Primary appeals

Infant class size rule

The Government has set a limit on the size of infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), as described below.

2.15 Infant class size – Infant classes (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher. Additional children may be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain an ‘excepted pupil’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. The excepted children are:

a) children admitted outside the normal admissions round with statements of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care Plans specifying a school;

b) looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admissions round;

c) children admitted, after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process;

d) children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal;

e) children who move into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance;

f) children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round;

g) children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is admitted otherwise than as an excepted pupil;

h) children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a special educational needs unit attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school.

Reception appeals – September 2024

Reception places will be offered, via the local authorities, on 16 April 2024. Children who cannot be offered a place, due to there being more applications than there are places, will automatically remain on a waiting list until 31 December 2024. On the Admissions page you will find details of how many applications there were, and a breakdown of places by oversubscription criteria. If after reading the information you need clarification about why your child was not offered a place, please speak to the Admissions Office at the Academy.

The Government has set a limit on the size of infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), as described above. Appeals are very rarely upheld for infant classes because of this.

Timeline for appeals:

• Deadline for submitting an appeal form: 15 May 2024.

• Appeals received by the deadline. The requirement for appeals to be heard is 40 school days. This means that appeals will be heard by 17 July 2024 wherever possible.

• Appeals received after the deadline. The Trust will ensure that appeals are heard as soon as reasonably practicable and, where possible, before the start of the academic year.

In all cases parents will be given at least 14 days’ written notice of an appeal hearing. For written submissions, parents will be provided with a timetable.

Before making an appeal, please read the information in the appeals pack as this explains the appeals procedures and provides some information about the admissions process, waiting lists, frequently asked questions, and statistics.

The appeal form can be found here. If you are unable to complete this online form, please contact the appeals coordinator on the number below.

In-Year

These appeals are for children transferring between schools mid-year.

Our academy is currently full in each year group. Parents can apply for their child to join the waiting list; details of how to do this can be found on the Admissions page under the heading In-year admissions.

Before you can make an appeal you must first have applied to the Academy for a place and/or have completed an In-Year Application Form for the local authority. Once you have received a letter advising you that a place cannot be offered, you can then proceed to make an appeal for our academy if you wish to.

Our academy can only proceed to the appeals stage if the year group is full. Places are not ‘reserved’ for those whose appeals are upheld, so any upheld appeal will result in the year group being over the admission number.

Before making an appeal, please read the documents at the bottom of this page which include information about the appeals process and, frequently asked questions and statistics (Appeals FAQ – Primary In-Year).

To submit an appeal, please complete the in year appeals form here.

If you are unable to complete the form please telephone the number given below and ask to speak to the Appeals Coordinator. Alternatively, you can send an e-mail to the address below stating:

• your child’s name and date of birth

• the name of the academy that you wish to make an appeal for

Contact details

Telephone: 01274 089780 – option 7

E-mail: appeals@dixonsacademies.com