Primary School National Offer Day – Did your child get the place you wanted?

Parents and carers of pre-school children, and those transitioning from infant to junior school, are shortly due to find out at which school their child will be offered a place.  National Offer Day, usually 16 April 2022, will take place on 19 April 2022 due to the Easter Bank Holidays.

Fortunately, the vast majority of children are offered a place at one of their top three preferred schools even if not their top choice.

Is there anything you can do when your child is not offered one of your top choice schools?

The short answer is yes, you have the right to appeal the decision.  Check the email or letter from the Admissions Authority setting out the decision as this should contain all the details you need to appeal the decision including the reason why admission was refused.

Will your appeal succeed?

That’s not so easy to answer and the appeal considerations differ as between infant class admissions and junior class admissions as the law does not allow infant class sizes to exceed 30 save in exceptional circumstances.

Put simply, you need to look carefully at:

• whether the admission criteria complied with legal requirements
• whether the admission criteria were correctly followed
• in the case of infant class admission, whether the decision to refuse admission was reasonable for the Admissions Authority to make
• in the case of junior class admission, the reasons for choosing the school and the prejudice to the child in not being admitted to the school

There are strict deadlines by which to submit an appeal so make sure you are well prepared.  If you are appealing the decision to refuse your child a place at more than one school, you will need to submit an appeal for each school.

Who decides your appeal?

Your appeal will then be listed for hearing before an Independent Panel.  You will be given at least 10 school days’ notice of the hearing and will be informed of the Panel’s decision whether to allow the appeal within 5 school days of the hearing.

How can we help?

We can talk you through the requisite legal requirements and whether the admission criteria were correctly followed and advise whether you have grounds to appeal the decision to refuse your child a place at a chosen school

We can help you draft your appeal document for submission.

We can advise you what to expect at the Appeal hearing and can arrange for you to be legally represented if you wish.

Consult our expert education law solicitors about challenging your child’s school offer

At IBB Law, we are passionate about making sure children get the very best education. We know just how critical the right school can be for children, both during their education and for their future.

Our education law solicitors have extensive experience helping families to get children into their preferred schools so we can provide assurance that your child’s educational opportunities are defended effectively.

We offer an initial consultation for a fixed fee to discuss your child’s situation and provide clear, practical advice on your options if you are unhappy with the school place offered. This consultation can take place over the phone or via video conferencing to suit you.

To book your initial consultation or to find out more about how we can help with making sure your child gets the education they deserve, please contact Celia Whittuck.