If you have applied and been refused a school place, you have the right to appeal the decision.

When you apply for a school place for your child, you can express a preference for a school or schools.  However, you do not have the right to a place at a particular school.  Applications for school places are refused if there is no place for your your child at your preferred school.

 

Your right to appeal

Acceptance of a place at one school, does not affect your right to appeal for a place at another school.  However, it is important to accept the allocated choice while any appeal is being processed.  This also means your child still has a school place if your appeal is unsuccessful.

 

Guide to appeals

Please see the Oxfordshire Guide to appeals below for more information. 

Oxfordshire County Council handle all the appeals for Didcot Primary Academy.

 

Who makes the decision?

An independent panel hears appeals. A decision by an appeal panel on whether or not to offer a school place is binding on the admissions authority.  If your appeal for an Oxfordshire school is unsuccessful, you may not appeal for the same school within one academic year unless there has been a material change in your circumstances and the admissions authority has accepted a second application to that school. 

 

If you did not get allocated a place at DPA in reception please note...

There is Government legislation stating that no child attending a maintained school or academy can be taught in a class of more than 30 pupils (except where specific and exceptional circumstances apply).

Usually only:  3% of reception appeals across all Oxfordshire schools are successful. 

It costs the school money for every appeal made. 

For reception classes your case will only succeed if: 

1. Admission would not breach the Infant Class Size limit of 30 pupils

2. Your child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had not been contrary to the mandatory requirements of Part 3 of the SSFA 1998 or the School Admissions Code and/or your child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had been applied correctly.

3. The decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable* admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.  *In the legal meaning of the word 'reasonable'. 

For more information click here