Today is the day parents across the country will be finding out where their child will be attending primary school in September.
While most children will get into their top-choice school, many are likely to miss out as places at top schools are in short supply.
Parents who are unhappy with the school their child has been allocated can go through the appeals process.
However success appealing varies significantly across the country.
In 2017/18 around 12% of appeals heard in England were successful, but in London the success rate was only 3.5%.
Some local authorities in London don’t have a single successful appeal recorded.
An education consultant at The Good Schools Guide, Elizabeth Coatman, said that although primary school application numbers aren’t up, most schools are still being stretched.
She said: “Places at the most popular primary schools in many parts of the country are still in short supply and parents are fearful of having to send their children to less desirable schools.
“We know the education funding crisis is compounding things for schools which were already struggling.
“For parents whose children will be expected to take the first steps of their education career at one of these underperforming schools, it is extremely concerning.”
Elizabeth explained that while appealing is an option - the reasons parents may have for appealing might not be enough to affect the decision.
She said: “Appealing is an option, but however unfair it may feel, siblings attending other schools, super-sized classes and poor Ofsted reports are unlikely to be successful grounds for appeal.”
However Elizabeth does have advice on what to do if you have received a disappointing primary school offer.
