Admission & Appeals
Guidance on Admissions to Church Schools
Officer to consult for admissions and appeals: Chris Shelley
The responsibility for setting admissions criteria in a Voluntary Aided school rests with the governing body. In Voluntary Controlled schools the Local Authority (LA) is the admissions authority.
Admission Policies
Aided schools are now required to consult with the Board of Education before going to statutory consultation. Policies should be sent to Chris Shelley at Church House. Schools will not normally need to consult for the following two years if they have undertaken consultation for the admission year 2010 and are not proposing to make any changes to their determined policy.
However, in order to better assist schools with the ever-changing admissions scene schools should send a copy of their proposed policy to Chris before the end of October each year, together with any supplementary information form that they use. This policy will be for the admissions round commencing in the Autumn of the second year ahead. e.g. October 2010 for 2012 admissions round.
The document, Membership of Churches Together in Greater Manchester and Locally, indicates the range of churches to be considered when applications are received for admission on the grounds of church attendance.
School Admissions Code of Practice
The Government introduced a new Code of Practice in February 2010. This Code applies to all admissions from September 2010. Download the Code here.
Coordinated Admissions
Details are set out in The School Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission
Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2008 which is available at www.legislation.gov.uk
Coordinated admission is the government statutory initiative which provides an easier process for allocating each child a place at either a primary or secondary school. Voluntary aided schools will still retain their admissions role but the LA is responsible for contacting parents with the offer of a school place. This now applies to in-year applications as well. Aided schools are advised to liase with their LAs so that the most efficient method of ensuring parents have the appropriate information can be achieved. Copies of your Local Authority Scheme will be published on the LA website.
Please contact Chris Shelley for any further information.
PDF Resources
- Primary Admissions Guidance 2010
- Secondary Admissions Guidance 2010
- Membership of Churches Together in Greater Manchester and Locally
Appeals
School Admission Appeals Code of Practice
A new Code of Practice came into force in 2009. Download the code here.
Appeals Panels
Aided school governing bodies are responsible for setting up independent appeals panels, including advertising for and training panel members. In practice most LAs will undertake this work for the schools.
School Admission Appeal arrangements should be as simple and clear as possible. Training is available to schools on the appeals process and the organization and presentation of the school’s case. Contact Chris Shelley for further information and advice.
Useful links
