Waiting lists and appeals
On National Offer Day, all offers are dispatched by first class post to the address given on the CAF. Alternatively, if you submitted an e-application, the result of your application can be viewed online at 9am. You will have a deadline of approximately two weeks within which to respond. It is strongly recommended that you accept any places that are offered. This is due to the fact that:
- Rejection could lead to your child being left with no school should no further offer be forthcoming.
- Accepting the offer does not influence the outcome of any waiting list placements or appeals that may be pending for higher preference choices.
Should your child receive no offers from their preferred schools, the LEA may send the offer of an alternative school there and then. If this is not the case they will send instructions as to what to do next. Your child will immediately be placed on waiting lists for higher preference schools if no offer is received. However, this is only the case for schools which lie within your borough. For out-borough applications, contact the relevant school directly. Approximately 6 weeks after National Offer Day, you should be able to contact the schools to obtain your current waiting list position. If you wish to remain on any waiting lists after starting at your new school, you will need to speak to the school's admissions team directly to see if this can be arranged as by default you will be removed from the list at this point.
Appeals
All parents have the right of appeal. If pursued, an appeal should be lodged with the authority in charge of the relevant school's admissions policy; e.g with either the governors or the LEA. Appeals are generally held in June or July. When attending you should have with you significant supporting professional evidence corroborating with the reasons for your application of appeal. Contrary to widely-held belief, schools reserve NO places for successful appeals. Instead, 'an independent appeal panel is empowered to direct (force) the admissions authority to make an additional place available for a successful appellant." For an appeal to be successful it must have been named as one of your preferences on the CAF.