Appeal a school place decision

Before you appeal

Appealing a school place decision should only be done if you have already applied:

  • for a school place for the September intake and have been refused a place at a school.
  • to move schools for an in-year place and have been refused a place at a school.

Appealing a school place is different from applying for a school place.

You can only appeal for a place at the schools you listed on your application form.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and you are not happy with the school named on your plan, please get in touch with your caseworker.

You can get independent advice about school appeals from:

School transport

It is your responsibility to find out about your options for school transport if you have been offered a place at a school you didn't list on your application.

Moving house

If you have moved house, you must send us proof of your new residency. We may have used your old address to process the application if you did not meet the deadline for providing this proof.

Your appeal panel will review the details of your case at the time the decision was made.

Service personnel and crown servants

Different rules may apply for the armed forces and crown servants.

How to appeal

There is a two-step process to appealing:

  1. complete the appeal enquiry form below
  2. you will then receive an email with a link to complete your appeal form online

You must follow both steps in the process above to submit your appeal online. Completing the enquiry form alone is not considered an appeal.

Most schools in Lincolnshire accept our appeal form. You must clearly state your reasons for your appeal on the form and provide any supporting evidence.

You must put your child's name on anything you send us so we know who it is for. You can submit more information later on if you need to.

You need to send any supporting evidence you wish to be considered in advance of the appeal hearing. We may blank out other people's faces or personal details on documents you send to us.

For schools that have their own appeal forms, you will need to send any supporting evidence directly to them.

Schools which have their own appeal forms and do not accept our appeal form are:

What happens next?

We will acknowledge that your appeal has been lodged within five working days. If we do not, please call 01522 782030.

Where we are not the admissions authority for the school you are appealing to, we will send the appeal forms to them. We will let you know when we send your appeal form to the school. We cannot let you know when your appeal will be.

Once your appeal date is confirmed, you will receive your appeal pack in the post 10 days before this date. The 10 days notice can be waived on your appeal form.

The pack will include the following:

  • the date, time and venue of your appeal.
  • a letter to explain why your child did not get a place.
  • the names of the panel members and clerk.

Appeals will be heard during office hours during school term time.

Some schools organise their own appeals and follow a different process. We will tell you if this is the case when you appeal.

At the appeal

You do not need to attend your appeal, but we recommend you do or send someone else who can attend. If you attend yourself, you can bring someone with you, such as a friend, relative or social worker.

You should bring all the documents relating to your appeal on the day. Remember that you will need to send any supporting evidence beforehand.

The clerk will take notes and advise about the law during the appeal. A representative will be there to present the school’s case.

Factors that the panel can consider for infant class size appeals are limited if there are already 30 children in the class.

You must let us know if you require an interpreter on the day of the appeal. This service is free of charge.

Appeal decisions

After the appeal is heard, an independent panel will decide. They are not connected to the school or local authority in any way. The clerk will tell you how and when you will receive the decision. A letter confirming the decision will also be posted to you.

Complaints about appeals

If you are unhappy with how the appeal hearing was conducted, you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman cannot overturn a panel’s decision, but they may suggest a new appeal with a different panel and clerk.

Complaints about academy appeals need to be sent to the Education and Skills Funding Agency by:

  • emailing academy.questions@education.gsi.gov.uk
  • writing to Admission Appeal Complaints, Academies Central Unit, Education Funding and Skills Agency, Earlsdon Park, Butts Road, Coventry, CV1 3BH