LATEST NEWS
2008 Consultation on School Admissions
The report below outlines the 2008 public consultation on school admissions. It summarises the responses for each policy area and the Department's next steps.
Departmental response to 2008 admissions consultation
School Admissions Regulations 2008
Regulations to accompany the revised School Admissions and Appeals Codes can be viewed below:
The School Admissions (Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008
The Schools Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008
The School Admissions (Local Authority Reports and Admission Forums) (England) Regulations 2008
The Education (Admissions Appeals Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008
The School Information (England) Regulations 2008
Revised School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code
The revised School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code have been laid before Parliament. The Secretary of State has also issued a Written Ministerial Statement.
The revised Codes and Written Ministerial Statement can be downloaded here.
Revised School Admissions Code [451kb]
Revised School Admission Appeals Code [263kb]
Written Ministerial Statement [18kb]
New local consultation requirements for 2010-11 admission arrangements
You will be aware that we recently consulted on changes to the local consultation process for determining admission arrangements as part of the School Admissions Consultation 2008. To reduce the burden on schools and local authorities, and to improve engagement with parents and their communities, we sought responses to our proposals to require admission authorities to consult every three years (unless arrangements have changed from the previous year) and consult with relevant parents and other groups with an interest in the local area.
Over 70 per cent of respondents agreed that consultation should take place every three years and the Government has decided, subject to the successful passage of the Education and Skills Bill (currently progressing through Parliament), the revised School Admissions Code and The School Admissions (Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008, to go ahead with these proposals.
Every admission authority will have to consult on arrangements for admission in 2010. For that year, the consultation period will be for a minimum of eight weeks, and must be completed by 1 March 2009. The regulations will come into force in December 2008, and we want to provide admission authorities with sufficient notice to enable them to comply with the new consultation requirements. Different requirements apply from the 2011-12 admission arrangements, which are set out in the attached guidance.
Please also refer to the guidance for Q&A [pdf 20kb]
Coordinating In-year admissions from 2010-11
As you will be aware, we consulted on proposed changes to the way admissions are coordinated, and ministers have agreed to our proposals. This note is intended to give you advance notice of when the changes are expected to take effect, subject to the regulations being passed.
Schemes to coordinate applications for the normal year of entry for 2010-11 will need to be formulated by 1 January 2009 in the usual way and in accordance with the current requirements.
From 2010-11, local authorities will also be required in to coordinate in-year applications. This means any application received for the admission of a child to a relevant age group that is submitted on or after the first day of the school year of admission, or an application for the admission of a child to another age group. Schemes to do this will not need to be formulated until 1 January 2010 but will take effect from the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.
New regulations for coordinating all applications (for a normal admission round, late or in-year) from 2011-12 will also require new schemes to be formulated by 1 January 2010.
Choice Advice evaluation
An evaluation carried out by Sheffield Hallam University has concluded that, as part of a broader set of initiatives, Choice Advice has an important role to play in ensuring the admissions system is fair for all. Choice Advice - an Evaluation is available at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/.
School Adjudicator’s Report
Ministers have placed a written ministerial statement before parliament following the publication of the School Adjudicator's Annual Report which can be viewed at www.schoolsadjudicator.gov.uk.The full statement can be viewed below:
Written Ministerial Statement [pdf 14kb]
Managing compliance with the infant class size limit
Guidance to schools and local authorities on managing compliance with infant class size legislation has been revised. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class taught by one teacher to 30. However, the January 2008 School Census showed that 0.4 per cent of infant classes were unlawfully large. Discussions with the local authorities and schools involved suggest that, in some cases, large classes are a result of misunderstanding the legal requirements. We have, therefore, updated and clarified the guidance in Managing Compliance with Infant Class Size Legislation [pdf 57kb]
Analysis of responses to the consultation on extending the period of objection to the schools adjudicator on determined admission arrangements
The Department has published a report of an analysis of the comments and responses made to the consultation on 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) to 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.
[PDF 39KB]
[PDF 485KB]
[PDF 11KB]
[PDF 669KB]
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]
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.
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)
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.
MOD Command Paper, The Nation's Commitment
Cross-government support to our armed forces, their families and veterans
The MOD command paper is designed to end any disadvantage to service families incurred by being required to move frequently.The command paper includes measures from the Department to reduce or remove any disadvantage. Since the command paper was published in July 2008, the MOD has asked each department to produce a fact sheet setting out the steps being taken to help service families.
