Second stage appeal

When you can make a second stage appeal

If your first stage review has been refused, you can generally make a second stage appeal if:

your family has been refused travel assistance based on the policy eligibility criteria
you want to appeal the type of travel assistance awarded.

Making a second stage appeal

Please complete the appeal form provided with your first stage review response.

Then return it, with any supporting information or documents, marked private and confidential, to: School Admissions and Transport Management Team, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR.

At least 10 working days before the appeal hearing you will be sent a letter (from Medway Council Democratic Services Team) advising you of the date, time and location of your appeal. This letter will also include the following information:

the procedure at the hearing
a date that any additional supporting information should be submitted
an attendance form asking you to confirm you will be attending and whether you will be bringing anyone with you to the hearing.

A week before the appeal hearing you will be sent (by recorded delivery) the following:

a letter reconfirming the date and time of your appeal
the papers prepared by us about your application for assistance
details of the walking routes to school used in the assessment
a copy of your appeal form
copies of any supporting information you have submitted
details of your ward councillors (see also the section below for more information about how they can help).

Preparing for the appeal

Before the appeal hearing you should:

read through this information
read through the papers sent to you by Democratic Services
make a note of any additional information you did not include on your appeal form
make a note of any questions you wish to ask
ensure you have copies of supporting information for the committee, if you have not already sent it to Democratic Services (such as medical and financial evidence)
complete and return the attendance form provided by Democratic Services and notify them if anybody will be coming to the appeal with you
consider whether you would like one of your ward councillors to come to the hearing with you
phone Democratic Services if you have questions about the appeals process
ensure you bring the appeal papers you have received to the hearing with you, as they will be used throughout the hearing.

Please contact the clerk to the committee if you would like advice on preparing for your appeal hearing. Please contact Democratic Services if you are unable to attend the appeal.

Providing additional information

The committee base their decision on the written information supplied by you and School Admissions and Transport. They also take account of everything that is said during the appeal hearing.

The committee does not receive any additional information. Everything that the committee receives is also given to you.

It's important you provide as much information as possible to the committee to help your case.

Whilst you may provide additional information to support your case any time up to the time of the appeal, if you miss the deadline for submitting information it may not be possible for any additional information to be considered at the appeal hearing. Written or photographic information that is provided on the day is unlikely to be considered by the committee and could cause a delay in your case being heard.

When preparing your appeal, you should consider carefully the reasons why you believe your child should be offered assistance with transport. These might include any of the following:

family or social circumstances or situation
financial reasons (supported by evidence)
medical reasons of your child or you (supported by evidence, such as a doctor’s letter).

Additionally, there may be other factors particular to your case, which you can include.

Please be assured that all the information provided to the committee is treated in confidence and is only shared with the committee, School Admissions and Transport Services, and Democratic Services.

Attendees at the appeal hearing

The following people will be at the appeal hearing:

members of the Appeals Committee
a representative from Democratic Services, who is the Clerk to the Committee
a representative from School Admissions and Transport, who is the presenting officer for the Council
a legal representative from the council (who is there to provide legal advice to the committee).

You're encouraged to attend the appeal hearing so that you can present your case and answer any questions the presenting officer or committee may have. You can also ask any question of them that you may have.

You may wish to bring with you someone to support you or represent you. For example, a partner, a friend or ward councillor.

Children do not normally attend but you may decide to bring your child. Bear in mind though that attending the appeal can be stressful for some children.

The role of Democratic Services (Clerk to the Committee)

Democratic Services are not a part of the Appeals Committee. They are independent of the committee, any schools, and the School Admissions and Transport Team.

They will ensure that the appeal hearing is carried out correctly and in a fair way. They will also ensure that everybody has the opportunity to present all the relevant facts of the case, so that the committee can make an informed decision.

The role of the School Admissions and Transport representative (Presenting Officer)

An officer from School Admissions and Transport will attend the hearing to present the council’s case and explain the Education Travel Assistance Policy. They will also answer any questions you or the committee may have about the council’s policy and the travel assistance assessment.

The role of your ward councillor

You may prefer to be represented by or supported at the hearing by one of your ward councillors. They can present your case for you or with you.

