Secondary school places Sheffield 2022: How to appeal if your child doesn't get into the school they want

With school in parts of Sheffield having been heavily oversubscribed in recent years, there is likely to be disappointment for many families.

But parents still have the chance to appeal against the decision if their child did not get into the school they wanted.

Here’s everything you need to know about how secondary school places are awarded, the most oversubscribed schools and the appeals process.

When will parents find out if their child has got into the school of their choice, and what is the deadline to appeal?

Sheffield City Council says secondary school place notifications are being sent on Monday, March 1.

For online applications, emails are being sent in groups from midnight last night, so parents are advised to check their spam folder if they have not yet received one.

School place notification letters are sent second class from February 28 and usually take between one and four days to arrive.

Parents who have yet to be informed via email or post are advised to wait for a few days before contacting the council, and they have been assured any delay will make no difference to the places offered or to subsequent appeals.

If the notification has still not arrived, they should email [email protected], and the council says it usually takes one to two days to respond though the wait can be longer during notification periods.

If your child did not get into their first-preference school, parents have until March 29 to submit their appeal to the council’s schools admissions team.

You can appeal for any school you have been refused admission for, up to a maximum of three.

Appeals are not dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis, so as long as you submit an appeal by this date it will make no difference to your chance of success.

How are school places allocated, when are appeals heard and how is the waiting list prioritised?

There are clear criteria for awarding places when a school is oversubscribed. Children who are or have previously been in care get first priority, followed by: children who live in the catchment area and already have an elder brother or sister at that school; children living in the catchment area; siblings of children already in a non-catchment area school; children who are not in the catchment area but already have a sibling at the school; children who attend a primary school which is officially designated as a feeder to the secondary school.

If your child is placed on the waiting list, priority is determined by the oversubscription criteria and not the length of time on the list or the date you applied.

The waiting list runs from March 1 until December 31, and a child’s position can go down as well as up, if there are later applications in a higher priority category.

Appeals will normally be held in May and June, and parents will be given at least 14 days notice before the hearing. Cases will be considered by an independent appeal panel.

Which schools in Sheffield are the most oversubscribed?

Sheffield Council has yet to publish figures for the latest round of school admissions, but for autumn 2021, a total of 13 schools across Sheffield were oversubscribed, with nearly 200 children being turned away at one and youngsters in some cases being refused a place at the school their brothers or sisters already attended.

The most oversubscribed secondary was Tapton School in Crosspool, where there were 449 applications for 256 places.

The second most oversubscribed was Silverdale School in Bents Green (oversubscribed by 167 places), followed by Mercia School in Millhouses (129) and

King Edward VII School, in Broomhall (99).

What are the plans for school expansion to meet demand?

It is in the south west of Sheffield where secondary schools are most oversubscribed, with warnings the shortage of places there could be a problem for a decade to come.

But there are plans to address the growing demand in the area, with proposals already in place for both King Ecgbert and Silverdale to expand significantly.

For more information about the appeals process for oversubscribed schools in Sheffield, visit: www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/schools-childcare/catchment-areas-over-subscribed-schools.