Refused a school place: how to appeal in England and the deadlines

A school refusal arrives by letter, and the clock on your appeal starts with that same letter. The process in England is tied to school days rather than calendar days, and it contains one rule that decides most infant-class appeals before they are even heard. Here is how it works, from the official gov.uk guidance.

How many days do you have to appeal?

At least 20 school days from the date the decision letter is sent — that is the minimum the admission authority must allow. These are school days, so holidays and weekends do not count, and the real calendar window is usually more than a month. But the count starts from the date the letter was sent, not the day you opened it, so there is no reason to sit on it.

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Who hears the appeal?

An independent panel of three or more people. It does not answer to the school and must follow the School Admission Appeals Code. You must be given at least 10 school days' notice of the hearing, and the appeal must be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline.

What is the 30-pupil infant class size rule?

It is the rule that decides most infant-class cases. Reception, year 1 and year 2 classes are limited by law to 30 children. If every class in that year group already has 30, the school is entitled to refuse, and the ordinary arguments — the commute is easier, an older sibling is already there — are not enough for the panel on their own.

When can an infant class size appeal still succeed?

The guidance names three grounds. First, that admitting your child would not take the class above 30 — a place has in fact come free. Second, that the admission arrangements were not properly applied, meaning the school broke its own procedure. Third, that the admission criteria do not comply with the School Admissions Code. All three are about procedure and numbers rather than family circumstances, and an appeal should be built on that logic: find the error in how the rules were applied, rather than describing how inconvenient the outcome is.

When will you get the decision?

Usually within 5 school days of the hearing. The independent panel's decision binds the school: if the appeal succeeds, the place must be provided.

What should you do alongside the appeal?

Get on the waiting list. It is a separate mechanism from the appeal, and gov.uk covers it in its own guidance on school waiting lists. The two routes do not interfere with each other: a place can come free on the waiting list before the hearing ever takes place, especially in the first weeks of the school year when some families turn down the places they were offered. Declining one route does not strengthen your position in the other, so it makes sense to use both at once.

What to look for in the refusal letter

Three things. The date it was sent — your 20 school days run from there. The reason for refusal — if it is that reception, year 1 or year 2 is full, you are inside the 30-pupil rule and your grounds are narrow and procedural. And where the appeal goes: it is made to the admission authority for that school, and that differs between schools. For a community school it is usually the local council; for an academy or a faith school it is often the school itself. Sending it to the wrong place costs time, and 20 school days do not leave much of it.