Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. This paper is to inform the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services on the need to formally adopt the in-year co-ordinated admissions scheme for academic year 2010/2011. Formulation of the scheme must take place before 1 January 2010. All applications, made outside the main admission rounds, for places at maintained schools in Hampshire County Councils administrative area will be processed applying the scheme; applications from HCC residents to non-Hampshire schools also fall under the scheme.

1.2. This paper also advises the Lead Member of the consultation carried out, following advice from Hampshire's Admissions Forum, with schools regarding the in-year co-ordinated scheme for admission during 2010/2011 and the statutory framework around determining school admission arrangements, particularly the recent changes to legislation affecting in-year admissions.

1.3. The recommendation is that the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) approves the adoption of:

· the in-year co-ordinated scheme for admission to school in academic year 2010/2011 (Appendix A).

2. Contextual information

2.1. The County Council is the admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools within Hampshire; in previous years the policy for admissions was set by the Council and administered in schools for all admissions outside the main admissions round. New legislation, The School Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008 (Statutory Instrument 3090) requires the authority to formulate an in-year scheme for the first time by 1 January 2010 to be effective from September 2010. All maintained schools must participate in the scheme and it is a requirement that academies must also be part of the scheme.

2.2. In Hampshire there are thought to be in excess of 6000 in year admissions in each academic year (equivalent to approximately 150 admissions each week of the school year). The demand is consistent throughout the year with higher numbers of children starting in a new school at the start of each term. Some new starters are children moving between schools without moving home, others have moved house and it follows that they would aim to find a new school place.

2.3. Previously main round admissions have been subject to co-ordination; the new legislation requires that the following elements must be part of an in-year scheme. The scheme will comprise these elements:

· Applicants to use their home LA's application form only. (Non-Hampshire residents to obtain an application form from their home LA.)

· A single application form for all schools. Parents must make only one application per child needing a place. Available to Hampshire residents on-line, from the County Admissions Team or HCC schools.

· Where an academy, voluntary aided, voluntary controlled, foundation or trust school requires additional information to determine the correct admission category, for example, proof of regular or occasional church worship, a supplementary information form (SIF) may be used in conjunction with the above form. SIFs to be available on-line, from the County Admissions Team or the individual school.

· The opportunity to select up to three preferred schools.

· All offer/refusal letters regarding Hampshire residents to be sent out by the County Admissions Team.

· Full cross-border co-ordination.

· Admission authority schools will consider all applications passed to them through the co-ordinated scheme. They must advise the outcome of the application to HCC only. Admission authority schools cannot consider applications that have not been made through Hampshire's co-ordinated scheme.

2.4. To prepare for the new requirements and processes the authority made a bid to School's Forum to secure sufficient funding to trial the new approach. Using that limited experience the authority has compiled, following advice from Hampshire's Admissions Forum and after consultation with all schools, the proposed scheme. The authority must have regard to the Forum's advice.

2.5. Consultations with schools, neighbouring local authorities and parents have been carried out in the Autumn Term; the focus of the consultation was as follows;

· Using the Schools communication process the authority shared the intended scheme drawing school's attention to the compulsory elements

· Schools were asked to draw parents' attention to the consultation.

· Following specific requests by Hampshire's Admissions Forum asked for school's views on the particular questions raised on Appendix B.

2.5 There were proportionally few responses to the consultation (less than 7%), i.e. 35 schools of which 8 were Aided or Foundation schools. Schools had been asked whether or not they agreed with particular proposals for the four elements of the scheme that are detailed in Paragraph 2.6.. Whilst, for instance, 16 schools disagreed with the proposal, Forum noted the low response rate.

2.6. The schools' replies led to the following particular recommendations from the Forum.

· The timescale for making offers was agreed as 10 days from the receipt of application.

· The timescale for support being provided for pupils and schools to enable more complex admissions was agreed as three weeks.

· The preferred approach is for parents to expressly place their child's name on a school's waiting list following refusal. However, Forum asked that the authority provide an administrative `window' whereby recent applicants that have been refused a place are treated as though they are `on the list' to allow time for the processing of post. After the specified time following refusal has elapsed the pupil's name will be taken from the list unless the parent's have provided for the authority, in writing, their intention for the child to be added to the list.

· The agreed timescale for own admission authority schools to inform the authority of their decision is 2 schools days.

The formulated scheme (Appendix A)for adoption includes all the recommended elements.

3. Finance

3.1. Following a successful bid to Hampshire's School's Forum for new funding extra staffing resource has been secured to meet these new statutory requirements.

3.2. Many modifications to the existing IT systems are needed. The necessary system update is a major change, Hampshire's IT Services and the commercial software supplier have already begun the project for change, The final system will take account of many local authorities' needs and so there is a possibility that the eventual system will not closely match the Hampshire business process.

4. Performance

4.1. The authority must manage the change from having a system that was mostly carried out in schools following a policy set at the centre to one where the authority applies its own policy in collaboration with schools. This significant change must be achieved whilst balancing the best interests of children and the expectation that all schools will play their part in a fair in year admissions system. This will provide a major challenge.

5. In year co-ordination between local authorities.

5.1. A key feature of the scheme is the requirement that the home authority handles applications and co-ordinates (with the other authority) the process in the event that a family's application states a preference for a school in another authority's administrative area.

5.2. Other authorities will define within their scheme a different process for handling applications that may not complement the process of any other authority. This may lead to a delay in handling an application.

6. Recommendation(s)

[NB: Recommendations will be the same as `the decision' on the proposed Executive Decision Record.]

6.1. That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) approve the adoption of the proposed in year co-ordinated admission scheme.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

NB: If the `Other significant links' section below is not applicable, please delete it.

Other Significant Links

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. No adverse impact in regard to race, culture, gender or disability arising from this report has been identified. However, to ensure that the admission arrangements do allow for the best interests of all children to be properly taken into account when applying the published policy an equality impact assessment is being undertaken.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. N/A

3. Climate Change:

3.1. N/A