Corporate report

Academies admission appeals complaints review: academic year 2024 to 2025

Published 3 March 2025

Applies to England

This document sets out key data from the School Complaints Compliance Unit’s (SCCU) review of complaints about the handling of admission appeals in relation to academy places received between 1 April 2024 and 31 October 2024. It also suggests what steps academies and clerks can take to ensure future independent admission appeal hearings are compliant with the School Admission Appeals Code (SAAC).

Who this publication is for

This guidance is in relation to academies and for:

• clerks to independent admission appeal panels
• panel members
• academy admission authorities

The role of the School Complaints Compliance Unit

The Department for Education’s (DfE) SCCU is responsible for considering complaints made about academy admissions independent appeal panel hearings, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education.

We consider whether the appeal hearing followed the procedures set out in the SAAC.

We do not consider a complaint about an appeal hearing if it was held more than 6 months ago (unless there are exceptional circumstances), complaints about the panel’s decision or the weight given to specific evidence.

If we find actions which could have affected the panel’s decision, we may recommend the academy reviews its appeal procedures and holds a fresh appeal with a different panel.

DfE has published guidance for academy admission authorities, clerks and appeal panels, and parents and guardians to support those involved in academy admission appeals to understand the process and their roles and responsibilities. This guidance was revised in October 2022 to reflect updates to the SAAC.

Overview

During the period 1 April 2024 to 31 October 2024, we received 216 complaints of maladministration by appeal panels.

Of the 216 cases, 123 complaints were within our remit for consideration.

We found that most appeal hearing complaints we considered had adhered to the statutory regulations in place at the time of the hearing.

We upheld 39 complaints of maladministration. Of these, 16 complaints resulted in us requesting that the admission authority offer a fresh appeal. In the remaining 23 upheld complaints, we found that whilst maladministration may have occurred, this had not affected the outcome of the appeal hearing (maladministration without injustice).

Where we found maladministration without injustice, we asked the admission authority to review their procedures in light of our findings.

In addition to these 39 cases, we withdrew 5 complaints where the admission authority had offered the appellant a fresh appeal on receipt of the complaint.

Of the complaints where we found maladministration of the appeal hearing process, there were some common areas of non-compliance. We have summarised these below.

Key findings

Whilst each case is treated individually, our key findings did identify some common mistakes made at hearings. We have provided these below, along with some advice on what panels can consider for future cases.

Common reasons for complaints were regarding:

• timescales not being adhered to or delays in hearings and/or outcome letters
• decision letters containing incorrect or inaccurate information
• arrangements that were not complaint with the SAAC

Of the complaints we upheld, we identified the following general key issues:

• Administrative errors such as failing to give notice of the appeal hearing or inform parents of the date and time, and delays in holding appeal hearings. Other errors were regarding not providing the membership of the panel or advising of options for the hearings.
• Appeal arrangements that did not comply with the SAAC in relation to being held in person, online or a combination of the two, or referring to the temporary COVID guidance.
• Clerk’s notes that failed to evidence that the panel had given due consideration to all the appellant’s reasons for expressing a preference for the school, including what that school can offer the child that the allocated or other schools cannot.
• Clerk’s notes that did not record the evidence that had been received and considered, or how the panel voted.
• Decision letters that did not provide correct information about how to complain to the DfE about an appeal process.

Recommendations

We have published guidance for clerks and appeal panels which provides information to support clerks and panels to conduct their roles effectively, and ensure that appeal hearings are conducted in a fair, transparent and consistent manner.

We recommend that clerks and panels review this guidance alongside their established processes.

Clerks may wish to pay particular attention to record keeping as this will be a key source of evidence if the appellants raise a complaint about the conduct of the hearing.

Preparation for admission appeal hearings

Arrangements for school admission appeal hearings must comply with the SAAC, to which academies are bound by the terms of their funding agreement. In preparing for appeals, admission authorities must publish their appeals timetable, setting out the relevant deadlines for parents, on their website by 28 February each year.

Admission authorities may make arrangements for appeal hearings to be held in person, remotely by video conference or a combination of the two. Appeal hearings held entirely by telephone are permitted only where video conferencing cannot be used for reasons relating to connectivity or accessibility, and if the appellant and presenting officer both agree.

Admission authorities may wish to consider how they record their rationale for holding appeal hearings remotely by video conference or telephone. Admission authorities must consider any reasonable adjustments requested to enable an appellant to participate in the appeal hearing and consider these adjustments when deciding the format of the appeal.

Regardless of the format chosen, appeal panels must allow appellants the opportunity to make oral representations.

Appeal panels perform a judicial function and must be transparent, accessible, independent and impartial, and operate according to principles of natural justice.

Appeal hearing complaints can take several weeks, sometimes months, to resolve, leaving a child and their parents uncertain about their future education. To ensure appellants receive a fair hearing and do not need to make a maladministration complaint, in line with the SAAC, DfE expects the admission authority to ensure that the appointed clerk and panel members:

• are trained in admissions law and provide clear written information to appellants before the appeal hearing, in line with timescales set out in section 2 of the SAAC
• explain the process at the start of each hearing so that appellants and panel members are clear on what to expect from the appeal hearing
• treat appellants and all involved in the panel hearing fairly and consistently, considering appellants may have less experience of the appeal process than representatives of the admission authority
• properly understand and address each case on its individual merits
• take records of proceedings, which may include, but is not limited to:
  • start and end times
  • attendance and format in which attendees have joined
  • all relevant points raised at the hearing
  • any adjournments and the reasons for these
  • voting and reasons for decisions
• provide ‘plain English’ decision letters, giving clear reasons for the decision outcome and a summary of relevant factors that were raised by both parties and considered by the panel
• make clear to appellants the basis by which complaints can be made to DfE following an appeal and that they can only be based on maladministration rather than the panel’s decision

Additional information

Admission authorities are responsible for ensuring records of proceedings and any other evidence requested from the clerk is made available to DfE upon request following receipt of a complaint about an appeal.

Admission authorities should ensure they inform appellants that if they are dissatisfied with the way an independent panel has handled their academy admission appeal, they can complain to DfE by submitting an online complaint form, or by contacting:

School Complaints Compliance Unit
Department for Education
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD

Please ensure a copy of the above link is included in the clerk’s decision letter following an appeal.