Coronavirus (COVID-19): School placing requests & appeals

School placing requests in 2020

If you made a placing request by the 15 March 2020 deadline, your local authority now has until 31 May 2020 to respond to you (this deadline was previously 30 April 2020).

If you do not receive a response from your local authority by 31 May 2020, it will be deemed that they have refused your request and you will have the right to an appeal hearing.

If your request was made later than the 15 March 2020 deadline, local authorities now have three months, rather than two months, to respond to you. If you do not receive a response within three months, it will be deemed that the local authority has refused your request and you will have the right to an appeal hearing.

Appeals process in 2020

You still have 28 days from the date you received a decision from the local authority to submit an appeal. This deadline for submitting an appeal also applies in cases where the local authority is deemed to have refused your placing request.

Appeal committees will have 28 days to acknowledge your appeal request, rather than the current five working days. They will have up to three months to hold the appeal hearing.

You must be given 14 days notice of the hearing date.

Hearings can take place through video or telephone conference, or, if all involved agree to it, in writing.

The appeal committee will have 28 days from the conclusion of the hearing to inform you of its decision. Previously this was two weeks.

If the appeal committee does not reach a decision on your appeal within 4 months, you will be able to appeal to the Sherriff Court. Previously this was two months.

The arrangements may vary locally within the new timeframes set out above. It is possible there will be cases that cannot be resolved before the new academic year, and the local authority would be expected to stay in contact with you to explain your options before the appeal is finalised.

Contact our school placing request lawyers in Glasgow today

At Livingstone Brown Solicitors, we have dealt with many cases where even though statutory grounds of refusal exist, we have successfully persuaded the courts to override objections of the Education Authority and favour parental choice. 

We would emphasise that the law in this area is extremely complex. There are several key pieces of legislation that can be relied on. If you or your family have been involved in a placing request and need our help, please contact us urgently and we can offer legal advice tailored to your needs. Call us on 0141 429 8166 or get in touch via our online contact form.