Frequently Asked Questions

School Place Appeal is a guided platform that helps parents in England build a complete, evidence-led Appeal Pack for a school admission refusal — a grounds assessment, evidence review, hearing preparation, and a submission-ready appeal statement, not just a letter.

No. This service provides guidance and drafting assistance only. It does not constitute legal advice, and appeal decisions remain the responsibility of the relevant Independent Appeal Panel. See our full disclaimer for details.

No. If your case concerns a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names (or is being asked to name) a specific school, that's decided through a separate process — EHCP naming and annual review, with disputes going to the SEND Tribunal — not through an ordinary admissions appeal panel. We check for this during the case review and won't proceed if it looks like this applies.

Not yet. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have materially different admissions appeal systems. School Place Appeal currently only covers ordinary England admission appeals.

We collect only what's needed to build and send your Appeal Pack — your name, address, email, your child's name, and the case details/evidence you provide. See our Privacy Policy for the full detail.

No, and we're deliberately cautious about this. No service can honestly predict how an Independent Appeal Panel will decide a specific case. Our appeal readiness score measures how well-prepared your case is — evidence, policy alignment, documentation, clarity — never a probability of success.

No. Most parents accept the offered place, join the waiting list, and still appeal — all three at once. Accepting a place doesn't affect your right to appeal.

You'll usually have at least 20 school days from the date of refusal to lodge your appeal, though the exact deadline is set out in your refusal letter. Always check the specific deadline stated there rather than relying on a general rule.

For Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, statutory infant class size limits mean panels can only uphold an appeal on much narrower grounds — essentially a legal or procedural error in how the arrangements were applied, not a general balancing of your circumstances against the school's. This is why infant class size appeals succeed far less often than appeals for older year groups. See our infant class size guide for detail.

A fixed £29.99 for your full Appeal Pack. No subscription, no hidden fees.

No. It's a one-off payment for each Appeal Pack you create.

Your refusal letter and whatever you have about the school's admission arrangements, plus your own name, address, email and your child's name. You can also upload supporting evidence like medical letters or travel information.

Yes — your appeal statement is always fully editable, both on-screen and in the copy we email you, before you submit anything.

PDF documents and images (JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF).