Will reforms mean fewer school appeals?

Will parents have more choice and fewer grounds to appeal in the future?

How will this affect parents' right of appeal if their child is refused a place?

The Schools White Paper, the basis for the reforms, says the role of the local authority will be that of a commissioner - it will oversee provision, ensure fair access and be a champion of parents.

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly says she is striving for a fairer admissions system, not one which benefits only some.

She wants more specialist schools with their own ethos, and says this will give parents more choice and children a better chance of getting into a good school.

Change of role?

Currently, if your child is not offered a place at your preferred school, there is a right of appeal to an independent schools panel consisting of three to five members.

That panel hears arguments from the school and the parents, and has to decide whether the benefits to the child of attending that school outweigh any disadvantage to the school.

Its decision is binding. A parent who believes the appeal procedure has not been carried out fairly can take action through the courts.

But most appeals take place because a school is oversubscribed. Most schools apply the common criteria of siblings, proximity of home to school and social or medical need to decide between pupils.

The Schools Admission Appeals Code of Practice stipulates how appeals are carried out.

David Currier, admissions and appeals manager for Birmingham City Council, said he was not concerned that the reforms would undermine the role of the local education authority.

"But we'll have to wait and see what the legislation says," he said.

Thorpe Bay's head wants it to be one of the first trust schools

But in the case of current foundation schools, and future trust schools, the appeal to the panel is not put by the LEA, but by the school.

So if LEAs are to become the parents' champion, the way in which their role might change where a dissatisfied parent is concerned is not yet clear.

High fliers

The reforms stop short of compelling schools to accept a more comprehensive intake, for example through banding.

Banding involves an admissions test, with results divided into ability bands - the school then accepts a percentage of pupils from each band, resulting in a mixed-ability intake.

The head teacher of Dunraven School in south London, which uses banding, has said that a new ethos of belonging has led to a happier, more successful school.

Some believe such a system is fairer, allowing more parents to aspire for the best school for their child and leave fewer dissatisfied with their allocation.

But not all new trust schools will be existing oversubscribed high-fliers.

Thorpe Bay School in Southend, Essex, was a failing school for six years but has just come out of special measures.

It now wants to set up a trust with a vocational college, and believes this will lead to further improvements.

Its head teacher, Janet Alder, told BBC News: "We're very good at directing and structuring youngsters, but not at running a more adult environment, and our partner has lots of expertise in that."

A spokesperson for Essex County Council said he did not envisage significant changes to the current system of appeals, whereby the local education authority was the standard bearer for fair admissions in a co-ordinated system.

But he said: "We believe it would be helpful if the code of practice on admissions were made statutory, so that this LEA role became enshrined."

Ms Kelly says the answer to the current problems is to create more good schools, so that all children can get into a school with high standards. And presumably that would lead to fewer appeals.

But her critics say the result will be a disparate, unco-ordinated system - not greater fairness.

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