Admission appeals

The appeals process for schools in Newham meets the rules set by the Department for Education’s School admissions appeals Code, issued 1 October 2022.

Most of the appeals are carried out by Newham Independent School Admissions Appeals Service (NISAAS) who hires an independent clerk to manage the appeals.  That clerk appoints the panels members and makes sure that they are all fully trained by a legal professional.

Who can request an independent appeal hearing?

All applicants refused a place at any of their preferred schools have the legal right to appeal against the decision and have your case heard by an Independent Appeal Panel, unless the application is withdrawn.

This means you cannot appeal for a school if the family have not already applied and been refused a place or if an application for a school was made but later withdrawn.

How often can you appeal?

Normally only one appeal can submitted for the same school for each school year group.

However, if a family who have already appealed have a significant change in their circumstances a second appeal may be agreed. The admission authority for the school will review the detail of the family’s new circumstances and decide if a second appeal should be granted.

You cannot appeal if:

• You do not have an application for the current school year and have not been refused a place at the school you are appealing for. 
• You want to appeal for a year group that is different to the one based on your child’s date of birth.
• Your child has been given a place by the 0-25 SEND team.  Instead  please see note above under EHCP heading.
• Your child has been given a place at an ‘Alternative Provision’ (AP).