Appeal Information

You have the right under the school standards and framework act 1998 (as amended by the education act 2002) to appeal to an independent appeal panel if your child has not been allocated a place at St. Vincent’s Catholic School. For appeal documents please either download from this website or contact the school office on 020 8992 6625.

There is no right of appeal in respect of applications for our Nursery. 

Reception Appeals – September 2024 start

The appeal form and supporting documents for Reception September 2024 start will need to be received by the deadline of Wednesday 15th May 2024.

Infant class size appeal - Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

Regulations made under Section 1 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limit the size of an infant class (a class in which the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) to 30 pupils per qualified school teacher. Not all appeals for infant classes are infant class size appeals. It only applies when the class has 30 children.

The appeal panel will consider the admission authority’s reasons for refusing your child a place and your reasons for appealing against their decision.  There are limited grounds on which an infant class appeal may succeed for classes of more than 30.  The panel will consider, as specified in 4.4 of the School Admissions Appeals Code:

•          Whether the admission of an additional child/additional children would breach the infant class size limit
•          Whether the admission arrangements (including the area’s co-ordinated admission arrangements) complied with the mandatory requirements of the School Admissions Code and Part 3 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
•          Whether the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in the case in question; and
•          Whether the decision to refuse admission was one which a reasonable authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.

Appeals for school years 3 - 11

The appeal panel will consider the Governing Body’s reasons for refusing your child a place and your reasons for appealing against their decision. 

The appeal panel will initially decide whether the school’s admission arrangements are lawful and were correctly applied and if the admission of an additional child would cause prejudice.  If the panel are satisfied that the arrangements are lawful and there has not been any error that led to a place being denied, they will proceed to considering whether the benefit to your child of going to your preferred school outweighs the prejudicial effect that admitting one more pupil will have on the school and the other children in the class

For further information please see the School Admissions Appeals Code:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-appeals-code

Organisations that provide information on the appeals procedure:

ACE, Advisory Centre for Education offer free advice via telephone - tel: 0300 011 5142, Monday – Wednesday, 10am to 1pm.

Coram, Children’s Legal Centre provides free advice on the appeals process - tel: 0300 330 5458, Monday - Friday, 8am to 6pm.

If you have any questions about the appeal form or the appeal procedure, please contact the school details below:

Tel: (020) 8992 6625

Email: admin@stvps.co.uk

Or 

In writing to:

Chair of Admissions

Appeals

St. Vincent's Catholic Primary School

1 Pierrepoint Road

Acton

W3 9JR