School Placing Requests - What you Can do if Your Choice of School is Refused

A parent or carer has the right to make a placing request to send their child to a particular school other than the one in whose catchment area they reside. The local education authority can refuse to accept a parent or carer's choice. If this happens, the parent or carer can take informal action by talking to the local education authority or formal action by appealing against the decision.

These resources may help inform pursuing either of these options:

Link to Citizens Advice Bureaux notes on Education choices for children 5 to 16 in Scotland

The 'Placing Request Appeal Toolkit' written by Iain Nisbet and Sarah-Jane Kissock - Education Law Solicitors at Govan Law Centre is also a useful resource
Click on this link to read the appeal toolkit or print out a copy - 12 pages.

School Placing Request Appeals Toolkit - A Free Resource for Parents and Carers in Dundee

In April 2014, The Education Law Unit at Govan Law Centre published a 'Placing Request Appeal Toolkit' as a free self-help guide for parents, carers and young people in Scotland who are not happy with a decision from their local council in relation to a school placing request. 

The GLC self-help toolkit provides a step-by-step guide on how to challenge a council's decision, how to make an appeal to a local authority Education Appeal Committee, how the procedure operates, and explains the different types of arguments, providing an illustrative appeal letter, and where to go for additional legal help. 

Please note GLC does not have the resources to undertake mainstream placing request appeals, as its Educational Law Unit is focused on cases involving children and young people with additional support needs. 

The guide was written by GLC's education law solicitors Iain Nisbet and Sarah-Jane Kissock. 

'Placing Request Appeal Toolkit' 
Click on this link to read the toolkit or print out a copy - 12 pages.

This posting draws significantly on a briefing from Govan Law Centre dated 24 April 2014