Should you decide that you wish to do this, you should approach them as soon as possible to make sure that they are able to attend. You may find it helpful to arrange to meet with them ahead of the appeal hearing so you can discuss your case.

Once we know your ward councillor is attending we will also send them the case papers for the hearing. You're still able to attend and speak even if your ward councillor is acting as your representative.

Appeal location

Appeals are held at the council’s offices at Gun Wharf in Chatham. You will be sent a map showing the location of the venue and the nearest car parks.

There is no public parking available at Gun Wharf.

Appeal hearing

Upon receipt of your appeal form, Democratic Services will arrange for a committee to meet and consider your appeal within 40 working days. Appeals are held each month and it will often be possible for your appeal to be heard sooner than 40 working days.

At the appeal hearing

When you arrive at Gun Wharf, please report to main reception who will direct you to the waiting area. The Democratic Services officer will meet you and introduce you the School Admissions and Transport representative. You will both be taken to the meeting room. The hearing will normally be dealt with as follows:

The School Admissions and Transport representative will explain why assistance with transport has not been provided.
You and the committee may ask questions to the School Admissions and Transport representative on what they have said.
You will then be offered the opportunity to explain all the reasons why you require assistance with transport.
The committee and the School Admissions and Transport representative may then ask questions on what you have said.
The School Admissions and Transport representative and you will then be offered a chance to sum up before being asked to leave the room.
The committee then deliberate and reach a decision on your case in private. The Democratic Services Officer and the lawyer are the only people who stay with the committee when they are reaching their decision and will record their decision.

The committee will firstly decide whether the Council’s Educational Travel Assistance Policy been properly applied in your case.

If they decide the policy has been correctly applied, they will then consider if there are any exceptional circumstances in your case justify a departure from the policy and, if so, they may decide to grant travel assistance.

At no time will either you or the School Admissions and Transport representative be left alone with the committee. This ensures that you and the School Admissions and Transport representative hear the same information as the committee during the course of the appeal.

Everything referred to at the meeting is kept confidential. You may tell the committee anything you think will support your case including financial and medical information.

The appeal will normally last approximately 20 to 30 minutes. However, there is no time limit and you'll be given an opportunity to put your case to the committee. Occasionally there may be some delay if previous appeals have taken longer than expected.

If you do not attend

If you are unable to attend the appeal hearing please inform Democratic Services as soon as possible. Your appeal may be deferred to a more convenient date or it can be dealt with in your absence (with your agreement).

If you do not tell Democratic Services that you are unable to attend, and you do not arrive for your appeal, it is likely that your appeal will be deferred. This will, of course, lead to a delay in your appeal being heard.

The decision

A letter notifying you of the committee’s decision will be sent to you, by recorded delivery, within 5 working days of the appeal.

School Admissions and Transport will also be notified of the decision at this time.

If your appeal is successful

Once notified of an upheld appeal decision, School Admissions and Transport will arrange for the travel assistance to be implemented and you'll be notified once it is available.

Please note, that it can take up to 4 weeks to make necessary arrangements.

If your appeal is unsuccessful

The decision of the committee is final and there is no further appeal.

You are not able to appeal again unless there have been significant and material changes in your circumstances that require a new decision about your application, such as medical reasons or you have moved house.

If you feel that your circumstances have changed you must firstly make a further travel assistance application to School Admissions and Transport to be re-assessed against the Education Travel Assistance Policy.

Limited-time assistance

If you were offered assistance with transport for a limited time, which has now ended or is coming to an end, and you still require assistance with transport, you must reapply.

School Admissions and Transport will decide whether it is appropriate for you to go through the first stage appeal or have your request considered by a committee. Reissue of tickets can take up to four weeks to process.

Making a written complaint

The Local Government Ombudsman can investigate written complaints about the way in which the Appeals Committee conducted your appeal. This is not a further appeal against the decision of the committee.

Your complaint must relate to issues around how the appeal was carried out, such as the committee’s failure to follow correct procedures or a failure to act independently and fairly.

To complain about how your appeal was conducted, contact:

The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Phone: 0845 602 1983

Alternative Medway schemes

Find out more about alternative schemes in Medway.

Appeal a free school transport decision