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Independent Appeals Service

Kent County Council's independent appeals team provide expert support for independent appeal panels deciding appeals for primary and secondary school places.  This year alone we have dealt with over 2,000 ‘in year’ appeals for local authority, community, foundation and aided and academy schools.

We are a team of highly qualified and experienced clerks with a wide knowledge of legislative and procedural requirements for appeals panels and of the relevant codes and best practice. Within the parameters of the code, we provide a service that achieves a balance between the needs of the parents and those of the school; helping facilitate a process that is fair and achieving outcomes that are sound.

Our services include the appointment of independent panel members, all relevant correspondence to appellants, liaising with the school, copying and distributing all relevant materials to all parties, processing travel expenses, clerking and advising panel members of current legislation at appeals, providing a venue with refreshments and preparing and dispatching decision letters.

All of the independent panel members and clerks that we use receive both in house and external independent expert training, including input from the Local Government & Social Ombudsman or Education Skills Funding Agency representative, on an annual basis.

In addition to school admission appeals, we also offer all of the above services to Independent Review Panels for exclusion hearings.

The Independent Appeals Team is based in County Hall, Maidstone.  We form part of Kent County Council and are totally independent of the Education Admissions Department.  We have a team of highly experienced officers who have vast experience of administrating and clerking appeals.

Our Prices:
For Primary appeals, costs are £100 (+VAT) per scheduled appeal.

For Secondary appeals, costs are £105 (+VAT) per scheduled appeal.

For exclusions, our charge is £500 (+VAT) per scheduled review with an additional £600 if an SEN expert is requested.

For Academies outside of Kent, prices will vary accordingly on application.

Download the Appeals Code

For further information, please contact Andy Ballard, Principal Democratic Services Officer, 03000 414 222 or email [email protected].

The Independent Appeals Service is provided by Kent County Council.