Making sense of the changes to the school admissions code

The new policies will ensure that school places are allocated fairly and that previous codes are no longer misused. To ensure your school is aware of the new changes, we have summarised them below. 

The consultation period

Consultation on the proposed changes took place from 26 June to 16 October 2020, with a variety of stakeholders invited to respond. These included all English local authorities, all schools and multi-academy trusts as well as other interested parties, such as faith and charitable organisations.

A total of 270 responses were received from organisations and of these, 118 were from local authorities and 73 from schools and academy trusts. The remaining 1,277 responses were from individuals.

How will the rules impact local authorities?

All local authorities now have to have a fair access protocol (FAP) in place to make sure school places can be found for vulnerable children, outside of the normal admission rounds.

Under the new policy, councils will also have to have a page on their website explaining how in-year admissions work. This page will have to be live by 31 October this year and by 31 August in future years. It’s hoped that this will make the process easier for parents to navigate and understand.

The DfE has not enforced ‘live’ information on place availability, however, the admissions authorities and councils that already have this IT capacity in place, should continue to provide the service.

Allocating school places

Schools will now have to allocate a place within a 20-day limit under the FAP. The government also aims to extend the categories of pupils who can be admitted via the FAP. This will include those falling into the ‘child in need’ or ‘child protection plan’ category, as well as children living in a refuge or emergency accommodation.

There will be a dedicated section in the admissions code for in-year admissions, along with a limit of 10 school days for making decisions over in-year applications.

The changes will also limit FAPs to children unable to secure places through the standard in-year admissions process, and only if they meet certain criteria. These include children in kinship care, temporary accommodation, looked after children and children classed as ‘in need’.

Clarifying the definition of challenging behaviour

Currently, admission authorities are able to refuse admission on the basis of challenging behaviour. However, it’s been highlighted that the code relating to this can sometimes be misused. The new policy has attempted to clarify how and when admission authorities may rely on this provision.

During the consultation period, 55 per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the decision to better define challenging behaviour for the purpose of admissions. A further 23 per cent were neutral and some raised concerns about how the definition would be applied consistently.

All schools and academies need to start complying with the updated School Admissions Code from September in order to avoid discriminating against any groups. The new policy ensures that school places for maintained schools and academies are allocated fairly.

These changes aim to improve support and increase understanding for those trying to navigate the admissions process.

To find out more about the policy changes, visit the link below.