(FOI 8753) APPENDIX 1

CHILDRENAND YOUNG PEOPLE SERVICES
Report toDirectorate Management Team
Title: / DfE proposed changes to the School Admissions Code : consultation document
Date of meeting: / 18 September 2014
For:
/
Decision
Report of:
/
David Atkins
Does the author wish to attend the meeting for this item?Yes

1

G:\Learners Support\Admissions\Karen Oxer\Complaints\FOIs & Media\FOI 8753 Summer borns\Appendix 1 DMT DfE Admissions Consultation 2014.doc

/ REPORT TO
DMT
TO BE HELD ON
18 September 2014
Strategic
Theme: / Please specify / Key Decision
Forward Plan Ref No / NO
Relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee(s) / Children and Young People / Portfolio / Children and Young People

REPORT OF:

WARDS AFFECTED: All

1. / SUBJECT:
Proposed changes to the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Admissions Code : consultation document.
2. / PURPOSE OF REPORT
2.1 / To provide an overview of the Local Authority’s response to the consultation on the DfE’s School Admissions Code.
3. / RECOMMENDATION(S)
3.1 / That DMT
  • review the response
  • approve submissionof the response to the DfE by 29 September 2014.

4. / WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE DISTRICT’S PEOPLE?
4.1 / The LA’s School Admission Arrangements promote the effective admission to school of all children and ensures the LA meets its legal duty to formulate and determine its admission arrangements, giving priority to children who are considered to be vulnerable.
5. / BACKGROUND INFORMATION
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7 / The Department for Education (DfE) is considering the School Admissions Code 2012 and the relevant accompanying regulations.
Their overarching aim is to improve the fair and open allocation of places in maintained schools and academies, and to support social mobility by allowing admissions authorities to give priority for school places to disadvantaged children. In addition they propose to make a number of minor technical changes to the current Code regarding the timetable for setting admission arrangements, clarifying the admission of summer born children and widening the responsibilities for Looked After Children.
Due to the limited timescale of the consultation the DfE is not seeking views on wider changes to other elements of the Code but has aimed their consultation at these specific changes only.
Pupil and Service Premium Pupil in State-Funded Schools
Pupil Premium is additional funding provided to schools to support disadvantaged pupils from Reception to Year 11. Service Premium is separate grant monies paid to schools to support children whose parents are currently serving in the Armed Forces.
The specific changes proposed are:
  • introduce a new provision permitting admission priority for children attracting the pupil and service premium; and
  • retain the prohibition of schools seeking parent’s financial or occupational status in the admissions process however to exempt information from children attracting pupil and service premiums
Currently only academies, through their funding arrangements, have freedoms to prioritise their admission policies in this way. These changes would allow all state funded schools such options. There would be no legal requirement for admission authorities to include such a priority but would have the freedom if they so wished. Any changes to current policies would have to be consulted on in-line with the Code.
Early Years Pupil Premium, Pupil Premium and Service Premium Pupils in Nurseries
The proposed changes will enable admission authorities of primary schools to give priority to children eligible for the early years pupil premium, pupil premium or service premium who attend a nursery that is part of the school.
The specific changes proposed are:
  • include the changes to allow early years pupil premium, the pupil premium or service premium to be prioritised in admission policies in-line with the provisions in section 5.2 above;
  • introduce a new provision permitting admission priority for children eligible for early years pupil premium, the pupil premium or service premium who attend a nursery which is part of the school;
  • retain the prohibition of schools seeking parent’s financial or occupational status in the admissions process however to exempt optional childcare charges paid to the school’s nursery by parents where children from the nursery are given priority for admission to Reception.
There is no requirement on admissions authorities to undertake these changes but the DfE wishes to give schools the freedoms if they so wish. The DfE hopes the changes could give stability and continuity of education for those in need of such stability and wishes more schools to set-up nurseries and expand their age range.
In terms of the DfE proposals regarding children eligible for pupil premium, early years pupil premium and service premium these are not mandatory and will be considered in future as the LA set its annual admissions policy.
The earliest that any changes could be implemented would be the 2016/17 academic year.
Admission timetable and Schools Adjudicator
Each year admission authorities must set their admissions policies for the following academic year. There is a set timetable and guidance on how this is undertaken which includes recourse to the School’s Adjudicator. The DfE wishes to change this timetable to give the School’s Adjudicator more time to consider any representations.
The specific changes include:
  • Bringing forward the date by which objections about school’s admissions arrangements must be made to the school’s adjudicator from 30 June to the 15 May.
  • Change the timing of the annual admissions policy consultation process from 1 November to 1 March to 1 October to 31 January and also reduce the public consultation period from 8 to 6 weeks.
