School admission appeals

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Important information before you appeal

If you've been offered a school place that isn't your preferred choice and you want to appeal for a different school, it's important to accept the place you've been given. Accepting the offer won’t affect your appeal in any way, and it ensures your child still has a school place if your appeal is unsuccessful.

Your right to appeal and exceptions

You can appeal if your child has been refused a place at any state-funded school, even if you’ve been offered a place at an alternative school. Appeals are heard by an independent panel and are held online using Microsoft Teams.

You cannot lodge an appeal if:

  • you already appealed in the same academic year (unless there is a significant change in your circumstances);
  • your child has been permanently excluded twice;
  • your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP); in this case you should contact your SEND caseworker if you wish to change your child's school placement;
  • you have been offered a school place but it’s not in the year group you would like

How schools allocate places

Where possible, parents will be offered a place at a school of their choice. However, this may not always be possible because some schools receive more applications than they have places available. Places will be offered to those who most closely meet the school’s admissions criteria.

Admission arrangements for individual schools, including the admissions criteria, are set and applied by the individual school’s admission authority. The admissions criteria, also know as the over-subscription criteria, sets out the order in which they will allocate places when the school receives more applications than places available.

In the interest of fairness and transparency, admission authorities must allocate all places at their schools according to their published admissions criteria.

Different types of schools have different admission authorities. For

  • community schools the admission authority is the local authority
  • voluntary controlled schools the admission authority is the local authority
  • foundation schools the admission authority is the governing body
  • voluntary aided schools the admission authority is the governing body
  • academies the admission authority is the academy trust.

Why your child was not offered a school place

We understand that the appeals process can be stressful for families, so please be assured that schools do not make the decision to refuse a place lightly.

In most cases your child will not have been offered a place because there were other children who more closely met the school’s over-subscription criteria, or the school you applied for is full.

Your decision letter will explain why your child was not offered a place at your preferred school. You can use the contact details included in the letter for more information.

Who arranges school admission appeals?

Barnet schools

Barnet Council arranges and hear appeals for the following schools:

  • Barnet community primary schools;
  • Friern Barnet community secondary school.

Barnet Council does not arrange and hear appeals for the following types of schools in the borough:

  • academies and free schools;
  • voluntary aided school;
  • foundation schools.

Information on how to submit an appeal for these schools is available on the individual school websites. Check this list of Barnet schools, to find out who is responsible for handling admission appeals and how to appeal

Schools outside Barnet

If the school is located outside Barnet, you’ll need to contact the local authority where the school is based to find out how to appeal.

Who takes part in the appeal hearing?

1. Panel members

Your appeal will be heard by an independent panel of three people, chosen to ensure fairness and balance. The panel includes:

  • A lay person
    Someone with no professional experience in managing schools or providing education (except as a school governor or volunteer).

  • An education expert or parent
    Someone who either works in education, understands local educational conditions, or is a parent of school-aged children.

  • A Clerk is also present during the hearing to make sure everything runs smoothly and fairly. The Clerk is independent and does not take part in the decision-making.

The Clerk’s role includes:

  • explaining the process and answering your questions
  • ensuring all relevant facts are presented and recorded
  • supporting everyone involved before and during the hearing
  • taking a written record of the proceedings

2. The presenting officer

The representative from the admission authority (Barnet Council) is usually referred to as the presenting officer. They will be there to present the school’s case and explain why your child was refused a place at the school. 

3. Appellant

This is you (parent or guardian). You must present the reasons why you believe the school should admit your child. You can be represented and you can take a friend, family member or someone else with you for support at the hearing. If you require an interpreter, you can request one.

If you or the school’s presenting officer fail or are unable to attend, the appeal hearing may still go ahead. The appeal panel may make a decision based on the written evidence, unless it’s practical to arrange an alternative date that you can attend.

Standard appeal hearings

All panels check to make sure admission arrangements have been correctly and legally applied. Beyond that they can follow one of two processes:

  1. Appeals for an infant class place

If the admission authority refused your child a place under infant class size rules there is a separate procedure and decision making process for this.

Infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) must not contain more than 30 children with a single teacher. This is why infant class appeals are rarely successful. 

Your personal reasons for wanting a place at the school, however strongly you feel, can't be taken into account unless your child has been refused admission to an infant class and

  • admissions arrangements didn't comply with admissions law;
  • admissions arrangements weren't correctly applied;
  • the decision to refuse admission was unreasonable.

Many parents think the decision not to offer their child a place was unreasonable and will present a case to support this argument. To find a decision to be unreasonable, the panel would need to be satisfied that the decision to refuse admission was ‘perverse in the light of the admission arrangements’. In other words, the panel believes that no reasonable admission authority considering the matter could have come to the same decision.

Before you make your decision to appeal you should think carefully about your reasons for appeal and be realistic about the likely outcome.

       2. All other appeals - two-stage process

Stage 1: Admission authority’s case for refusing admission

The presenting officer will explain why the admission authority does not believe it can admit your child. Along with the panel, this will also be your opportunity to ask questions and challenge the presenting officer about why the school cannot admit more children.

If there are a number of appeals for places at the same school, for the same year group, then the presenting officer may present the admission authority’s case to all the parents together.

Once the presenting officer has presented the admission authority’s case and the panel has enough information from them and where a break is being taken, you and the presenting officer will leave the hearing so that the panel can make a decision on whether to uphold your appeal at this stage or proceed to Stage 2.

