junior Transfer or Secondary Transfer will be heard within 40 ‘school days’ of your appeal form being submitted.
Hearings will be held within 30 ‘school days’ of the appeal being submitted for in-year applications.
You can submit additional documents, information and/or evidence to the Panel to support your case. You must do this at least three working days before your appeal.
If you submit information which the Panel thinks may be significant too close to the hearing date or on the day, the Panel may need to defer your case to enable them and the Admission Authority representative time to study the papers. This is important because they will want to come to a fair decision based on a full understanding of all the information.
How you will be contacted about the hearing date
You will receive an email advising you of the date and time of your appeal at least 10 school days before the appeal hearing, unless you have agreed to waive the 10 school days’ notice on your appeal form. You will also receive a copy of your case history together with your appeal form and details of the case we put together.
Sixth form appeals
Please contact the school directly that you want to appeal for, hearings will be held within 30 days of the appeal being submitted.
As specified at Section 2.6 of the School Admission Appeals Code 2012, where a child is refused admission to a sixth form, they and their parents have the same right of appeal and where they appeal separately admission authorities must arrange the appeals so that they are heard together.
Assistance
Appeal Panels must comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 when considering an appellant’s attendance and representation at an appeal hearing.
If you need assistance to help you at your hearing, please ensure that you state this in your appeal form as far in advance as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Please be advised that the inability to converse orally in a language which is not the speaker’s native spoken language is not regarded by the Equality Act 2010 as having a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. In exceptional circumstances only, if you are unable to bring an adult friend or representative with you to your appeal hearing to help you present your case in English, we will arrange an interpreter to assist you. There is a cost for interpretation services, and if an interpreter is booked and you do not attend the hearing, or it becomes evident that you did not require their assistance during the hearing, we will charge you a percentage of the cost, currently set at £20.
What happens at the appeal hearing?
There are three steps to the appeal hearing:
- the Admission Authority representative will explain to the Appeal Panel why your application has been refused
- if the Panel decides that there was a good reason for refusing your application, you will still have a chance to give your reasons for appealing against the decision
- your child will be awarded a place at the school only if the Panel finds your case to be the stronger. If not, the decision not to offer your child a place will be upheld.
The Panel will let you, and the Admissions team know of their decision by post within five school days. The Panel's decision is binding on all parties.
Complaining about the appeals process
If you are unhappy about the way the appeal process was carried out, you have the right to contact The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Please note this is not a further appeal and the Ombudsman cannot offer you the school you want if they decide in your favour, but you could have a further appeal heard if maladministration is established.
Admission appeals
