School places loopholes targeted

The code strives to make admissions fairer for all

Ministers have moved to close loopholes that have let popular state schools in England select pupils by the back door.

An audit of arrangements in schools had found that more than half which set their own admissions were in breach of the existing admissions code.

Arrangements deemed too complex can now be torn up by the admissions watchdog, the Schools Adjudicator.

And practices that allow schools to find out about parents' social backgrounds have also been outlawed.

These include asking for long-form birth certificates that show the profession of the applicants' parents, and the practice of councils requiring parents to return application forms direct to schools.

School ethos

From next year, parents need only apply to their home local authority for a school place - even if one of their choices is a school in another council area.

And national closing dates for both primary and secondary applications will be set so that the system is simpler and more uniform.

Interviews of parents are already banned but parents can meet staff to discuss options and often attend open days and go on school visits.

Some of the tweaks to the existing code are aimed at faith schools, many of which control their own admissions.

So there will be limits on how much the school can ask of parents in terms of following the "ethos of the school".

Schools will be allowed to advise parents of their ethos during the admissions process but they cannot ask parents to sign up to specified activities, such as becoming more active in the local church.

No gradations

A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: "The school cannot ask or demand that a parent effectively becomes a lay person in the church - that's essentially what a lot of schools were doing.

"There can't be gradations of being Catholic, for example, you are either Catholic or you are not."

Faith schools must now ask a religious authority, independent of the school, to confirm whether someone is a member of or practices the specified faith, rather than assessing it themselves.

Other changes include:

ensuring admissions authorities engage with parents and the community over their policy
improving the information for parents
making admissions forums more representative
giving priority for state boarding school places to children of armed forces personnel
ensuring information about school catchment areas is clearly published before applications are made
stopping schools taking into account reports from previous schools and nurseries
governors will have no discretion over admission of children with statements of special educational needs

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said: "It is my intention that the measures set out in this revised code will ensure parents are listened to and their views shape school policies.

"They will also enable schools to have a balanced and representative intake that reflects the local community and enables them to be a community resource, raising standards in all schools, not just a few."

Appeals

The admission appeals code is also being strengthened, with MPs or councillors being allowed to represent parents at appeal hearings.

And schools which control their own admissions are being urged to contract out the administration of appeals against refusal of a place.

Schools Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said this would ensure parents got a fair hearing.

She said: "It is vital that parents have an independent and transparent system which they have full confidence in and it is vital that school staff in very popular schools are not weighed down with the burden of appeals."

The rules were tightened after an audit found breaches of the code in half of schools which set their own admissions.

These were primarily the 3,500 faith schools, foundation schools and academies in England.