Primary school admissions Birmingham 2022: how to appeal school place after National Offer Day decision

The day parents of primary school aged children have been eagerly anticipating for months has arrived.

Places for schools in Birmingham have been determined and sent out to children across the city.

If you’re a parent and wish to appeal the place your child has been given, here is all you need to know about the process.

When were offers sent out?

Offers for primary school places within the Birmingham City Council jurisdiction were sent out on 19 April.

For parents who applied online and left an email address to be contacted on, you will receive an email from Birmingham City Council today to tell you which school your child has been offered a place at.

Although the council cannot guarantee when this email will arrive, they expect parents will receive it by 4pm.

A formal letter will also be sent out today via first class post, and it is recommended that you allow two working days for this to arrive.

On the letter there will be instructions on how to accept and reject the offers made.

Why has my child not been offered a place at their first choice school?

Birmingham City Council’s website outlines why your child may have been refused a place at your chosen school for them.

The reason given is that “the school(s) are full with other children who more fully meet their admissions criteria.”

Can I appeal a decision?

If your child has been refused a place at their preferred choice, you will be able to appeal the decision.

Should I appeal?

Birmingham City Council encourages parents to ask themselves several questions before appealing to consider if they have a good chance of being successful.

These are:

• Have you been realistic in the school preferences you put forward for your child?
• Do you have genuine reasons why your child should attend a particular school?
• Would your child be disadvantaged by not attending a particular school?
• Are there exceptional circumstances that would prevent your child from attending the school offered or any of the alternative schools with availability?
• Has your preferred school’s admission authority made a mistake in the way in which they dealt with your application, which meant that your child was not offered a place?
• Do you have any evidence or documents to demonstrate the point(s) that you are making?

How long do I have to appeal?

The school admission department of the local authority, which in this case is Birmingham City Council, must allow 20 school days from the day offers were sent out for parents to lodge an appeal.

The letter sent out with details of the offer will also contain information on how to appeal the decision.

How many times can I appeal?

An appeal can be made against each rejection, but these must be done through separate appeals.

You can also only appeal against a decision once.

How do I prepare for the appeal?

Following the submission of your appeal, the admission authority will provide you with a deadline for supplying evidence to support the appeal.

Any information or evidence submitted after this deadline may not be taken into consideration at the appeal hearing.

When will the hearing take place?

At least 10 days’ notice of the hearing must be given to you by the admission authority.

Appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal.

What happens at the hearing?

At the hearing, you will be addressed by a panel of three or more people who must be independent and follow the school admissions appeal code

Firstly, the admission authority will give the reasons why your child was not offered a place.

You will then have the chance to explain  why you think your child should be given a place.

When you have finished, the panel must then decide if the school’s admission criteria was followed and complied with the code.

If the criteria was not met or the code not followed, the appeal will be successful.

If the reasons you give outweigh the school’s reasons for not admitting any more children at all, your appeal will be successful.

You should find out the decision of the panel within five days.

How can I contact the school admissions team?

You can contact the school admissions department at Birmingham City Council on 0121 303 1888 or by sending an email to [email protected]