National Offer Day Frequently Asked Questions I have not received my child's secondary school offer? If you applied before 31 October 2019, using a paper form, we will post your offer letter 1st class on 2 March 2020. If you did not submit an application before the date above then your application has been considered late which means you will not receive an outcome until the end of March (please refer to our late application timetable) Please be aware if you applied online then you will be able to log onto the EAdmissions site from 5pm on national offer day to view the outcome.

I applied online after the 31 October, when will I receive my offer? Your application will be considered as late. You will not be able to view your outcome online, an offer letter will be sent in the post in accordance with our late application timetable.

How can I respond to my offer? If you applied online, you should log in to your eadmissions account and submit your response. If you applied using a paper form, you should either reply through our website by providing us with your child pupil ID number, or you can post us the reply slip in your offer letter. If you submitted your application to another Local Authority, you should respond directly to them, and your home Local Authority will share the information with us. You need to respond by no later than 16 March 2020.

What do I need to do once I have accepted the school offered? Once you have accepted, the local authority will advise the school and they will contact you directly between April and July with all relevant admission information. Please be aware that different schools send their information out to parents/guardians at different times.

What happens if I do not respond to the offer? If you do not respond to the offer by 16 March, we will contact you again to remind you that we need you to respond. At this time, if you do not reply, we will withdraw the school offer we have made, and offer the place to another child.

I have not been offered a place at my preferred school. What can I do? We understand that it will be disappointing for you and your child if we are not able to offer a place at one of your preferred schools. However, it is sensible to accept any place offered. Accepting the place will not affect your child’s position on a waiting list or strengthen your chances of success at appeal. We always advise parents not to be too disheartened following national offer day as there is often movement following the response deadline (16 March). Therefore it is likely that we will receive some declines due to changes of circumstances such as; moving away or accepting an offer at a private school. Please refer to our late application timetable to see when the next round of offers take place. We will continue to make offers in accordance with our late timetable up until the end of July 2020.

I am not happy with the unallocated offer received? An unallocated offer is made when an offer can not be made for any of your child's preferences. The local authority has a duty of care to provide an alternative offer for a suitable school with a current vacancy. Where a school is unable to make an offer this is because they have received more applications than places they have available and where other applicants had a higher priority than your child under the school’s published admission criteria. If you are not happy with your child's unallocated offer then you can request that we add an additional school to your child's application. Below is a list of Hillingdon Schools that had a small number of places available following national offer day. Please note that these are subject to change depending on demand. Park Academy West London The

I have changed my address/preferences since the closing date, when will my child's application be updated? If you applied ontime (before 31 October 2019) and have made changes to your child's application then these will be updated shortly after national offer day. If you have since moved then your application will be transferred to your new local authority. If you have added or amended the position of preferences then these will also be processed after national offer day and if an offer can be made following your changes then you will receive an outcome letter around 27 March 2020.

Who makes decisions about which pupils are offered a place? For our Hillingdon secondary schools as they are either an academy or a foundation school the decisions are made by the governing body at the individual school, which usually sets up an admissions panel to decide on the applications. To find out a particular school’s status please refer to page 86 in our Schools Admissions Brochure 2020

Can my child go on a waiting list? Any child who is not offered a place at their prefered schools' in Hillingdon will be automatically added to the waiting list. Please note that all Hillingdon schools hold their own waiting lists, if the school is outside the borough of Hillingdon you should contact the borough in which the school is situated to ensure that your child is added to the waiting list. Please be aware that waiting lists may not be available until mid April.

Can I appeal against the decision? You have the right of appeal under the School Standards & Framework Act 1998 against the refusal of a place at any of the schools for which you have applied. If you wish to appeal, you must contact the school directly, or if outside Hillingdon, the borough in which the school is situated within the next few days to obtain the procedure and the date by which an appeal must be received by them.