It may seem an odd time to be thinking about school admissions. However, for parents and schools alike, the annual admissions cycle is now getting underway.
Application Process
The application deadline for children starting secondary school or transferring to sixth form in 2018 is imminent – 31st October. Parents of children starting primary school or transferring to a different junior school have until 15th January to submit an application. Schools should check that the forms and policies are available via their school office and on their website (with working hyperlinks), and that any other website displaying their policy (local authority, diocese, academy trust) is displaying the correct version.
Academy Trusts and ‘own admission authority’ governing bodies also need to start planning their admissions policy for 2019-20. According to the School Admissions Code 2014:
Admission authorities must determine their admission arrangements annually.
Changes to increase the admission number or comply with mandatory requirements of the Code or Regulations can be made without consultation. Otherwise, admissions authorities must consult on changes; even if no changes are proposed, they must consult at least once every seven years. Any Supplementary Information Form forms part of the admission arrangements and must be included in the consultation.
Consultation
That consultation must be for a minimum of six weeks, between 1st October and 31st January, with parents (not just those already linked with the school), other admission authorities in the relevant area, the local authority, the relevant religious body (for church schools) and other interested persons. The consultation must be displayed on the website, but otherwise there is no specified format for the consultation. It could be as simple as displaying/sending a copy of the policy with a request for any comments by a given date, or could involve explaining proposed changes at consultation meetings with a questionnaire. Church schools should note that their own church body is likely to require consultation with the diocese before wider consultation takes place, and this will impact on the timing of your process.
Ideally, the governing body needs to agree a consultation draft before October half term to allow consultation to start before the end of the autumn term. The governing body then needs to meet after the consultation closes and determine the admissions arrangements by 28th February, notifying relevant bodies and publishing the policy on the website by 15th March.
For more information, please contact our education law specialists on 0800 024 1976