Source: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/family_support/education_for_deaf_children/education_in_the_early_years/school_placements.html
Timestamp: 2017-10-21 14:03:28
Document Index: 786357616

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 4', 'arts 2', 'art 4', 'art 4', 'arts 2', 'art 4']

My child didn't get into our choice of school – what now? | National Deaf Children's Society
Click on the statement that best applies to you for more information.
England: My child doesn’t have a statement or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan
England: My child has a statement or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan
Wales: My child doesn’t have a statement
Wales: My child has a statement
Scotland: My child doesn’t have a coordinated support plan (CSP) and I want my child to be placed in a mainstream school
Scotland: My child has a coordinated support plan (CSP) and/or I want my child to be placed in a school with specialist provision
Northern Ireland: My child doesn’t have a statement
Northern Ireland: My child has a statement
Never give up: read our family story about appealing a school placement
You’ll find details of how to appeal in the local authority’s admission letter outlining your offer. The letter will also give you a deadline to appeal by. You can only make one appeal for each school that doesn’t offer you a place. If more than one school declines to admit your child, you can make separate appeals.
Timescales for appealing
You must be given 20 school days to send in your written appeal. In some areas you may be able to submit your appeal online.
The appeal must be heard within 40 school days. You should receive 10 school days’ notice of when the hearing will be. The appeal will be heard by a panel of three people. The local authority will appoint people to the panel. They must ensure that these people are independent of the local authority and provide them with training. The panel should include ‘lay people’ (people who are not involved in managing schools) and, separately, people with ‘experience in education’.
The panel should let you know their decision in writing within five school days of the hearing.
If your child has a statement or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan you need to appeal through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) England. Section I of the EHC plans sets out the ‘placement’ or which school your child is expected to attend.
Appealing against other sections of the plan
If you’re appealing against other sections of the plan in addition to the placement, you’ll need a mediation certificate before you can register your appeal. This is a certificate that says that you considered or underwent mediation.
It’s usually a good idea not to appeal just against section I, because this won’t allow you to discuss your child’s needs and the provision they need: the discussion will only be about whether the schools in question can make the provision, which is already set out in section F (special educational provision).
For more information on appealing against sections of statements and EHC plans read our factsheet How to Appeal to the Tribunal Against a Decision About Your Child’s Special Educational Needs (England).
You must appeal within two months of the date on the letter from the local authority giving you their decision or one month from the date on the mediation certificate, whichever is later. You don’t need a certificate if you are appealing only against placements (section I).
You must contact a mediation adviser before registering an appeal about the contents of section B (special educational needs) and/or F (special educational provision). See How to Appeal to the Tribunal Against a Decision About Your Child’s Special Educational Needs (England).
The local authority has 30 days to respond to the appeal after SENDIST has registered it. You’ll be informed of the date and time of the hearing at least 10 days before it’s due.
You should receive the decision within 15 days of the hearing and the local authority has two weeks from the decision date to make the changes to school placement.
England: Useful links
Information from the Government about appealing your school placement.
ACE, the Advisory Centre for Education has information and advice about admissions appeals across all education settings.
The Department for Education has a school admissions appeals code – this is meant for schools/local authorities but you might want to take a look.
Family Lives has information on appeal hearings written by someone who has been involved in them.
The placement letter will give you details of the appeals procedure. The appeal will then be referred to the council’s legal department who will arrange for the appeal to be heard by the independent appeal panel. The local authority website should also have information about school admissions and how to appeal.
Appeals must be submitted in writing within 28 calendar days of you being notified of the decision not to admit your child to your chosen school.
Your appeal will normally be heard in private, but, if there are a lot of appeals for one school the first stage of the appeal may be done as a group and have other parents present. The presenting officer will explain why the admission authority turned down your/the application(s) You’ll then have an opportunity to question the admission authority’s reasons for refusal. At this stage, if the panel decides that there was no need to refuse a place, the hearing will end and you’ll be informed that the appeal has been successful.
If the panel decides that there were reasons for refusal, then a second stage will follow. This will be an individual (private) appeal. You’ll have the chance to explain why your child should be provided with a place at the school even though it is full. The admission authority will have an opportunity to question your reasons.
The admission authority will then sum up the case You will also have an opportunity to sum up your case.
The panel will listen to all sides of the case and may ask questions at any time if they need clarification or more information to reach a decision.
