Decision details

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Education and Change detailing the oversubscription criteria for community and voluntary controlled infant, junior, primary and secondary schools in the City. Also the coordinated schemes and timetables for the preschool to reception, infant or junior and primary to secondary phase transfer. It also details the proposed PANs (Published Admission Numbers) for community and voluntary controlled schools in the city for September 2015 entry.

(i)  To note the responses from the admissions consultation with Southampton Admissions Forum, schools, other relevant admission authorities, and the Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses.

(ii)  To approve the admissions policies and the published admission numbers (PANs) for community and voluntary controlled schools, including Bitterne Park selection by aptitude and 6^th form arrangements; the schemes for co-ordinating primary and secondary admissions for the academic year 2015-16 as set out in Appendices 1- 6;

(iii)  To authorise the People Director 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 Admissions or Admissions Appeals Codes or binding Schools Adjudicator. Court or Ombudsman decisions whensoever arising.

1. The Local Authority has a statutory duty to determine the admission criteria on an annual basis and ensure all rising 5’s have an allocated education place.
2. The proposed policy is at A.1. This has been consulted on and the responses are available at A. 2.
3. Implementation of the policy is dependent on these schemes:

·  admissions policy for Infant, Junior, Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form pupils to community and voluntary controlled schools, see appendix 1;

·  the outcomes of the annual consultation with school governing bodies and the relevant Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses, see appendix 2;

·  published admission numbers (PANS) for community and voluntary controlled schools, see appendix 3;

·  the co-ordinated scheme for year R entry to infant/primary schools see appendix 4;

·  the co-ordinated schemes for entry to junior school, see appendix 5;

·  the co-ordinated scheme for primary to secondary transfer, see appendix 6;

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

None