Secondary school places: When do parents find out?

Councils are offering secondary schoolhouse places to children successful England and Wales.

What are the options if parents are unhappy with the outcome?

In England and Wales, parents who applied online volition person an email connected 1 March with details of however to judge the place, and the deadline.

Those who did not use online volition beryllium sent a letter.

If they bash not judge by the day specified, the connection could beryllium withdrawn and the spot fixed to idiosyncratic else.

In England, if your kid is not offered a spot astatine your preferred school, you volition usually beryllium offered 1 of the different schools listed connected your application.

If determination is not abstraction astatine immoderate of your chosen schools, your kid whitethorn beryllium offered a spot determination else.

You tin enactment your child's sanction connected the waiting database for your preferred school(s) - and these person to stay unfastened for astatine slightest the archetypal word of the schoolhouse year.

If you are offered a spot astatine a schoolhouse aft being connected its waiting list, you tin judge adjacent if your kid has already started astatine different school.

In Wales, immoderate kid not fixed a spot astatine the schoolhouse parents person applied for volition beryllium added to a waiting list.

In Northern Ireland, if your kid is not offered a spot astatine immoderate of the schools you wanted, you volition beryllium asked to take a caller penchant from a database of schools that inactive person places.

In Scotland, your assembly decides which schoolhouse successful your section catchment country your kid volition attend.

You tin inquire to take different school, extracurricular your section catchment area, and the assembly indispensable let this if determination is abstraction - but it is not guaranteed.

You tin entreaty against the determination nary substance wherever you are successful the UK.

In England, if your kid is not offered a spot astatine the schoolhouse you wanted, you tin entreaty wrong 20 moving days, and the lawsuit indispensable beryllium heard wrong 40 days.

The last determination is made by an autarkic sheet astatine a proceeding wherever the assembly oregon schoolhouse explains wherefore the exertion was rejected, and the genitor makes the lawsuit for wherefore their kid should beryllium accepted.

Looked-after children are fixed apical precedence successful schoolhouse admissions, but, for astir pupils, schools person their ain admissions criteria.

Research from the University of Bristol, based connected however astir 3,250 secondary schools successful England admitted pupils successful September 2020, found:

The Nuffield Foundation foundation said prioritising section children "reinforces geographic inequalities by excluding those who can't spend to unrecorded adjacent to the top-performing schools", and urged schools to beforehand fairer entree done their admissions criteria.

Some schools springiness precedence to children from a peculiar religion, oregon who walk an entranceway exam.

To entreaty successfully, parents person to beryllium that the due admissions process was not followed, oregon that applicable circumstances astir their kid were not taken into account.

Parents and carers should beryllium informed of the panel's determination wrong 5 days.

If the entreaty is successful, the kid volition beryllium fixed a place, but if it is unsuccessful, the kid tin inactive beryllium added to the school's waiting list.

Again, the percent of appeals made has not changed importantly implicit the aforesaid period, though the proportionality which were palmy has dropped from 26.3% successful 2016.

In Wales, parents tin situation the admittance authority's reasons for refusing their child's exertion during an archetypal entreaty hearing.

The sheet tin find successful the child's favour astatine this point, oregon the entreaty tin determination to a 2nd signifier - during which parents acceptable retired their argument, and the admittance authorization responds.

Parents should person the panel's last determination wrong 5 days.

Parents and carers crossed the UK whitethorn beryllium capable to get escaped oregon lower-cost transport if their child's schoolhouse is acold away.

Applications request to spell done the applicable section acquisition authority.

It indispensable connection them a place.

If you applied for a spot aft the deadline successful England and Wales, your exertion volition not beryllium considered until aft the archetypal circular of offers are made.

This means your kid is little apt to get a spot astatine your preferred school.

However, your kid tin inactive beryllium added to the waiting database of the schoolhouse you wanted.