Appealing against admission decisions
Please read this information carefully before completing an appeal form.
If your child has been refused a place at any school for which you have expressed a preference, you have the right of appeal against this decision to an independent appeals panel.
Please be aware that this process does not apply to nursery admissions.
Before deciding to submit an appeal, you are advised to consider:
- the school's admission policy
- your reasons for wanting your child to attend the school
- how strong a case you have
You may also want to consider visiting the school where you have been offered a place, or alternative schools that still have places available. Contact the School Admissions team on 0191 433 6185 or 433 3909 if you would like information on the availability of places at other schools you may consider.
If you decide to submit an appeal, your appeal will be heard by a panel that is independent of Gateshead Council and the school for which you are appealing.
If your appeal relates to Years 3 through to 11, further information can be found in the school admissions appeal procedure guide.
Infant class size regulations
Infant class size legislation applies to Reception, Year 1, and Year 2. Section 21 of the School Standards Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils with a single teacher.
Due to this legislation, there are limited grounds on which an appeal relating to these year groups can be successful. The panel can only uphold an appeal where:
- it finds the admission of an additional child would not breach the infant class size limit; or
- it finds that the admission arrangements did not comply with admission law or were not correctly and impartially applied, and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
- it decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
The threshold for finding that an admission authority's decision to refuse admission was not one that a reasonable authority would have made is high.
If your appeal relates to Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, further information can be found in the infant class size - school admissions appeal procedure guide.
Submitting more than one appeal
You may wish to submit appeals for more than one school at which you have been refused a place. The appeals will be heard separately and have no bearing on each other. You will need to submit a separate form for each appeal.
You do not have the right to a second appeal in respect of the same school for the same academic year unless, in exceptional circumstances, the admission authority has accepted a second application due to a significant change of circumstances, but admission is still refused. The decision of an independent appeals panel is binding on all parties.
Submit an appeal
Appeal a school place decision
If you wish to request a paper version of the appeal form, or if you have any other queries relating to the appeals process, please contact the School Appeals team by phone on 0191 433 4479 or by email at schoolappealsteam@gateshead.gov.uk