LATEST NEWS
Analysis of responses to the consultation on extending the period of objection to the schools adjudicator on determined admission arrangements
The Department has now published a report of an analysis of the comments and responses made to the consultation extending the period of objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Ministers considered the concerns raised and agreed to revise the end date to 31 July (rather than 21 August, which was consulted on). The new date will give local authorities enough time to prepare their composite prospectus with the details of any revised admission arrangements and give admission authorities enough time to respond to objections. The Regulations came into force on 28 May and affect admission arrangements for entry from September 2009. You can download a copy of the report here.
School Admissions Consultation
In the Children’s Plan, published in December 2007, Ministers committed to review the school application and allocation process. The Department recently launched a consultation which outlines proposed changes to make the admissions process for parents as fair, transparent and straightforward as possible. We would welcome your views on the proposed changes. The full consultation and supporting documents can be viewed in the consultation section. You can also download the Impact Assessment [pdf 5.24mb]
Appeal panels - support from local MPs and councillors
The Secretary of State has made clear that MPs are not prohibited from supporting their constituents by the Appeals Code. The Department for Children, Schools and Families intends to amend the Code, as part of the wider improvements to the admissions system, which will be consulted on in the early summer, to clarify that both MPs and local councillors can support parents at hearings as long as there is no conflict of interest.
Primary and Secondary School Admissions and Appeals: A Guide for Parents
This new guide for parents outlines the school admissions and appeals process: what parents can expect from the admissions system, how to object to unlawful arrangements, and how to find further information and support. If you wish to order a paper copy, details are available at the end of the digital copy.
You can download or order a copy of the document here
Strengthening the School Admission System
Ministers have laid a written ministerial statement before the House of Parliament following the examination and verification of the school admission arrangements for all schools in Barnet, Manchester and Northamptonshire. The full statement and the verified findings can be viewed below.
Explanatory note to the tables for the 3 LAs
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Draft Amendments to Education and Skills Bill
We have today published draft amendments to the Education and Skills Bill for consideration at Commons Report to a) require local authorities to report to the Schools Adjudicator on admission arrangements in their areas; b) extend the Adjudicator's powers so he can act where he considers any admission arrangements are not compliant with statutory requirements; and c) improve the consultation process on admission arrangements to ensure parents and communities can contribute to the development of admissions policies for their schools.
[PDF 22KB]
School Admissions Code
The School Admissions Code came into force on 28 February 2007 and applies to all maintained schools and Academies when setting their admission arrangements for September 2008 and subsequent years.
New School Admission Appeals Code and Regulations
The new School Admission Appeals Code was laid before Parliament on 16 November 2007 and came into force on 17 January 2008. It applies to appeals against decisions on admission sent to parents from 1 March 2008 onwards (so will include the secondary admissions round for September 2008 entry). The School Admission Appeals Code of Practice (published in 2003) will continue to apply to appeals against decisions on school admissions sent before 1 March 2008.
The Code applies to all maintained schools, including Trust Schools and Academies. Local authorities, governing bodies, admission authorities, admission forums, the schools adjudicator, admission appeal panel members and clerks to appeal panels are required to act in accordance with the Code when discharging their functions in relation to school admission appeals.
Copies of the Code will be sent to all local authorities, admission authorities, faith school organisations and other stakeholders by the middle of February. Those who require further copies need to purchase them from The Stationery Office (TSO) or download the Code either in pdf or word version from this website.
The Code is priced at £8 and is available to order from TSO by calling their order line on 0870 600 5522 or clicking this link to place orders online.
The Regulations can be viewed here
Admission Forum Reports
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 provides Admission Forums with a new power enabling them to produce an annual report on whether school admission arrangements support fair access, with recommendations for improvement. The Schools Commissioner will draw on the information when making his first biennial report to Parliament on fair access in Spring 2009.
To support existing regulations, the Department has now published an information note to clarify the report process. It can be accessed below.
The guidance builds on helpful contributions from a focus group of representatives from local authorities, Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), Forum chairs, diocesan representatives, Citizens Advice Bureau, teacher unions, and Foundation and Aided Schools National Association (FASNA).
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Information note on Admission Forum Reports [word 131kb]
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Forum Report Example Document 1 - the report [word 37kb]
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Forum Report Example Document 3 [word 53kb]
Collection of Data on Secondary Preferences Met
Following consultation, regulations have been laid before Parliament which will require local authorities to submit data to the Secretary of State on the number of secondary school applications made and offers met each year. Local authorities will be required to submit the data on National Offer Day each year, with the first data collection being 3 March 2008. The consultation report can be viewed on the Consultation pages. Guidance for local authorities on submitting the preference data is available from the downloads section above.
Please see the following link:
New Requirement on the Admission Authorities of Faith Schools to Consult their Religious Authority about their Admission Arrangements
Regulations came into force on 26 November 2007 which prescribe the religious authorities that the admission authorities of maintained faith schools must consult about their proposed admission arrangements by 1 March each year. This first applies to admission arrangements being set for entry in September 2009. The prescribed religious authorities can, once consulted, object to the Schools Adjudicator about determined admission arrangements at schools of their faith which they consider to be unfair or unlawful. They can also provide guidance to the admission authorities of schools of their faith on what objective processes and criteria may be used to determine whether a child is a member of, or practises, the faith.
The regulations can be viewed here. Please see also paragraphs 2.45-2.47 of the School Admissions Code.
Consultation on New Draft Regulations Launched (11th September – 3rd December 2007)
The consultation on new draft regulations has now closed. The Department will publish a summary of responses in the New Year.
School Admissions consultation
A summary of responses to the consultation on the School Admissions Code is now available for download.
Documents referred to in the School Admissions Code
Additional guidance on In-Year Fair Access Protocols (ref para 3.19 of the Code)
Sample supplementary information forms (ref Appendix 6, para 7 of the Code)
Managing compliance with the infant class size limit
Managing Compliance with the infant class size duty
(word version 106kb)
This guidance explains what the infant class size duty is, sets out the respective roles and responsibilities of Local Authorities and schools in monitoring and ensuring compliance with the duty, and provides clarification on issues which feedback identified as sources of misunderstanding.
Information Note on Banding
This information note on banding provides information for the admission authorities of maintained schools and Academies that are considering using pupil banding in allocating school places. It must be read in conjunction with the section on banding in the School Admissions Code.
This is the first in a series of information notes on oversubscription criteria which the Department is producing. Further notes will be made available on this website in due course
Enquiries can be emailed to school.admissions@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Admission of Children from Overseas
This is to remind all local authorities that parents from other countries who are living in the UK, whose children have accompanied them, may express a preference for their child to attend a maintained school under the normal admission arrangements as described in the School Admissions Code. This includes children of asylum seekers; parents who have a limited leave to enter or remain in the UK; and teachers coming to the UK with their children on a teacher exchange scheme (see paragraph 1.52 of the Code).
Different rules apply to those parents making an application from overseas for children to receive education in the UK. Further information on dealing with these applications can be found in paragraphs 1.54 to 1.60 of the Code.
This Home Office guidance will help local authorities with any queries they may have about applicants’ visas which state “no recourse to public funds”. In short, education (and health) do not count as public funds, but further queries about this should be directed to the Home Office.
