The policy and statutory framework for admissions to school Overview

5.3.1. School admission is one of the most controversial areas of education policy, since the allocation of pupils to schools has powerful implications for equal opportunity (Tough and Brooks 2007, West et al 2011). The school admissions process strongly affects the interests of children and parents, and the latter often report feeling a high degree of anxiety about the process (Coldron et al 2008, Lamb 2009). One reason for the increasing importance of the admissions system is the market-based reforms referred

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to earlier and the diversity in school provision which has resulted; the way in which school places are allocated in such a system is of central importance from the perspective of equity and social mobility (Feintuck and Stephens 2013). Much of the empirical literature on admissions has been concerned with assessing the extent to which local admission criteria and policies are lawful (Allen et al 2011; Morris 2014; West et al 2009;

West et al 2011) and whether the system promotes social justice (Green et al 2015).

5.3.2. Not surprisingly, the school admissions area is one which generates large numbers of individual disputes (Feintuck and Stephens 2013). There were 50,550 appeals for primary and secondary school places in 2013/ 2014 (Department for Education 2014, p.1). Of those, 36,965 appeals proceeded to a hearing (Ibid., p.1). The percentage of appeals decided in favour of the parents was 26.7% for secondary school places and 19.6% for primary school places (Ibid., pp.2-3). Taylor et al (2002) argue that the high volume of appeals which are lodged by parents are a symptom of market frustration, caused by an inability to satisfy parental demands. Another concern has been that the admissions appeal system facilitates access to school choice for well-educated middle class parents at the expense of others (Coldron et al 2002). Meanwhile both the LGO and the AJTC have issued guidance on good practice in admission appeals in response to concerns about the fairness of the process (LGO 2011, AJTC 2012a).

How the admissions system works

5.3.3. The statutory framework for school admissions is provided by Part III of the 1998 Act, regulations made under the Act, and statutory codes of practice issued by the Secretary of State. The period in which the fieldwork was completed was one of transition and, therefore, bureaucratic decision-makers were still conducting part of their work

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under regulations issued in 2008, in addition to using the new regulations issued in 2012 for their prospective work. In addition to the regulations, detailed guidance was provided to local authorities in the Schools Admission Code (the Admissions Code) and the School Admission Appeals Code (the Appeals Code).

5.3.4. The first step in the admissions process is the creation of admission policies (known as ‘admission arrangements’) by the admission authorities of individual schools. The body which carries out the role of admission authority varies depending on the type of school: for community and voluntary controlled schools it is the local authority, while for other types of schools it is the school’s governing body. The main purpose of school admission arrangements is to set out the criteria which will be applied to decide which children will receive a school place in cases where a school is oversubscribed. Each school is entitled to have its own admission arrangements and criteria (Office of the Children’s Commissioner 2014).

5.3.5. Once admission authorities have drawn up their admission arrangements, it is the local authority’s responsibility to coordinate the admissions process: they bring together the admission policies of individual schools and publish them within a single composite prospectus. Parents fill out a single application form, which asks them to list the schools they would like their child to attend in order of preference. The form is then submitted to the local authority. Where a parent has expressed a preference for a school and where the school is not oversubscribed, parental preferences must be met. However, where a school is oversubscribed, admission authorities must then apply the criteria in their admissions arrangements.

Once the criteria have been applied, local authorities are responsible for making an offer of a school place to children. ¹²

12 Parents may also apply for school places ‘in year’. Such applications might be due to children moving to a new locality or due to issues such as exclusion from school.

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5.3.6. Admission authorities are required to set up Independent Appeal Panels (IAPs) to hear appeals. IAPs are set up by the admission authorities against whom cases have been appealed i.e. local authorities or governing bodies depending on the type of school. Panels are composed of three members, one of whom must have experience of working in education and one of whom must be a lay member. Admission authorities have a duty to recruit and train panel members and to provide a clerk to administer hearings.

Once a parent lodges an appeal, they will be invited to attend an appeal hearing. In reaching a decision, IAPs must first consider whether the admission arrangements were lawful and properly applied and, assuming that is the case, must reach a decision on whether any prejudice to the school in admitting the child outweighs the prejudice that the child would suffer as a result of not being admitted. There is no right of appeal against the decisions of IAPs, although parents may make complaints to the LGO or apply for judicial review.

5.4. The policy and statutory framework for provision of home-to-school