The school appeals process

The types of school appeal

All panels check to make sure admission arrangements have been correctly and legally applied. Beyond that they can follow one of two processes:

Infant class appeals (reception to year 2)

There are very limited exceptional circumstances which allows a school to go above 30 children with a single teacher in infant classes. A successful appeal, under one of the following circumstances, is one of them.

An infant class prejudice appeal can only succeed if the Independent Appeal Panel finds one of the below:

1. The admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit of 30 children to 1 class teacher
2. Error - the child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had complied with admissions law or were correctly and impartially applied
3. Unreasonable - the admission authority’s decision to refuse a place was not one which a reasonable admission authority (see below) would have made in the circumstances of the case

The threshold of reasonableness is high. 

The panel must decide whether the admission authority’s decision was:

• 'perverse in the light of the admission arrangements', or
• 'beyond the range of responses open to a reasonable decision-maker', or
• 'so outrageous in its defiance of logic or accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied their mind to the question could have arrived at it'

What will happen at the appeal

The following steps explain what you can expect at your hearing:

• you will enter a virtual waiting room when you join the hearing
• please wait for the clerk to bring you in, introduce him or herself and explain the procedure to be followed
• you and the admission authority will be brought into the meeting together for the start of your appeal
• an Independent Appeal Panel of 3 people will introduce themselves and the chair will first ask the admission authority to give a verbal explanation of the reasons for refusing your child a place
• you and the panel then have an opportunity to ask questions about the school’s case
• the chair will then invite you to explain your reasons for appeal, indicating how your reasons for appeal fit one of the categories for upholding an infant class appeal
• after you and the admission authority have said all you wish to say, you will be asked to leave the hearing as your appeal has ended

The Panel will make its decision later, in private, after you and the admission authority have left.

A letter explaining the panel’s decision will be sent to you by email after the panel has made its decision, see our school appeals timelines page for more information.

In the case of multiple appeals for the same school and year group, the panel adjourns after the school’s case has been questioned, in order to hear individual cases in private, one at a time. All individual appeals will be heard before any decisions are made.

Two-stage process appeals

This applies to all other year groups, not subject to infant class size legislation.

You will first enter a virtual waiting room when you join the hearing. A clerk will bring you in from the waiting room and explain the procedure to be followed. You will be placed back in the virtual waiting for a short while so the clerk can check that the panel is ready to proceed.

You and the admission authority will be brought into the hearing together for the start of Stage 1.

Stage 1 - establishing the facts

The hearing will follow these steps:

• the panel will introduce themselves and the chair will ask the admission authority to present its case.
• you and the panel will then be invited to ask questions about the school’s case to test and verify the factual information about the school and the admission arrangements.
• adjournment - you and the school’s representatives will be asked to placed back in the virtual waiting room while the panel makes its Stage 1 decision

The panel cannot review the school’s organisation or capacity. It will consider the impact of admitting additional children in terms of:

• organisation and size of classes
• availability of teaching staff
• the effect it would have on a school in the current and following academic years

The panel must decide:

• whether the admission arrangements comply with admissions law
• whether the admission arrangements were applied correctly and fairly in your child’s case
• whether admitting additional children would cause prejudice to efficient education or the efficient use of resources

If the panel decides that the admission arrangements were not complied with or were not applied correctly in your child’s case, your child will be offered a place.

If the panel decides that the arrangements were lawful and correctly applied, and that admitting additional children would cause prejudice, the appeal will move to stage 2.

If the panel accepts that the admission authority has shown that admitting additional children would cause prejudice, it will move to stage 2 of the appeal.

If there is more than one appeal for the same school and year group, the panel will first decide whether any additional children can be admitted without causing prejudice.

If it decides that this is not possible, it will move to stage 2. The panel will then hear each appeal separately, one at a time, before making any decisions.

Stage 2 - balancing the argument

If the appeal moves to stage 2, the following steps will take place:

• you and the admission authority will be brought in from the waiting room so the clerk can inform you of the panel’s stage 1 decision. You may be placed back in the virtual waiting room for a short while so the clerk can check that the panel are ready to proceed
• when the panel are ready the clerk will bring you and the admission authority into the hearing where the chair will confirm their Stage 1 decision and ask you to explain your reasons for appeal
• the admission authority and panel will ask you questions to clarify your reasons for appeal and factual information
• when you have said all you wish to say and answered all questions, the chair will ask you and the admission authority to leave the hearing, as this is the end of your appeal.

At this stage the panel will consider each appeal on its own merits and take into account your specific circumstances and your reasons for expressing a preference for the particular school.

In-year or immediate entry appeals

You can apply for your child to start a school during the academic year, if you move into Northamptonshire, or you want to move your child from one school to another.

Your application for a school place during the academic year will be refused if the admission authority confirms that the school is full and has no available places. Admitting an additional child in these circumstances would harm the education of the existing pupils.

If the admission authority refuses your application for a school place, you have the right to appeal. This type of appeal is known as an in-year or immediate entry appeal.

When to make your appeal

You should make your appeal within 20 school days of the refusal, and the appeal hearing will take place as soon as possible depending on the availability of the unpaid, volunteer independent appeal panel members, or within 30 school days, see the school appeal timeline [Link].

The appeal process will depend on the type of school place you are appealing for:

• reception to Year 2
• other primary and secondary school

You should submit your appeal and any supporting evidence as set out in this guidance, depending on the type of school place you are appealing for. For more information, see the appeals process hearing which explains what evidence you can provide.

Last updated 04 March 2026