This form should be completed by the parent/guardian. Please read the guidance notes on the back of this document before you complete this form

Transcription

1 Appeal Against School Admission Decision This form should be completed by the parent/guardian. Please read the guidance notes on the back of this document before you complete this form I wish to appeal against the decision not to offer my child a place at School. Child s first name (s): Child s surname: Child s date of Birth: Child s Address: Parent or Guardian s Name: Parent s or Guardian s Address (if different from above): Daytime telephone number: Address (Please note that by giving your address you consent to correspondence / documents being sent by this method) Name of the school the child is now attending: Do you need an interpreter at the appeal hearing? Yes No If yes, please state language spoken: Please list any dates when you cannot attend a hearing: (Please ensure that refusal letter for a place at the said school and any supporting evidence is attached to this form). Signature of Parent/ Guardian: - Date: Please turn over

2 Reasons for the appeal Please read the attached guidance notes before you complete this section. Here you must give full reasons for appealing and you may attach additional sheets if necessary. If medical or social grounds form part of your reasons for appealing it may be helpful to your case if you provide written evidence from relevant professionals. Please send this form to Committee Services, Room 226, Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, London WC1E 9JE within 20 days of being refused admission or by the date specified in your refusal letter. Appeal Against School Admission Decision

3 GUIDANCE NOTES FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS Appeals against admission decisions If your child has been refused a place at a Camden school you have the right to appeal to an independent Appeal Panel. This is your opportunity to explain your reasons for wanting to send your child to the school and the independent Appeals Panel will decide if those reasons are strong enough to overturn the decision of the Admission Authority for the school. Where can I get independent advice before making an appeal? The Advisory Centre for Education provides free independent advice and information for parents on admission issues and can be contacted on How do I appeal? For voluntary aided schools you should contact the headteacher of the school who will tell you how to appeal. For other Camden schools (known as community schools), you should complete the appeal form and return it to the address shown within 20 days of the date that you are told that your child has not been given a place. What sort of information should I provide? On the form, you should give all the reasons why you think that your child should be given a place at the school. For example, if you want medical factors to be taken into account you are advised to provide a letter from your doctor with your appeal form. It is up to you to provide any evidence from professionals (such as doctors or social workers) that you think is relevant. You should also include the letter from the school refusing you a place. What happens next? You will receive a letter from Committee Services acknowledging that your appeal form has been received. The Clerk to the Appeal Panel will then let you know where and when your appeal will be heard, giving you at least 10 school days notice. About a week (5 clear days) before the appeal hearing you will receive a copy of the papers that will be considered at the hearing, which will consist of your appeal form, a written statement from the Admission Authority explaining why your child was not offered a place at the school and details of the procedure that will be followed at the hearing, including the names of the Independent Appeal Panel Members who will hear your appeal. Who will hear my appeal? The Appeal Panel consists of 3 (or sometimes 5) people who are independent of both the school and the Admission Authority and are not involved in decisions about school admissions in Camden. The Panel members do, however, have knowledge of education provision or of educational conditions in the area. There will also be a clerk at the meeting whose job is to advise the Panel on procedures and to take notes of the hearing. It is only the members of the Appeal Panel who decide the outcome of your appeal, based on the information provided to them.

4 Can I bring someone with me to the appeal hearing? You can bring a friend or adviser with you to the hearing and they can speak on your behalf if you wish and you can also call witnesses. You can also bring an interpreter or signer with you if you need one or you can ask for one to be provided for you. If you wish to bring an education social worker, special educational needs adviser or learning mentor with you to the hearing you can do so but you will need to arrange this yourself. If you are going to bring someone with you to the hearing you should let the Clerk to the Panel know in advance. If you fail to attend, the appeal can still go ahead and be decided by the Panel on the written information submitted. What happens at the appeal hearing? The hearing will be as informal as possible but will follow a set procedure. Firstly, an officer from the Admission Authority will explain why your child was not offered a place at the school (see the Councils website for details of the admission criteria at A representative from the school might also be there to answer questions about the school. You will then be able to ask questions on what has been said and so will the Panel members. Then you will have the opportunity to say why you want your child to have a place at the school and, if you think that the admissions policy was not applied correctly in your child s case, your reasons for thinking this. The officer from the Admission Authority can then ask you questions as can the Panel. The officer from the Admission Authority and you will then have the chance to sum up before leaving the room. The Panel will then decide the outcome of the appeal and the Clerk will write to you within 5 working days to let you know the decision. How does the Panel reach its decision? For infant classes (that is Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) the government has set a limit of 30 children per class per school teacher. The Panel can only uphold the appeal if: A. it find that the admission of your child would not breach the infant class size limit; or B. it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied and your child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or C. it decides that the decision to refuse admission to your child was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of your case. This means that, if you are appealing for a place in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 where the class already has 30 children in it, the grounds on which the Panel can uphold your appeal are very limited. You must state on your appeal form how either A, B or C above apply to your case or your appeal will have no chance of success.

5 As the grounds for upholding an infant class size appeal are very limited, the percentage success rate is minimal with only a couple of every 100 appeals being successful. Your personal reasons for wanting a specific school or the difficulty in transporting your children to and from school is unlikely to be a good reason why your appeal should be upheld. Parents are therefore advised to make an informed decision about whether to submit an appeal. Also having a place in the school s nursery will not guarantee you a place in the Primary School. You will still have to apply for a place and will be subject to the school s admission arrangements. For all other appeals, the Panel goes through a two stage process when making its decision. The first stage is where the Panel have to decide whether the admission arrangements for the school were properly applied and, if so, whether giving your child a place would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of the resources at the school, that is to say whether the school will experience difficulties if it admits another child. If the Panel finds that there would be no prejudice then it must uphold your appeal and your child will be admitted to the school. If the Panel finds that there is prejudice then it must go on to the second stage. This is the balancing stage, where the Panel reaches its decision by weighing the difficulties the school would experience if it took another child against the strength of your case. If the Panel decides that your case outweighs the difficulties of the school, your appeal will be upheld and your child will be admitted to the school. Otherwise, your appeal will be unsuccessful. Is the Panel s decision final? The Panel s decision is binding on the school and the Admission Authority. This means that if your appeal is successful, the school must admit your child. If your appeal is not successful your child s name may remain on the waiting list at the school if you wish. There is no further right of appeal. However, if you feel that the appeal panel has not been properly set up or has not followed procedures correctly you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. You should note that the Ombudsman cannot overturn the Panel s decision as this can only be done by the courts.

6 Useful contacts If you have any questions about the appeals process you should contact:- Gianni Franchi School Appeals Co-ordinator Committee Services London Borough of Camden Town Hall Judd Street London WC1H 9JE Tel: Fax: If you have questions about the admissions policy or the availability of school places in the borough you should contact:- Sandra Lawal Admissions Section Children, Schools & Families Directorate Crowndale Centre Eversholt Street London NW1 1BD Tel: Fax: For independent information and advice about appeals you may contact the Advisory Centre for Education helpline on If you would like to contact the Local Government Ombudsman please write to:- Local Government Ombudsman 21 Queen Anne s Gate London SW1H 9BU Tel: Fax: