There are 2 main types of appeal:
Two-stage appeals
Two-stage appeals are where the refusal to offer a place was because the admissions authority's view is that the admission of any additional child into a class or year group would prejudice the efficient use of resources and compromise the education of other children.
Infant class size appeals
Infant class size appeals are where the admission authority has refused admission on the grounds that admission would cause prejudice as a result of qualifying measures which would need to be taken to comply with the duty to limit infant class sizes.
Independence of appeals panel
All appeals are considered by an independent appeals panel. Decisions made by the independent appeals panel are legally binding on the Local Authority, parent/carers and school. Each panel contains three people who are independent of the Local Authority/school and have not been involved in the school admissions process.
The panel is clerked by City of York Appeal Clerks and the Clerk to the panel will write to parents to inform them of the panel's decision within 5 working days of the appeal hearing.
School Representatives
Appeals for Community and Voluntary Controlled (VC) schools are represented by an officer from the Local Authority as the admissions authority for these schools. Appeals for Voluntary Aided (VA) or Academy schools are represented by their respective governing bodies or academy trusts, usually the head teacher.
Please be aware that you can appeal for a place at any school even if it was not one of your original preferences. Unless you feel there was maladministration in the way your appeal was conducted, there is no further right of appeal if an independent appeals panel determines that your child should not be allocated a place at a school you have appealed for.