1. Before you begin
Before lodging a school appeal, we strongly advise you to read all information to ensure you are fully aware of the appeals process.
If your child has not been offered a place at your preferred school, you have the right to appeal the decision to refuse admission. Accepting a place at an alternate school does not affect your right to appeal.
To be eligible to lodge an appeal, you must have applied for a place at the school and been refused the place. You are entitled to lodge one appeal per school, per academic year.
All appeals are heard in accordance with the Department for Education School Admission Appeals Code and School Admissions Code. The purpose of the codes is to ensure the admission appeal panels are independent and all appeals are conducted in a fair and transparent way.
*When considering whether to appeal, remember there is no guarantee your appeal will be successful.
2. Why your child may have been refused a place
Your child will usually have been refused a place because:
- the school you have applied for is oversubscribed
- the available places have been allocated to children who have a higher priority for a place according to the Published Admission Criteria and the local authority’s co-ordinated Admissions Scheme
- the year group at the school is full and there is not an available place for your child.
3. Applying for a different school
If you wish to apply for a school that was not on your original application or enquire about schools that have availability in your child’s year group you can do this by contacting School Admissions.
*If you would like to lodge an appeal for a school outside of Sandwell, please contact the relevant council.
4. Schools we do not support
The School Appeals Team administer appeals for most Sandwell Schools, except for:
- Christ Church C of E Primary School
- Mesty Croft Academy
- Sandwell Academy
- Silvertrees Academy
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary School
- Stuart Bathurst Catholic High School
If you would like to appeal for any of the above-mentioned schools, please contact the school directly.
5. Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) appeals are considered by the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) not a school admission appeal panel.