Today is the day that thousands of parents across the country will find out which place their child will be offered at Primary School starting this Autumn, and whilst for the majority this should be good news it's thought that more families than ever will be unhappy with the school their child has been allocated.
If you did not get the school of choice for your child you can appeal the decision, but the outlook isn't good. Last year less than 15% of appeals were successful, and the grounds for appeal are very limited as well.
There's a very useful guide to the appeals process here, written by the Head Of School Appeals, outlining the grounds that can be used to challenge the decision.
The letter or email you received with your child's offer will tell you exactly how to appeal the decision and you should follow that advice as it may vary for different school authorities.
The first thing to do seems to be to contact the school you were hoping for, and ask to have their name placed on the waiting list if they run one.
There are strict restrictions placed on class size, and usually schools allocate based on preference given to children in local authority care, then children who have older siblings at the school already, and lastly on geographical distance from the school giving preference to those nearest.
Appeals can be based on the fact that you believe the education authority made a mistake dealing with your application, or that they made an "unreasonable" decision based on your application. Mistakes on your own application (such as failing to declare a sibling at the school) cannot be used as grounds for appeal.
This can be a very stressful time for parents, and hopefully most of you will have received good news and be sending your child off to a school of your choice this Autumn. If it hasn't been what you hoped for then don't be afraid to appeal the decision.
Come and share your experiences in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
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