You should be sent written notification of the panel’s decision within five working days.
If your child has a statement you need to appeal through the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW).
If you’re appealing because you want a different school to the one named in part 4 of the statement, you probably need to appeal against parts 2 (saying what your child’s special educational needs are) and 3 (saying what support your child should receive) as well.
If you disagree with the particular school, or the type of school, named in part 4 of the statement, you will need to give the name of another school, or specify the type of school you want your child to go to. You will also need to say why you think that school is appropriate for your child.
You must appeal within two months of the date on the letter from the local authority giving you their decision. SENTW will register your appeal within 10 working days of receiving it. They’ll tell you when they have registered your appeal and inform you of the date your appeal will be heard.
The local authority has 30 days to respond to the appeal after SENTW has registered it. You’ll be informed of the date and time of the hearing at least 10 days before it’s due.
You’ll receive the decision within 15 days of the hearing and the local authority has two weeks from the decision date to make the changes to school placement.
You might like to know about... Appealing to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal in Wales.
Wales: Useful links
Information from the Welsh Government on school admissions and appeals.
Information from Citizen’s Advice on school admissions in Wales.
It's difficult to say how long a hearing will last. Many last one day but a placing request could last up to three days if it is complex and several witnesses are called.
You might like to know about... Making a reference to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal.
Scotland: Useful links
Information from Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland.
Information from the Scottish Government about choosing a school place.
Information from Enquire (provides information and support to parents of children who need additional support for learning) about what you can do if your school placing request is refused.
Information on school appeals from Citizens Advice Scotland.
All schools have admissions criteria which they follow when allocating places if they are oversubscribed (i.e. if there are more applicants than available places). The criteria are set by each school’s board of governors. The Education Authority (EA) publishes details of admissions criteria on its website, along with the number of applications received for the previous three years.
If your child isn’t allocated a place at your chosen school you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. For post-primary admissions decisions you can also appeal to an independent Exceptional Circumstances Body. You will receive a letter from the EA that explains how to appeal and the date by which you must do this.
Timescales for lodging an appeal
The notification of placement/non-placement letter will give you a date which you must appeal by. You should give notice of your intention to appeal by submitting a letter outlining the criteria that were not applied correctly. You will be sent an appeals form within five days to complete. You’ll be given five days’ notice of the date and time of the hearing.
Primary and nursery tribunals normally take place between May and June and post-primary between July and August.
The tribunal makes its decision at the end of the hearing and this will be given in writing to you and to the school as soon as possible. If the independent appeal panel decides in favour of your child the school must make arrangements to admit your child in September.
If your child has a statement of special educational needs you need to appeal through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) Northern Ireland. If you’re appealing because you want a different school to the one named in part 4 of the statement, you probably need to appeal against parts 2 (saying what your child’s special educational needs are) and 3 (saying what support your child should receive) as well.
If you disagree with the particular school, or the type of school, named in part 4 of the statement, you’ll need to give the name of another school, or specify the type of school you want your child to go to. You’ll also need to say why you think that school is appropriate for your child.
You must appeal within two months of the date on the letter from the EA giving you their decision. SEND will register your appeal within 10 working days of receiving it. They will tell you when they’ve registered your appeal and inform you of the date your appeal will be heard.
The EA has 30 days to respond to the appeal after SENDIST has registered it. You’ll be informed of the date and time of the hearing at least 10 days before it’s due.
You’ll receive the decision within 15 days of the hearing and the EA has two weeks from the decision date to make the changes to school placement.
You might like to know about... Appealing to the SEN and Disability Tribunal in Northern Ireland about the Contents of Your Child's Statement.
Northern Ireland: Useful links
The Children’s Law Centre provides a free legal advice service on children’s rights, including children with SEN and/or disabilities.
Information about the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in Northern Ireland.
Information from the Northern Ireland Government about applying for a school place.
Northern Ireland’s Department of Education’s School Admissions Guidance.
Provides details of a wide range of services provided by statutory, voluntary and community organisations to support families.
Special Educational Needs Advice Centre (Senac) – advice, information and advocacy for parents of children with special educational needs in Northern Ireland.
The Equality Act and Your Deaf Child’s Education in England, Scotland and Wales 218kb
Contact our Freephone Helpline for more information and support with appealing a school placement decision.