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Admission appeals: a how-to guide

Parents can appeal admission decisions. If you're the admission authority for your school, you need to know how to handle these appeals. You can use our template appeal outcome letter, and see how other schools approach appeals.

Last reviewed on 27 October 2022
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 30325
Contents
  1. Be clear on who the admission authority is
  2. All parents have the right to appeal
  3. Timetable for appeals
  4. Membership of appeal panels
  5. The hearing
  6. Reaching a decision
  7. Template appeal outcome letter
  8. Examples of appeals processes

Be clear on who the admission authority is

This article is aimed at governing boards who are the admission authority for their school.

This is because they'll be responsible for arranging an appeal:

Type of schoolAdmission authority
AcademyAcademy trust (the board of trustees)*
Foundation schoolGoverning board
Voluntary aided schoolGoverning board
Community schoolLocal authority
Voluntary controlled schoolLocal authority

This is outlined on page 6 of the school admissions code.

* If you sit on a local governing body in a multi-academy trust, check your scheme of delegation to see if you have any responsibilities regarding admissions.

All parents have the right to appeal

This is covered on page 8 of the school admissions code, and under ‘academy admissions appeals’ in this

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