School Appeals

The normal admission round begins in September and ends on the date that offers of places are issued in the academic year before admission or transfer. This is usually in years before reception, year 2 and year 6 for those authorities operating infant, junior and secondary schools. In other authorities it is reception, year 3 and year 7 for those authorities operating first, middle and secondary schools.

What is the admission criteria?

If a school is oversubscribed and therefore receives more applications than there are places available, the admitting authority will apply criteria to decide which applications are successful and those which are not successful.

What are admission policies for schools?

Admission policies are the same as oversubscription criteria or admission criteria. Please see admission criteria.

What is an oversubscription criterion?

An oversubscription criterion is the same as admission policies and admission criteria. Please see admission criteria.

Who is the admission authority?

The admission authority is the authority that determines which criteria will be used if there are more applications than places. For community schools the admitting authority is the Local Education Authority. This accounts for the vast majority of schools. For all other schools the Governing Body is the admitting authority. This includes Voluntary Aided Schools, Voluntary Controlled Schools, Foundation Schools, and Academies.

What is the published admission number?

The published admission number or PAN as it is commonly referred to is the number of pupils in each year group that the admission authority has agreed will be admitted without causing problems for the school.

What is the Net Capacity of the school?

This is the maximum number of pupils in the school that the admitting authority believes can be accommodated without causing problems for the school.

How is the Net Capacity worked out?

The Department of Education and Skills has devised a formula based on the size of classrooms and common areas that determines the maximum number of work places in the school. This figure is then multiplied by 90% to determine the minimum number of work places available. This provides a range of 10% with which the admitting authority usually determines the Net Capacity.

What is a community or maintained school?

A community school is one which is run by the Local Education Authority.

What is a Foundation School?

These were formerly referred to as Grant Maintained Schools. The Governing Body of the school is responsible for setting the admission criteria and also arranging admission appeals.

What is a Voluntary Aided School?

These schools are usually religious based with a religious ethos. The Governing Body set the admission criteria and arranges admission appeals. The admission criteria will usually require a level of religious commitment.

What is a Voluntary Controlled School?

These schools the Governing Body set their admission criteria but the Local Education Authority is responsible for arranging admission appeals.

What is the allocated school?

This is the school that the Local Education Authority has determined your child should attend if they are unable to meet any of your expressed preferences.

What is the home authority?

The home authority is the Local Education Authority within which your home is located. They have an obligation to find a school for you if none of your expressed preferences are allocated.

What is the balancing exercise?

This is the process where an appeal panel considers whether the issues you raise at an appeal outweigh the issues put forward by the admission authority.

Who is the clerk to the Appeal Panel?

This is the person appointed by the admission authority to ensure that the admission appeal is conducted properly and in accordance with the Code of Practice for School Admission Appeals. This person is also able to give independent advice to parents/guardians.

What is the Code of Practice on School Admissions?

This is statutory guidance issued by the Department of Education and Skills for admission authorities.

What is the Code of Practice on School Admission Appeals?

This is statutory guidance issued by the Department of Education and Skills to follow when arranging school admission appeals.

What is the Department for Education and Skills(DfES)?

The government department responsible for setting and implementing government policy in England.

What is the balancing exercise?

This is the process where an appeal panel considers whether the issues you raise at an appeal outweigh the issues put forward by the admission authority.

Who is the clerk to the Appeal?

The clerk is the person appointed by the Admissions Authority to give advice to all parties to the appeal about procedures, the law and any matters arising out of the appeal process.

What is an excepted pupil?

These are pupils that are not counted when deciding if a class has exceeded 30 or a ratio of 30 to 1 for pupils aged 5, 6 and 7.

What is the governing body?

This is collectively the group of people elected or appointed to oversee the management and budget for the school.

What is the Independent Appeal Panel?

This is the group of people appointed by the Admissions Authority to hear appeals in accordance with the Code of Practice. The Code provides that the Panel is made up of lay persons and people with experience of education and will be either 3 or 5 persons. In most cases the Panel will comprise 3 people. If the Panel is 3 there must be at least 1 lay person and at least 1 person experienced in education.

What are infant class size appeals?

This is where the Admissions Authority refuses a school place because it would result in a class size of more than 30 for children aged 5, 6 and 7 or would result in a ratio of more than 30 children to 1 teacher.

What is Key Stage 1?

Children aged 5, 6 and 7 fall within this category.

What is the Local Education Authority?

This is the Council/Local Authority responsible for setting and determining local education policy and management. They also are responsible for all maintained schools.

What is maladministration?

This is where the approved and published procedures for admissions of pupils and the appeals process have not been followed and have caused injustice as a result.

Who is the National Assembly for Wales?

This is the national government for Wales that is responsible for establishing national policy on a range of issues including Codes of Practice on school admissions and appeal procedures.

What is the National Curriculum?

This is the education programme established by the government that each school is required to follow.

What is an Ofsted report?

This is a report produced by a team of school inspectors to assess how a school is performing against a range of predetermined targets. They are usually held about every four years.

What is oversubscription?

This occurs when the number of applications for school places exceeds the number available.

What is a plenary session?

This takes place when there are several appeals for one school. This is the part of the hearing where the Admissions Authority presents its case for prejudice before either a group or all parents/guardians that are appealing.

What is the preferred school?

This is the school that you would like your child to attend.

What is prejudice?

This is where the Admissions Authority refuses a place at a school because it believes that the admission of one more pupil would have an adverse effect on the efficient use of resources and/or the efficient education of the children already at the school.

What is the prospectus for the school?

This is the publication issued by the school that sets out the policies, principles and ethos of the school.

What are qualifying measures?

These are the measures that a school would have to take if it admitted more pupils than the published admission limit. This only applies in class size appeals.