Right of Appeal
If you are unsuccessful you may ask us for the reasons for the refusal of a place. These reasons will be related to the over subscription criteria listed in the policy and you will have the right of appeal to an independent panel. Should you wish to appeal please contact the school at 0207272 1270 or email the school office; office@st-josephs.islington.sch.uk as soon as possible for an appeal form on which you must list your reasons for making an appeal.
You can appeal at any time during the school year. However, you need to lodge your appeal by the deadlines below so that if your appeal is successful, your child can take up their place at the start of the academic year.
An independent panel will hear your appeal. The panel will be made up of people who have experience in education and people without personal experience of school management or education provision. The panel must consider whether:
- the admission arrangements for the school comply with the legal requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and
- the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied
- the decision to refuse admission was unreasonable given the circumstances of the case
The panel must then decide whether the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
The decision made by the appeals panel will not be influenced by the acceptance of a place at an alternative school. The panel’s decision is final.
CLASS SIZE
Reception, year one and year two classes must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher.
Where a child has been refused a place because of a concern that the class would be too large, an appeal panel can only offer them a place if it is satisfied that either:
- the child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had been properly implemented or
- the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had not been contrary to mandatory provisions in the School Admissions Code and the School Standards and Framework Act (SSFA) 1998 or
- the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case
Applicants who appeal should note that the appeal panel will only consider whether the procedure has been followed correctly. It cannot change the procedure.
Schools are obliged to give applicants a minimum of 20 school days in which to appeal.
Timetable for appeals for primary reception admission in September 2023:
- 19 April 2023: you’ll get an offer by email in the evening
- 19 May 2023: deadline for appeal forms to be submitted
- Appeal hearings to be held in June/July 2023. You will be given at least 10 days notice of your appeal hearing and wherever possible the decision letter will be sent within 5 school days of the hearing.