Decision details

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Change seeking approval of the admission arrangements for Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant, Junior, Primary and Secondary Schools for 2016/17

(i)  To approve the Admissions Policies and the Published Admissions Numbers (PANs) for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools; the schemes for coordinating Primary and Secondary admissions for the school year 2016/17 as set out in the appendices 1 to 5.

(ii)  To authorise the Director, People to take any action necessary to give effect to the admissions policy and to make any changes necessary to the admissions policies where required to give effect to any Acts, Regulations or revised Schools Admissions or School Admissions Appeals Codes or binding Schools Adjudicator, Court or Ombudsman decisions whenever they arise.

1.  The Local Authority has a statutory duty to determine the admission criteria annually and to ensure that all rising 5s have an allocated education place.

2.  The proposed policy is at appendix 1. There are no changes from the 2015/16 arrangements except for an expanded statement of the right of parents of summer born children – children born between 1 April and 31 August – to request that their child be educated in the following admissions round. This is a requirement of the School Admissions Code published 19 December 2014.

3.  Implementation of the policy is dependent on the following schemes:-

• Admissions Policy for Infant, Junior, Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form pupils to Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, see appendix 1
• Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, see appendix 2
• The coordinated scheme for entry to Infant/Primary Schools see appendix 3
• The coordinated scheme for entry to Junior Schools see appendix 4
• The coordinated scheme for entry to secondary schools see appendix 5

The only alternative option considered was to not determine local admission arrangements. This has been rejected because it would result in the imposition of admission arrangements upon local schools by the Secretary of State for Education.

None.