The panel should uphold your appeal at this stage if it finds that either:

  • the school’s admission arrangements were unlawful and your child would have been offered a place if they were lawful;
  • the school’s admission arrangements were not applied properly in your child’s case and your child would have been offered a place if they were properly applied

or

  • admitting another child at the school would not prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.

If the panel does not uphold your appeal at this stage, it will proceed to stage 2.

Stage 2: Parents’ case for appeal

If the appeal proceeds to stage 2, this is when you’ll present your case to the panel. If there are a large number of appeals being held together you might not present on the same day as the school’s presenting officer. The clerk will notify you of the exact timings of your appeal.

You’ll present your case individually. Only the panel and the presenting officer will be present. You’ll need to explain why you believe the school should admit your child. The panel and the presenting officer may ask you questions about your case.

The panel may not be able to consider any new information or evidence you present if you’ve not already submitted it in writing.

After you’ve presented your case and the panel believes it has enough information to make a decision, the hearing will end. The panel will then discuss and make a decision to either uphold or dismiss your appeal in private. They will weigh up your case for wanting your child to attend the school against the school’s arguments for not being able to admit another child. The panel will uphold your appeal if it finds that the negative impact on your child of not attending your preferred school outweighs the case put forward by the school as to why it cannot admit any more pupils.

Preparing for your appeal hearing

You’re responsible for:

  • presenting your case;
  • deciding what you want to say;
  • sharing any information you want the panel to consider

What evidence to provide

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to submit supporting documents. Below are some examples:

  • Medical or social reasons
    Provide written evidence from a doctor, medical professional, or relevant expert.

  • House move
    Submit proof such as an exchange of contracts or a tenancy agreement.
    Tip: Wait until contracts are exchanged before submitting your appeal.

Additional evidence

If you want to send extra documents after submitting your appeal:

  • email this to barnetschoolappeals@barnet.gov.uk;
  • do not include personal or sensitive information unless you have written permission to share it
  • short documents (e.g. a doctor’s letter) can be accepted up to 3 working days before your hearing
  • do not include your continuing interest/waiting list position in your evidence (however, your child must be on the waiting list if you wish to lodge an appeal).

Late evidence may not be accepted if it’s received too close to the hearing date.

The admission authority's evidence

A copy of the admission authority’s statement will be shared before the appeal. 

The statement will summarise why it hasn't been possible to offer a place.

A representative of the admission authority will put forward the school’s case to the panel. We'll let you know if they decide to call a school representative as a witness.

Your appeal hearing

  • Hearings are held via Microsoft Teams. You’ll receive a link a few days before your hearing. 
  • If you haven’t received it 48 hours before, please contact us.
  • When you join, you’ll enter a waiting room until the panel is ready.
  • If you have technical issues, you can dial in by phone using the code in your invitation.

What to expect

  • Hearings usually last 30–45 minutes.
  • The panel will make sure you’ve had a chance to speak.
  • Please submit all evidence before the hearing; you don’t need to read it out.
  • You can choose how to present your case.

How appeals are considered by the panel

Every appeal is carefully reviewed on its own merits. However, it’s important to know that appeals are only successful in exceptional circumstances. This means that appeals based on general preferences or dissatisfaction with the allocated school are unlikely to be successful.

Accepting a place at an alternative school will not affect the outcome of your appeal. The decision is based solely on the specific reasons and evidence you provide.

Make an appeal

Reception, year 1 and year 2
Year 3 to year 6
Friern Barnet School years 7 to 11

The Appeal Panel's decision

When you'll hear the decision

We can't give you the outcome of your appeal over the phone. The clerk will normally write to you within 5 school days to notify you of the panel’s decision. If the panel is hearing a large number of appeals, this may delay the notification letter. The clerk should inform you if that’s the case.

The decision of the appeal panel is binding and only the courts, by way of a judicial review, can overturn a decision.

If the panel upholds your appeal the admission authority must admit your child.

If the panel does not uphold your appeal you still have a number of options you may wish to consider.

Waiting lists

Even if the panel does not uphold your appeal, your child's name will stay on the school's waiting list and you may still be offered a place in the future. 

Children who are on the waiting list are ranked by how closely they match the school’s over-subscription criteria, not how long they’ve been on the list.

Seeking an alternative school place

It’s your responsibility to secure a suitable education for your child. If your child is without a school place, contact your local authority who will be able to advise and inform you of other available places in the area.

What to do if you are unhappy with your appeal

 If you feel your appeal wasn't properly or fairly conducted, you can: 

Appeal submission deadlines

  • Entry to Reception in September 2026 - deadline 5 June 2026
  • in year appeals will be heard throughout the year

If you submit your appeal after the deadline, it will still be scheduled. However, please note that it may be heard after appeals that were submitted on time.

We recommend submitting your appeal as early as possible to avoid delays.

Appeal hearing dates for community schools in Barnet

Please note, these appeal hearing dates are subject to change.

 APPEAL HEARING DATE  APPEAL TYPE
Tuesday 16 September 2025  In-year transfer
Thursday 16 October 2025  In-year transfer
Tuesday 25 November 2025  In-year transfer
Thursday 11 December 2025  In-year transfer
Tuesday 13 January 2026  In-year transfer
Monday 23 February 2026  In-year transfer
Tuesday 17 March 2026  In-year transfer
Thursday 30 April 2026  In-year transfer
Monday 18 May 2026  In-year transfer
Tuesday 23 June 2026  In-year transfer
Tuesday 7 July 2026 Reception 2026 
Thursday 9 July 2026 Reception 2026 
Monday 20 July 2026 Reception 2026 
Tuesday 21 July 2026 Reception 2026