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 8 and 9.
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.
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