Schools admissions appeals

As a parent or carer of a child starting or transferring school(s), you have the right to appeal if your child has not been offered a place at one of your preferred schools.  

We do not manage the appeals process for all schools in the borough. You can check which schools manage their own appeals on our webpage. 

If you are appealing for a school outside the borough, you must contact the relevant local authority or school directly.

You should submit your appeal within 20 school days of receiving your school place offer or the date shown in the timetable below if you are appealing for a September place in reception or year 7. For in-year admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged. 

• for applications made in the normal admissions round, appeals will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals
• for late applications, appeals will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals, where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged
  Where this is not possible, late application appeals may not be heard until the next academic year and will be scheduled from September 2026 onwards
• appellants will be given at least 10 school days' written notice of an appeal hearing
• decision letters will be sent within 5 school days of the hearing, wherever possible

Admission appeal hearings will be held remotely by video conference or hybrid (where some of the people involved attend in person and some join remotely). If you are not able to access the hearing remotely, you can attend in person at Waltham Forest Town Hall for a hybrid appeal. 

You should accept the school place offered to you even if you are submitting an appeal. This ensures your child has a school place in the event your appeal is unsuccessful. 

Accepting a place does not affect the outcome of your appeal. 

Under the School Admissions Appeals Code 2022, we must display the appeal timetable for coordinated admissions on our website by 28 February in each academic year. 

Download the Appeals guide to Parents and Carers.