Hertfordshire schools: fewer parents win calls for places UK News

Fewer parents have won cases against schools across the county, figures show.

Data from the Department of Education shows that in Hertfordshire, parents brought 725 cases against their child’s school placement for the 2020-21 school year to an appeal hearing, with 131 successes – a win rate by 18%.

This is down from the previous year, when it was 22%, and below the national average of 19%.

In Hertfordshire, 83 percent of student applicants were offered a place in a top school last year and the number of appeals heard represents 2 percent of all admissions, compared to 2.3 percent the last year.

Among the results, parents of high school students were more likely to win than those of elementary school students, with a pass rate of 23% versus 6%.

Across England, the number of appeals heard fell sharply last year, from 48,100 in 2019-2020 to 41,100 in 2020-21.

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The DfE said measures have been put in place to allow parents to appeal during the pandemic. A spokesperson said: “Every child should have a fair chance to get into their parents’ favorite school and boards and schools are working extremely hard to try to ensure that as many students as possible are allocated their first preference. ”

An education ministry said that with an increase in the number of schools rated “good” or “excellent” by Ofsted inspectors since 2010, parents could be “confident that their child will get the education of high quality it deserves “.

A spokesperson added: “School admissions appeal boards are independent bodies and make decisions on an individual basis, without the admissions authority being involved in the decision.

“The number of calls heard in each area varies widely, so the number of successful calls cannot be compared meaningfully, as the volume can affect the success rate of calls. ”