Drop in appeals lodged over school places in Hertfordshire against national increase
Fewer appeals were lodged in Hertfordshire last year following the refusal of a school place application, new figures show.
Most appeals are made when an applicant has not received an offer of a place at their first preference school.
However, appeals relating to other transfers at the start of the school year are also included.
Figures from the Department for Education show 950 appeals were lodged in Hertfordshire by the start of the 2023-24 school year – down from 1,096 the year before.
Yet, across the country, 56,684 school admissions appeals for 2023-24 places were lodged, up seven per cent on the year before.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: "Starting a new school is a huge moment in a child’s life, so it is understandable that getting their first choice is a priority for parents and it is right that they have access to a clear and fair appeal process to try to secure this.
"The problem is that the increasingly fragmented school system lacks a co-ordinated approach to place planning."
He added local authorities no longer have the powers and resources needed to ensure sufficient school places and a national strategy to guarantee enough school places for every child is needed.
Of the appeals lodged in Hertfordshire, 599 were heard by an appeals panel – 126 of them (21 per cent) were successful.
Pepe Di’Iasio, Association of Secondary and College Leaders general secretary, said: "The number of appeals lodged by parents reflects pressure on places in oversubscribed schools which fluctuates because of things like new housing in popular catchment areas."
He added demand is often driven by Ofsted ratings, leaving other schools undersubscribed with available places.
"This is one of the reasons why we are pleased that single-word Ofsted judgements are being scrapped.”
A Department of Education spokesperson said: "It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure there are sufficient school places for pupils who need them.
"Each school has an admission authority to set its admission arrangements including the oversubscription criteria it will use to allocate school places if more applications are received than there are places available."