Appeal Hearing Information
Information about placing request refusals and the appeals process
If the Council is not able to grant your child a place in the school you request, you will be provided with the reason/s for this in the letter that you will have received by email or by post.
The reason may be one or more of those outlined below and which the Council is entitled to rely on when refusing a placing request.
Information about placing request refusals and the appeals process
If the Council is not able to grant your child a place in the school you request, you will be provided with the reason/s for this in the letter that you will have received by email or by post.
The reason may be one or more of those outlined below and which the Council is entitled to rely on when refusing a placing request.
The Council does not have to admit your child to the school you request if one or more of the following apply:
- It would make it necessary for the authority to take an additional teacher into employment.
This means that if the Council accepted the placing request there would be a need to employ an additional teacher. This can be because the class sizes are breached and is a more complicated situation in secondary schools where allocation of staff across all subjects, taught and practical, needs to be taken into consideration.
- It would give rise to significant expenditure on extending or otherwise altering the accommodation at or facilities provided in connection with the school.
This means that if the Council accepted the placing request the Council would have to spend money on the school making alterations to accommodate more children and also where necessary considering specialist classes in the secondary schools such as Home Economics.
- It would be seriously detrimental to the continuity of your child’s education.
This would apply where admitting the child to the school would impact negatively on the child’s education. For example, where the school is not in a position to provide with subject choices that would ensure continued progress in learning in these areas, and that different choices would have to be made.
- If the education normally provided at the specified school is not suited to the age ability or aptitude of the child.
This might apply if you want your child to be admitted to a stage of education for which the child is not yet ready, or to a school which cannot meet your child’s needs.
- It would prevent the education authority from retaining reserved places at the school for those that subsequently take up residence in the school’s catchment area.
This means that if the Council accepted the request it would prevent the Council from keeping reserved places at the school for pupils who may move into the catchment area of the school during school year.
What to do if you want to make an appeal
Under Section 28C(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 parents/carers whose placing request has been refused are entitled to appeal against this decision to the East Dunbartonshire Education Appeal Committee (“EAC”). An appeal must be lodged either within 28 days of receipt of the written notice of refusal or the date on which your request was deemed to have been refused.
In order to process your appeal more efficiently in line with the current restrictions in place, any appeal should be emailed to sharedservices.education@eastdunbarton.gov.uk in the first instance. Where electronic submission is not possible, written appeals can still be submitted and should be addressed to the address at the top of this letter and clearly marked “Education – Placing Request Appeal”.
If you choose to appeal after receiving your decision you will be advised of the date of the appeal hearing. While the current social distancing restrictions are in force, the Education Appeal Committee will be conducting hearings remotely by way of video conference. The Education Authority is aware that the appeals formats must be fair and inclusive to all applicants so that no parent, carer or young person is disadvantaged as a result of the requirement to operate to a different format.
The Scottish Government has also recently amended the statutory timetable within which the EAC must hear appeals. The revised timetable is as follows:-
- The EAC must hold a hearing within 2 months of the date of an appeal being lodged, failing which as soon as reasonably practicable where it can’t meet that timescale owing to circumstances beyond its control;
- Where the EAC fails to make a decision an appeal becomes a deemed refusal after 4 months; and
- The EACs has 28 days from the appeal hearing to communicate their decision to the parent/carer.