  • Bring forward the deadline for schools to determine their admission arrangements from 15 April to 28 February
  • Bring forward the deadline for LAs to notify the Secretary of State whether they have secured the adoption of a co-ordinated scheme from 15 April to 28 February
  • Bring forward the deadline for admission authorities to send a copy of their determined arrangements to their LA from 1 May to 15 March
  • Where the School's Adjudicator rules that admission arrangements are unlawful, admission authorities to amend their arrangements within two months of the ruling.
The DfE hopes that these provisions will give the School’s Adjudicator more time to consider objections and unlawful admission arrangements in the summer term prior to parents applying at the beginning of the following academic year.
Clarification on the provisions relating to the admission of summer born children.
Schools are required to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday, but children do not reach compulsory education until after their fifth birthday. Children born in the summer term, therefore, are not required to start school until a full year after the point at which they could first start.
A parent may choose not to send their summer born child to school until they have reached compulsory school ie Year 1, however, they can also request that they start in Reception. The DfE has clarified how to deal with the application from parents to start in the Reception year group, a “year behind”.
The specific changes include:
  • Clarify the circumstances which the admission authority should take in account when making their decision to admit a summer born child to Reception rather than Year 1;
  • Require admission authorities to take into account the views of the Headteacher;
  • Require admission authorities to set out clearly for parents the reasons for their decision
  • Require the admission authority to deal with the application as part of the normal admission round along with all other applications.
The DfE’s aim of the new proposals is to ensure clarity for both parents and admissions authorities when dealing with this specific issue and gives a better process for dealing with such requests.
Admission of Previously Looked After Children
Ensuring the highest priority for admission applies to all children who have been adopted from local authority care by giving a wider definition which is in-line with legislation and DfE policy.
The LA’s Admissions Policy is already give priority to this wider definition of the LAC and previously LAC.
Minor Technical Changes
The Code will also be amended to include a number of minor technical drafting changes. These include:
  • Clarify that only own admission authority schools can receive in-year applications direct;
  • Clarify definitions of boarding and day places, what aptitude testing entails and change SEN statement references to the new Education, Health and Social Care Plans;
  • Strengthen the need for sixth form admissions to comply with the Code; and
  • Clarify the links in the Code to religious activities.
;
These changes will not introduce any new policy changes, but are intended to provide additional clarity.
6. / OPTIONS APPRAISAL
6.1 / That DMT review the response and agree for it to be sent to the DfE.
6.2 / That DMT do not agree for the response to be sent to DfE
7. / STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
7.1 / The LA’s school admissions policy supports the implementation of the Children and Young Peoples Performance Framework and meets the legal requirements of the Department for Education’s School Admissions Code of Practice.
8. / ENGAGEMENT
8.1 / Due to the short timescale of the DfE’s consultation and the fact that for the majority of this timescale schools were closed for their summer breaks the LA has not incorporated school’s views. However, schools have been made aware of the consultation and have been asked to respond direct to the DfE if they so wish.
The LA has arranged to meet with the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Authorities on the 12 September 2014 to discuss the consultation, however, due to the timescales involved the LA’s response does not reflect this meeting.
9. / CORPORATE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 / Financial Implications
N/A
9.2 / Legal Implications
N/A
9.3 / Equality Implications
N/A
9.4 / Information Governance Implications
N/A
9.5 / Other implications
N/A
10. / RECOMMENDATION(S)
10.1 / That DMT agree with option 6.1 and:
  • review the response;
  • add further comment as appropriate and
  • approve submission of the response to DfE

11. / REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION(S)
11.1 / Responses are required by DfE by 29thSeptember.

Service Director:Carly Speechley

Contact Officer:Dave Atkins

Team Manager – Learner Support Services

School Organisation, Sufficiency and Information

Children and Young People’s Service

Telephone No:01924 305620

E-mail address:

Appendix

Consultation Response

Consultation Response Form
Consultation closing date: 29 September 2014
Your comments must reach us by that date
Changes to the School Admissions Code

1

G:\Learners Support\Admissions\Karen Oxer\Complaints\FOIs & Media\FOI 8753 Summer borns\Appendix 1 DMT DfE Admissions Consultation 2014.doc

If you would prefer to respond online to this consultation please use the following link:

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes, primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

If you want all, or any part, of your response to be treated as confidential, please explain why you consider it to be confidential.

