Placing Request Appeals

PLACING REQUEST APPPEALS INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

While the prevalence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has decreased significantly, and many aspects of life have returned to the position prior to the pandemic, the Scottish Ministers have decided to keep the ability to hold appeal hearings remotely in place for 2023-24. This is to reflect the broad consensus that the ability to use remote means for such hearings has been beneficial for a range of reasons.

The Scottish Government updated the "Coronavirus (COVID-19): school placing requests and appeals- information for parents" in April 2023. Here is a link to the information:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): school placing requests and appeals - information for parents - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Appeal committees may continue to hold hearings virtually, including by video or telephone conference or, if all parties agree, entirely in writing.

The Scottish Government's Choosing a School Guide is available online for information about the relevant timeframes and deadlines that apply to the placing request and appeal processes.

If you do choose to appeal after reading the information, Committee Services will inform you of the appeals process. Please also see section below - "Making an appeal against refusal to place your child in the school of your choice"

Although you can appeal by letter, the facility to appeal by email to committeeservices@ced.glasgow.gov.uk is still available and would help Committee Services to process appeals more efficiently. Where an e-mail address is provided acknowledgement will be by e-mail.

When a Placing Request has been Refused

When the Council is not able to grant your child a place in the school you want, you are provided with the reason/s for this by letter.

The 'reason' is one or more of those explained below and allowed by law. There is an extract from both the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 included at the end of this guidance. However, the following is a summary of the legal reasons of refusal.

The Council does not have to admit your child to the school of your choice if any of the following apply:-

• Pupil numbers in the school would exceed the capacity agreed for the school by the council.
  • If accepting the request would mean that there would be too many children for the size of the school.
     
• The authority would require to employ another teacher.
  • If accepting the placing request means the Council would have to employ an additional teacher. This is usually related to class size maximums.
     
• The accommodation at the school would need to be altered or significant money spent
  • If accepting the request means the Council would have to spend a lot of money on the school making alterations to accommodate more children
     
• At a later stage in the school another class would have to be created or another teacher employed.
  • If accepting the request would mean that the Council will have to employ an additional teacher at a future stageof your child's education. This is usually related to class size maximums.
     
• The child does not have the additional support needs requiring education or special facilities normally provided at a special school.
  • If the school you want has been provided especially for children with special needs, and the Council thinks that your child does not need the special equipment or specially trained staff they have provided in that school
     
• Would be seriously detrimental to the continuity of the child's education
  • The Council can refuse if they think your child's education would suffer from moving school.  This is usually when staff from school/s and headquarters agree that it would significantly impact on your child's education.
• Likely to be detrimental to order and discipline in the school.
  • There may be reasons why the placement of your child would result in this reason for refusal; usually this relates to issues in the community that would then subsequently be brought into the school environment.
  • Please note it is not always the case that the Council refuse to provide a place on this basis because they think that your child has been badly behaved or disruptive.
     
• Likely to be seriously detrimental to the education and wellbeing of pupils attending the school.
  • The Council can refuse if they think that the impact of granting additional placing requests would remove or restrict access to facilities within the school; e.g. a Music Room.
  • The Council can refuse if they think for some reason the wellbeing of children attending the school will be affected
  • Please note it is not the case that the Council refuse to provide a place on this basis because they think that your child has been badly behaved or disruptive.
     
• 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.
     
• Placing the child in this school would prevent the education authority from retaining reserved places for catchment children
  • If accepting the request would prevent the Council reserving a place at the school for a child likely to move into the catchment area of the school during school year
     
• The specified school is a single sex school (within the meaning of paragraph 1(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 11 to the Equality Act 2010)and the child is not of the sex admitted or taken (under that section) to be admitted to the school.
  • If you want your daughter to go to a boys' school or your son to go to a girls' school

Glasgow City Council Committee Services - Making an Appeal against the refusal to place your child in the school of your choice

Under Section 28C(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 parents whose placing request has been refused are entitled to appeal against this decision to an appeal committee set up by the City Council. This advice outlines in general terms how to lodge an appeal and gives background information on how an appeal should be handled.

1. The education authority must provide you with its decision on your request by no later than 30 April if the placing request was for entry to a school at the start of the new school session, provided your request was received before 15 March.  In other cases, the authority has a period of 2 months from receipt of your request to reach its decision.   In all cases where a request is refused, reasons will be given.

If the authority for some reason has not sent you its decision in writing within these time limits, the request will be deemed to be refused.   Every effort will be made to ensure this situation does not occur.  

2. If you wish to appeal, you are required, in all normal situations, to lodge your appeal either within 28 days of receipt of the written notice of refusal or within 28 days of the date on which your request was deemed to have been refused.

It should be noted that in most cases there is no right of appeal for a refusal to place a child in nursery school.

3. In most cases an appeal cannot be made on behalf of a child or by a young person who has already had an appeal made on his/her behalf within the preceding 12 months other than where the authority has reconsidered the request after a review and has refused the request a second time.

4. Although a parent or young person can appeal in writing, an appeal can also be sent by email to services@ced.glasgow.gov.uk which would help Committee Services to process appeals more efficiently. Where an e-mail address is provided acknowledgement will be by e-mail.

Your refusal letter will also provide the specific details on where you should send your appeal.

If calling Committee Service please use:-

0141 287 4372 or 4682 (North West) / 4272 or 0074 (North East) / 4530 (South)

Glasgow City Council
Committee Services
City Chambers
George Square
Glasgow G2 1DU

Please note the above numbers are only for enquiries in regard to the committee administration process associated with the Education Appeals Committee. Any other enquiries in regard to Education Placing Requests should be directed to Education Services by sending an email to cbshub@glasgow.gov.uk

You should note that the role of Committee Services is to deal with the committee administration process associated with the Education Appeals Committee, which includes acknowledging letters of appeal, setting meeting dates, issuing agenda papers and letters informing appellants of the committee's decision. Therefore Committee Services can only provide advice in relation to the committee process.

Your appeal email/letter must give your name and address, the name of your child for whom the appeal is being made, the name and address of the school of your choice, the date and reference of the letter of refusal and a statement indicating why you wish to appeal against this decision. Where you provide an e-mail address acknowledgement of the appeal will be by e-mail.

5. The current regulations governing appeals allow for hearings to be held by remote means.  This means that the committee will consider your appeal in a different way.  Glasgow now has video conferencing which will be used to hear representations from you and the Education Services representative.  The Education Appeals Committee will meet by way of video conferencing using Microsoft Teams.  Further details will be sent to you regarding this should you lodge an appeal.

6. If you lodge an appeal you will receive an acknowledgement within 5 working days of receipt.    A hearing on a reference shall be held by an appeal committee within the period of 28 days of the date of receipt by them of the reference or in the event of the committee being unable owing to circumstances beyond their control to convene within that period, as soon as reasonably practicable after the expiry of that period

7. In some cases appeals may be held together as combined hearings. They shall be held as soon as reasonably practicable within the period of 28 days immediately after the date of the receipt by the committee of the reference last received by the committee of all the references to be dealt with at the combined hearing or in the event of a committee being unable owing to circumstances beyond their control to convene within that period, as soon as reasonably practicable after the expiry of that period.