Appeals

Infant class size rule

The Government has set a limit on the size of infant classes (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), as described below.

2.15 Infant class size – Infant classes (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher.  Additional children may be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances.  These children will remain an ‘excepted pupil’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. The excepted children are:

a)  children admitted outside the normal admissions round with statements of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care Plans specifying a school; 

b)  looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admissions round; 

c)   children admitted, after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process; 

d)  children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal; 

e)  children who move into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance; 

f)   children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round;

g)  children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is admitted otherwise than as an excepted pupil; 

h)  children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a special educational needs unit attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school.

Reception appeals – September 2026

Reception places will be offered, via the local authorities, on 16 April 2026.  Children who cannot be offered a place, due to there being more applications than there are places, will automatically remain on a waiting list until 31 December 2026.

Timeline for appeals

• Allocation letters/emails sent to parents:  Thursday 16 April 2026
• Deadline for parents to submit appeal:  Friday 15 May 2026
• Appeals received by deadline date will be heard within 40 school days where possible:  Friday 17 July 2026
• Last appeal date in summer term: Week beginning 13 July 2026

For late applications, appeals will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of being lodged.

In-Year

Before you can make an appeal, you must first have completed and submitted a recent In-Year Application Form to Bradford local authority.  Details of how to do this can be found on the Admissions page under the heading In-Year admissions.

Once you have received a letter advising you that a place cannot be offered, you can then proceed to make an appeal for the academy.

The academy can only proceed to the appeals stage if the year group is full.  Places are not ‘reserved’ for those whose appeals are upheld, so any upheld appeal will result in an additional child in the year group.

Appeals will be heard within 30 school days, or as soon as reasonably practicable.

Appeal forms and information

Bradford local authority processes the applications & appeals for this Academy.  Details of the appeals process and the appeal form can be found here.

If you need to speak to someone about the appeal process, you can contact the local authority via:

Telephone:  01274 439200

E-mail:  schoolappeals@bradford.gov.uk