The school appeals process

The school appeals hearing

Find out more about what happens after you have submitted an appeal for a school place

Preparing for your appeal

You are responsible for:

• submitting with your appeal request your supporting evidence or by the deadline issued any additional evidence to [email protected]
• requesting a language translator at the point of submitting your appeal request or within a reasonable time ahead of your appeal hearing
• requesting assistance in accessing your remote appeal
• requesting reasonable adjustments for any other needs you may have
• deciding what you want to say
• presenting your case
• tell us if you have changed your mind about attending or decide to withdraw your appeal.

Please note, once you have withdrawn your appeal you will not be able to re-submit your appeal.

Any evidence you send must not include personal or sensitive information. You are legally responsible for removing it or giving written permission for it to be shared.

Evidence you can use

In most cases, the school you are appealing for is full. The admission authority for the school will say they cannot admit another child without harming the other children's education.

You are responsible for:

• presenting your case
• deciding what you want to say
• what information you want the panel to have

You will need to say in your appeal form why you want the school place, even though there are no spaces. You should also provide supporting documents as evidence.

For example, if:

• the school you are appealing for can offer something to your child that the allocated or other schools cannot, focus on that
• you have medical or social or educational reasons for wanting the school place, provide written evidence. This could be from a doctor, medical practitioner, an education specialist or other professional
• you want a place at the school due to the subjects offered there or the school’s ethos, explain why
• your reasons are due to a house move, provide written evidence of exchange of contracts or tenancy. Do not send the whole tenancy agreement or contract. A first and signature page or solicitor’s letter is enough
• medical or social - if your case is based on medical or social reasons, you should provide written evidence from a doctor, medical practitioner or other professional to support this.
• moved house - if your case is based on a house move, provide written evidence such as an exchange of contracts or a tenancy agreement. We advise you not to appeal until you have exchanged contracts

Evidence the panel might need

In other examples, if:

• you are unhappy with the current school, explain what has happened. Describe what you and the school have done to deal with the problems. Provide supporting letters, emails and reports
• your reasons relate to transport, provide information and maps (but remember by law, it is a parent's responsibility to get their child to school)
• your reasons relate to family circumstances, provide details and supporting evidence

The Department for Education advises parents that:

• the stronger your reasons the better chance you have of your appeal being successful. For example, wanting your child to go to a particular school because it's the best in the area is not likely to convince the panel that your child should get a place at the school over another child.
• you should focus on what the school can offer that meets your child’s needs. This can include what the school can offer that other schools cannot and what the impact will be on your child not attending the school of your choice

Appeals are unlikely to be successful unless parents can provide exceptional educational, social or medical reasons for appealing for the particular school, with supporting evidence.

Submitting your appeal form - evidence you can submit

The evidence you can submit are suggestions and you should only submit evidence which supports your reasons for appeal.

The evidence you submit should be relevant to your reasons for appeal.

You can send:

• letters of support from your child’s current or previous school
• evidence supporting your medical, social or educational reasons for appeal

When sending evidence, you will need to:

• send separate copies of documents for each appeal you are making, if you are making more than one
• number the pages and write your child’s name on them
• write your reference number on documents sent separately from your appeal form

Do not send the following

You should not send:

• any documents you have submitted to the Appeals Team already
• original schoolwork or certificates
• photographs of documents; they cannot be copied clearly for the Appeal Panel
• highlighted documents; they cannot be copied clearly
• PowerPoint, video or other audio/visual presentations; they will not be viewed by the Appeal Panel as we do not have the ability to show them at the appeal; you can submit a description and/or screen shoots of the footage providing no other children are in the image or are identifiable (this is due to safeguarding rules)
• letters of support from the school you are appealing for
• password-protected documents
• photos such as of your child or other children (this is due to safeguarding rules)
• research papers or reports; you can send a statement referencing research and explaining why it’s relevant to your appeal
• copies of performance reports (i.e. Ofsted reports). You may reference these in your appeal, but the Panel do not require copies to be submitted

Submitting additional supporting information

View the school appeals timelines to see when you need to make your appeal and submit your evidence.

How to send us your evidence

You should collect the documents you want the Appeal Panel to see as soon as possible. For academic evidence, schools may not be able to help you during holidays and school closures.

You must explain in writing on the appeal form why you want the school place. You should also send the Appeals Team documents and written evidence in support of your appeal, at the same time as you make your appeal or no later than the evidence deadline date.

The Appeals Team will provide the evidence deadline date when they tell you the date of your appeal hearing.

Send your evidence as soon as you can

You should try to send your evidence with your appeal form. Or send it as soon as possible afterwards - and no later than the evidence deadline date. Or you need to ensure this is received at least 7 working days in advance of your appeal (not including the day of postage or the hearing).

We cannot guarantee that any additional evidence or information received after this deadline will be circulated and it may not be considered at the hearing.

If you send your information or evidence late, the Appeal Panel is unlikely to see it. Or your appeal may be delayed. 

Do not send evidence after your appeal hearing.

You are responsible for providing evidence in support of your appeal. The Appeals Team cannot obtain evidence for you.

The Admissions Team cannot automatically forward anything you send them to the Appeals Team.

The only exception is Selection Review paperwork (which is provided by Admissions with the admission authority's case for refusal).

Any confidential medical or social evidence you submit when you apply for a school place will not be provided to an appeal panel.

If you wish to rely on this evidence in support of your appeal, you will need to submit this documentation to the Appeals team [email protected].

Send your evidence by email to the school appeals team at [email protected].

In your email, include details of the appeal your documents and written evidence relate to.

You can submit your evidence by post or hand deliver to:

School Appeals Team
West Northamptonshire Council
Democratic Services
One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ED

The admission authority's evidence

A copy of the admission authority’s policy and statement will be shared 7 working days before the appeal (unless you've been requested to agree shorter timescales).

The statement will summarise why it hasn't been possible to offer a place, which will be either that:

• to admit another child would have prejudice on educational provision and resources within the school
• the addition of another pupil would exceed the infant class size limit of 30

We will also share a copy of any other document being used by the admission authority as part of its case. All documents that you and the admission authority have shared with the Appeals Team will be passed to the panel and Clerk before the hearing. 

A representative of the admission authority will put forward the school’s case to the panel. We will let you know if they decide to call a school representative as a witness.

What happens when I have submitted an appeal

In normal circumstances, most appeals would be held remotely by video/audio conferencing. 

If you do not have suitable equipment for accessing your remote hearing then please notify us without delay or at least 5 working days in advance of the start of the appeal hearing so that we may assist you in accessing your appeal hearing.

You may be invited to a Covid-19 secure room at a Council building in West Northamptonshire and provided with the means to access your virtual hearing as well as technical support.

The School Admission Appeal Code October 2022 allows appeal hearings to be held remotely using Zoom video/audio conferencing without reasons of Covid-19.

At least 10 school days before your appeal, the Appeals Team will email you your notice of appeal hearing date and time and other information. 

A few days before the hearing date a link with joining guidance will be sent to you with your parent letter confirming the appeal arrangements and the accompanying school appeal papers.

Last updated 04 March 2026