Appeals

If your child is not offered a place at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, you have the right to appeal against that decision to an Independent Appeal Panel (set up in accordance with sections 88 and 94 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998). Appeals must be made in writing and must set out the reasons on which the appeal is made.  Appeals should be made to the Admissions Appeal Clerk at the school address. Appeals should be lodged no later than 20 school days after the National Offer Day for primary schools (16 April 2024). Completed paperwork must be received by the school no later than 16 May 2024, and will be heard within 40 school days. The appeals system is operated independently from the school. Parents/carers have the right to make oral representations to the Appeal Panel.

Late application appeals will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

In-year applications will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

In Year Admissions for St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School from 1 September 2023 until 31 August 2024

You can make an in-year application if your child needs to join a school outside of the normal admissions round – for example, if you move house and your child can no longer attend their current school.

If you want to apply for an In-Year admission to St Francis of Assisi School, you need to complete:

1. A West Sussex Managed Application for In Year admission (IYA/WSCCMA) – Application Form

• The IYA/WSCCMA Application Form can be found here: Moving school – West Sussex County Council

• You MUST return the IYA/WSCCMA Application Form to West Sussex County Council.
• The School’s Supplementary Information Form (SIF)

The SIF is available at: Supplementary Information Form

• You MUST return the Supplementary Information Form to the school to: Mrs Fuller, St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, Southgate Drive, Crawley, RH10 6HD

The Governing Body is the admissions authority for St Francis of Assisi School and has responsibility for admissions to the school, including setting the priority of admissions when the school is oversubscribed. The governing body will consider whether it has any vacancies and if so, whether they are able to offer a place. The school will confirm to West Sussex County Council (WSCC) as soon as possible. WSCC will contact you to let you know the outcome of your application.

Upon receipt of an In Year application, WSCC will aim to notify parents of the outcome of the application in writing within 10 school days. However, it might take up to 15 school days. You must respond to any offer of a place within ten school days.

If you are refused a place at any school you applied for, you have the right to make an appeal to an independent appeal panel. Where an application is refused, the school will set out the reason for refusal.

For applications for In Year Admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged. If parents wish to appeal, they must set out the grounds for appeal in writing.

Where an applicant is offered a school place following an in-year application, and the offer is accepted, arrangements should be made for the child to start school as soon as possible, particularly where the child is out of school.

If your child is not offered a place, you can add their name to a waiting list. Waiting lists are ranked according to each school’s admission criteria. Your child’s position on a waiting list may go down as well as up, for example, if other children with greater priority according to the school’s admission criteria are added to the list.

Note: a hard copy of this online page is available on request for parents who don’t have internet access