How long do I have to lodge my appeal?
If you have been unsuccessful in your application for a place at Bluecoat Bentinck Primary Academy and wish to appeal this decision, you should prepare and lodge your appeal within 20 school days of receiving the notification letter informing you of the outcome of your application.
Who are the Independent Appeals Panel & Panel Clerk?
The independent appeals panel are a group of people who are independent of the local authority, the academies admission authority and the academy itself and are appointed by the admission authority to hear appeals in accordance with the School Admission and Appeals Code. The Code determines that the panel is made up of lay persons and people with experience of education. In most cases the panel will comprise of three persons, and at least one must be a lay person and at least one must be experienced in education. The Independent Appeals Panel Clerk is an individual appointed by the admissions authority to ensure that the admission appeal process is conducted properly, and in accordance with the Code of Practice for School Admission Appeals.
What types of additional supporting documentation should I submit with my appeal?
It is for you to decide what information and documents you wish to include in your case. However, if your appeal is based on medical grounds, you should, where possible, provide written evidence from a medical practitioner to support this. If your case is based on a house move you should provide official confirmation of your new address. The Appeal Panel will not contact people on your behalf, for example; if you want the Appeal Panel to see a medical report or consider the views of a Social Worker or a previous teacher you will need to obtain the information yourself and submit it as part of your appeal. Please refrain from submitting original documents that you wish to keep as these will not be returned to you. If you submit information or photographs that include other children please make sure that you have parental approval and that you are not in breach of any data protection rights. Information that you submit will need to be photocopied so it can be submitted to the Appeal Panel. It is your responsibility to ensure that any documentation you are submitting is clear and can be easily copied. Supporting information or additional evidence must be received by the evidence deadline which will be provided to you. Any information received after the stated evidence deadline might not be considered as part of your case. It will be the Appeal Panel’s decision whether or not it should accept any late information.
When and how will I be made aware of the decision of my appeal?
The decision of the panel will be communicated to you in writing within 5 school days of the hearing. However, in the case of multiple appeals this will be within 5 school days of the last hearing.
How will the information I submit be processed?
This information will be stored securely and is subject to the UK GDPR 2016 as well as The Data Protection Act 2018. All information collected is confidential and may only be accessed by those with a valid lawful basis to use it. We may share the information you provide with trusted third parties such as the Local Authority, Independent Appeals Panel Clerk, members of the appeal panel and the Education & Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) where necessary to fulfil legal obligations. Your personal data will be retained for no longer than necessary to achieve the intended purpose. If you withdraw consent for the processing defined in this form we will stop processing it in this way but may still retain the data for other reasons, such as where it is needed to perform a public task or to fulfil our legal obligations. For further information, please see our ALT Data Protection FOI Policy available at www.archwaytrust.co.uk/about-us/policies/.
