Your right of appeal

Parents have a statutory right to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel (the Panel) against the decisions of admission authorities. Admission authorities are responsible for setting and applying a school’s admission arrangements.

The information provided below is a summary of the appeal process. It is not in any way designed to discourage you from appealing, since it is your legal right to do so.

The information is provided to enable you to make an informed decision about whether you wish to appeal or not. If you decide to make an appeal, the admission authority must provide information on the circumstances leading to your child being refused a place.

There are two types of appeal:

Prejudice appeals

This type of appeal is heard when an admission authority refuses the admission of a child because to do so would prejudice the provision of an efficient education or the efficient use of resources for those children already allocated a place at the School. The admission authority must prove this prejudice to the satisfaction of the Panel.

The Panel will also consider your reasons for wanting a place at a particular school and will balance these against the factors given by the admission authority. If the Panel feels that the reasons you have given outweigh the admission authority’s case, then the Panel can allow your appeal.

Infant class size appeals 

The majority of appeals for reception classes in Trafford schools are Infant Class Size Appeals. This type of appeal is heard when the admission authority refuses the admission of a child because the admission of that child would contravene the Infant Class Size Regulations. The Regulations limit the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per school teacher.

An infant class size appeal can only succeed if the Panel finds that one of the following applies:

The admission of an additional child would not breach the infant class size limit of 30 children to one qualified teacher.

The child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had complied with admissions law or if the admission arrangements had been correctly and impartially applied.

The admission authority’s decision to refuse a place was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case and in light of the published admission arrangements.

Further appeals

Appellants who have appealed unsuccessfully can apply for a place at the same school in respect of a later academic year and have a further right of appeal, if that application is unsuccessful.

Appellants do not have a right to a second appeal in respect of the same school for the same academic year, unless there were faults in the first appeal which may have significantly affected the outcome or where the admission authority accepted a further application because of a significant and material change in the circumstances of the parent, child or school, but has determined that the new application should also be turned down.

Find out more about how to appeal to the independent appeals panel.