Decision details

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Social Care seeking approval of the admission arrangements for Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant, Junior, Primary and Secondary Schools for 2017/18.

(i)  To approve the Admissions Policies and the Published Admissions Numbers (PANs) for Community and Voluntary Controlled schools and the schemes for coordinating Primary and Secondary admissions for the school year 2017/18 as set out in appendices 1 to 5.

(ii)  To authorise the Service Director, Children and Families Services to take any action necessary to give effect to the admissions policies 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.

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.

The proposed policy is at Appendix 1. There are no changes from the 2016/17 arrangements.

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.