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If your child is not allocated a place at the school you prefer, you have the right to appeal the decision of the admissions authority.
The Archdiocese of Liverpool holds a number of schools under its trusteeship and looks to support them with arranging admissions to these schools. The governing body of each school is the Admission Authority and as such is responsible for deciding who is offered a place in any particular school. (In a Catholic Academy, it is the Trust Board who hold this responsibility). The responsibility for considering an application and deciding who is to be offered or not offered a place in a school cannot be delegated to an individual person. The decisions must be made by the Admission Authority.
At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the school. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for, and be admitted to a place at the school, in accordance with these admission arrangements.
The governing body has a responsibility to ensure that school must have admission arrangements that clearly set out how children will be admitted, including the criteria that will be applied if there are more applications than places at the school. Admission arrangements are determined by admission authorities.(School Admissions Code 2021)
In order to support governors, we offer annual training around the process for which the slides can be found below. We also include a draft Terms of Reference for consideration by governors.
For enquiries about a specific school, head to their website to see their policies.
We support schools with writing a policy which reflects the latest guidance in the light of the Admissions Code and the advice from the Catholic Education Service. We provide an example of each policy below with the Supplementary Information Form which is completed as part of the admission process for those wishing to evidence a faith background.
Where changes are proposed to admission arrangements, the admission authority must first publicly consult on those arrangements. If no changes are made to admission arrangements, they must be consulted on at least once every 7 years. (Admissions Code 2021) We provide a covering letter to explain this process more fully below and we will advise schools directly when required to carry out this consultation. We provide a pro forma to help schools with this process below.
It is a requirement of archdiocesan protocols that any increase or decrease in the Published Admission Number (PAN) must be with the consultation and consent of the archdiocese. We provide a checklist for reducing the PAN below.
The Education Department of the Archdiocese arranges admission appeals for Catholic primary and secondary schools for the following local authority areas:
- Knowsley | All Schools
- Liverpool | With the exception of St Edward's College.
- Sefton | All Schools
- St Helens | With the exception of St Theresa's Catholic Primary School, De La Salle High School and St Cuthbert's Catholic High School
- Wigan | All Schools
For Catholic schools in Halton (with the exception of Ss Peter and Paul Catholic High School), Lancashire and Warrington, please contact your local authority regarding the appeals process. For schools listed as exceptions in the above list, please contact the school directly.
- Submit your details using the form above, completing all requested fields.
- Your appeal will then be heard by an independent appeal panel.
Appeals for normal year of entry (Reception and Year 7) for admission in September 2025 will be heard according to the following timetable:
Secondary
- Offer date: 3 March
- Appeals to be lodged by: 31 March
- Appeals to be heard: 18 June
Primary
- Offer Date: 16 April
- Appeals to be lodged by: 20 May
- Appeals to be heard by: 22 July
Appeals received after these dates for normal year of admissions in September 2025 will be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Appeals resulting from in-year admission applications will be heard on a date to be arranged within 30 school days of the appeal form being received.
In some exceptional circumstances, we may need to hold hearings after these dates.
Every school is required to have a complaints policy, a copy of which can be found on their website. All complaints about a school should follow the school's published policy. Archdiocesan officers will be unable to intervene in any complaints until such time as the school complaints policy has been exhausted.