If a request for disclosure of the information you have provided is received, your explanation about why you consider it to be confidential will be taken into account, but no assurance can be given that confidentiality can be maintained. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department.

The department will process your personal data (name and address and any other identifying material) in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and in the majority of circumstances, this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

/ Please tick if you want us to keep your response confidential.
/ Reason for confidentiality:
/ Name:
/ Please tick if you are responding on behalf of your organisation.
/ X
/ Name of Organisation (if applicable): Wakefield Council
/ Address:
Wakefield One, Burton Street, Wakefield, WF1 2EB

If your enquiry is related to the DfE e-consultation website or the consultation process in general, you can contact the Ministerial and Public Communications Division by email: or by telephone: 0370 000 2288 or via the department's 'Contact Us' page.

Please mark one box that best describes you as a respondent, and/or the type of organisation in which you have an interest.


/ Parent/Carer /
/ Maintained school /
/ Representative of childcare or early years intermediary organisation

/ Academy/free school /
/ Teacher /
/ SEN provider

/ Nursery or other pre-school provider / / X
/ Local authority /
/ Early years professional

/ Other
/ Please Specify:

1 Please use the box provided to comment on the proposal to allow all state-funded schools to give priority in their admission arrangements to children eligible for pupil premium or service premium funding (see section 2 of the summary document).

/ Comments:
Agree
This would bring parity between all state funded schools and bring maintained schools in line with Academies. The LA welcomes this proposal is not mandatory as it will allow all admission authorities the option to choose and shape their admissions policy.
However, the LA is concerned that parents may be able to secure a place at a school but not be able to transport them there.
Whilst the LA understands that it has a responsibility to provide transport to primary aged children on FSM this is however only to the 3 nearest qualifying schools. This is not great distances and is very specific. The LA is concerned that parents will not realise that our obligations in so far as School Admissions and home to school transport are concerned only extends so far and not beyond this limit. The LA is concerned that parents will secure a school place and not fully understand the transport implications for their child.
This may also be the case for academies who will need to understand the distances that parents may have to travel. If this option is legislated for then admission authorities should be asked to consider any transport implications before changing their policies.

2 Please use the box provided to comment on the proposal to allow admission authorities of primary schools to give priority in their admission arrangements to children eligible for the early years pupil premium, pupil premium or service premium who attend a nursery which is part of the school (see section 3). This includes removing barriers to schools offering optional wrap-around childcare by ensuring any charges paid by parents for such childcare would not prevent their children from being prioritised.

/ Comments:
Disagree.
The LA is concerned that this proposal could have a significant impact on PVI providers.
Allowing schools to give priority admission to children in their nursery who receive Early Years Pupil Premium, Pupil Premium or Service Premium will be a huge incentive to parents to send their child to the school to guarantee a place in reception
More worryingly, the consultation says, 'In addition it is hoped that the proposed changes encourage more schools to set up nurseries and expand latent capacity to provide more high-quality early education.
The LA suggests that the proposal in Q1 be expanded to include early years pupil premium and not be linked to children who attend a school’s nursery.

3 Please use the box provided to comment on the proposal to create a rolling deadline for admission authorities to comply with a determination of the schools adjudicator (see section 4).

/ Comments:
Agree.
This proposal gives clarity and clear expectations to all admission authorities with very specific deadlines for action. Previous guidance meant that it could take up to 18 months for an admission authority to implement judgements from the School’s Adjudicator.

4 Please use the box provided to comment on the proposal to bring forward the deadlines for objections, determinations and publication of admission arrangements; and to change the timing and length of consultations (see section 4).

/ Comments:
Not sure.
Whilst the LA generally welcomes this proposal it is aware that many admission authorities use the first half of the autumn term for their Governing Bodies to consider any changes to their admissions policy prior to any public consultation.
This proposal will push the setting of a school’s admissions policy into the summer term of the previous year and place schools/ LAs under pressure and extend the process to nearly 18 months prior the admissions round.
The LA questions as to whether the DfE should instead consider reducing the consultation period from 6 weeks to 4 weeks or bringing the deadline for the determination of admission arrangements from 15 April to 15 March rather than 28 February.

5 Please use the box provided to comment on the proposals relating to the admission of summer born children (see section 5).

/ Comments:
Agree.
The DfE’s proposal clarifies further a very emotive subject with parents.
The current Code is not clear and the DfE provided further guidance last summer which helped both schools/LAs and parents. The proposed changes makes this issue even clearer.

6 Please use the box provided if you have any comments on the proposed minor technical drafting changes (see section 7 and Annex B).