School admissions and appeals files For local authority and academy admissions teams
Every application and appeal.
Fair, consistent and on record.
FilePlan 365 gives every school application and appeal its own secure file inside SharePoint. Applications, supporting evidence, offers and appeal papers are filed to the right child, with the right protection, automatically.
Works inside SharePoint
Application details from your admissions system
30-day free trial
1
Application details
Application number, child, preferred schools and admissions officer, taken from your admissions system.
2
Document types
The same labelled folders for every application, down the left.
3
The application’s documents
Everything filed to that application, in the wider panel on the right.
What is FilePlan 365?
A digital filing cabinet, built into SharePoint
Think of a filing cabinet with a drawer for every application, and the same labelled folders inside each drawer. FilePlan 365 does exactly that inside SharePoint, the place your organisation already keeps its documents.
No new system to learn
Your team works in SharePoint and Microsoft 365, just as they do today. There is nothing extra to install on anyone’s computer.
Filed once, found in seconds
Every document goes into the right application file and folder, so anyone with access can find it straight away.
Kept as long as it should be
Each document is protected and kept for the right length of time, without anyone having to remember the rules.
Connected to your admissions system
Application details arrive automatically
You never retype an application number, child’s name or school. FilePlan 365 picks up each application’s details from your admissions system, so every application has a file ready the moment it’s submitted.
When an application changes
A late application, a change of address or a new preference is picked up automatically, so every file stays accurate.
When an appeal is decided
The decision date flows across too, and the clock for how long the file is kept starts by itself.
For your IT team
A Power Automate flow keeps a SharePoint list of applications up to date from your admissions system. FilePlan 365 reads that list. No custom code, and it stays inside your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The application file plan
Every application organised the same way
Each application file has the same six folders, so everyone knows where a document belongs and where to find it.
1
Application
Application form, preferences, proof of address
Kept for: 1 year after admission
2
Supporting evidence
Medical, social and faith evidence
Kept for: 1 year after admission
3
Offer
Offer letter, acceptance, waiting list position
Kept for: 1 year after admission
4
Appeal lodged
Appeal form, grounds, parent evidence
Kept for: 1 year after decision
5
Appeal hearing
Case statements, panel papers, clerk’s notes
Kept for: 1 year after decision
6
Decision
Decision letter, outcome
Kept for: 1 year after decision
Retention periods are examples. You can match them to your own retention schedule.
Templates
Start with our Admissions and appeals template. Make it your own.
You don’t have to design a filing system from scratch. The ready-made Admissions and appeals template gives you the folders, document types and protection settings above in a few clicks. Then change anything you like.
1
Choose the Admissions and appeals template
Pick “Admissions and appeals” from the template gallery when you set up FilePlan 365.
2
Use it straight away
Your application files, folders and document types are created for you, ready to start filing.
3
Make it your own
Rename folders, add your own document types, and set how long each is kept, to match your admissions arrangements and the School Admissions Code.
Find an application
Any application file in seconds
Start typing and FilePlan 365 shows matching applications straight away. No more hunting through folders or asking a colleague where something was saved.
1
Type a few letters
Search by application number, child’s name or school.
2
Narrow it down
Filter by school, year group, round or status if you need to.
3
Open the file
Click an application to see everything filed to it.
People only ever see the applications and documents they are allowed to see.
Advanced search
Answer questions across every application file
Tick a few options and FilePlan 365 finds every matching document across all your applications. Perfect for appeal hearings, the Schools Adjudicator and ombudsman complaints.
Appeal hearingEvery case statement for one school
Ombudsman complaintAll papers for one appeal
Admissions reviewEvery late application this round
Compliance, without the jargon
Protected and kept for the right time, automatically
FilePlan 365 uses the security and retention tools already in your Microsoft 365, known as Microsoft Purview. You decide the rules once, and they’re applied to every document.
Kept for the right time
Application files are kept for a year after admission, and appeal files for a year after the decision. Retention is applied automatically.
Only the right people can see it
Application documents are marked OFFICIAL. Medical and social evidence is marked OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE.
Children’s data stays inside
Documents containing children’s personal details can’t be shared outside your organisation.
These are example settings. You choose the labels and timescales that match your own policies.
Why teams choose FilePlan 365
Less time compiling bundles. More time on fair decisions.
One file per application
Application, evidence, offer and appeal, in one place.
Ready on submission
New applications arrive from your admissions system with their file set up.
Appeals without the scramble
Pull together the papers for a panel in seconds.
Deleted on time
Files are removed when they’re no longer needed, automatically.
Every application file.
Always in order.
Try the Admissions and appeals template free for 30 days, in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.
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