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Admission to primary and secondary schools is not automatic - every parent or guardian has to apply for a place at their preferred choice of schools. All schools have 'admissions criteria' which the school's admission authority uses to allocate places should they receive more applications than they have places available. If you are deciding on what schools to apply for, or have been refused a place at your preferred school for your child, this article on admission criteria will help your appeal.

If your child is not offered a place at their preferred school

If you child is not offered a place at your preferred school, then the first thing you must do is to request for your child to be put on the waiting list. If you contact your Admission Authority to request an appeal, do not assume that you have been put onto the waiting list; you must explicitly request to be put onto the list.

If you are fortunate there may be children who revoke their place at the school you are on the waiting list for and - if you are high in the waiting list - you may be offered a place before your appeal is even heard.

When appealing against the decision, it is important to remember that you are appealing to the Appeal Panel and will need to address your appeal documents to them. For example, if your child has a medical need that wasn't addressed in the admission criteria, then it is important to get their GP or consultant to write a letter to the Appeal Panel, not just a general letter stating their medical need. The letter will have to contain detailed information as to how their need means they must attend your preferred choice, not just a general letter stating your child's condition. This personalizes your appeal and will help the Panel understand why your child needs to attend the particular school. You want the Panel on your side is this is one way of achieving this.

Although you will undoubtedly feel very emotional about the decision not to offer a place for your child at your preferred choice, you must ensure that the appeal letter you write is clear, concise and not overly long. If it's too long then any detail or valid points can get lost in it. It also goes without saying that it should be typed and not handwritten.