SCHOOL ADMISSION APPEALS – IMPORTANT INFORMATION/REMINDERS

All parents need to set up an appeals account in order to appeal.  The online appeals portal is the same for all parents and is found here: School Admission Appeal | Hertfordshire County Council

In order to set up an account, the following codes are needed:

• Application Reference Number
• Child ID

 Transfer appeals

Hertfordshire parents can access the codes they need in order to set up an appeals account via their admissions account.  They can see them on the page where they are told their allocation. 

Parents who live out-of-county or who applied on paper will need to contact our Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 in order to obtain their registration details to gain access. These then will be sent via automated email.  (Any in-county parents having difficulty finding their codes in their admissions account can also do this if they need to.)

In Year appeals

Admissions need to send parents the codes they need in a letter.  To make sure this happens, you must notify the Local Authority’s Admissions and Transport team every time you consider an application in one of these ways:

• log into SEAM and complete the ‘Submit Notification’ form, or
• Email the admissions officer for your school

On receipt of that notification, the Admissions and Transport team will send the parents their registration details so they can create an account and lodge an appeal.  Please note that if you receive a direct application and do not inform admissions, parents will not be able to appeal online. 

Please be aware that parent guidance for appeals is found solely on Hertfordshire's web pages now.  There is no longer a published document.

 

SCHOOL ADMISSION APPEALS TIMETABLE - Guidance  from Hertfordshire

In Year appeals
Appeals resulting from in year admission applications will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

September 2026 entry                                                                                                                       Appeals resulting from secondary transfer and under 11s applications for admission in September 2026 will be heard according to the following timetable:

	Allocation day	Appeals lodged by	Appeals to be heard between
Secondary Transfer	2 March 2026	4pm on 27 March 2026	29 April – 15 June 2026 (excluding 4 May and 25 May – 29 May)
Under 11s (Primary Reception, Junior / Middle)	16 April 2026	4pm on 15 May 2026	10 June – 17 July 2026

• Appeals lodged after these dates will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline or 30 school days of being lodged, whichever is the later date.

• Appellants will be sent notification of their appeal hearing at least 10 clear working days in advance of the hearing.

• Appellants will be sent a copy of the school's case 7 working days in advance of the hearing.

Additional supporting information:                                                                                                 

Any appellant wishing to submit supporting evidence after they have lodged their appeal will need to get that to the Appeals Team at least 7 working days before the hearing.

Please remember that any confidential medical/social evidence submitted to the Admission Authority (AA) in support of an application will not be provided to an appeal panel.  Any appellant who wishes to rely on this in support of an appeal will need to submit it separately to the Appeals Team.

A short document (like a doctor’s letter which was not previously available) will be accepted up to 4 working days before the hearing.  Any additional evidence received after this deadline will be accepted only at the panel’s discretion.