Agenda item

RESOLVED:

 

That Cabinet make the following recommendations to the Council on 9 February 2021.

 

Cabinet recommends that Council: 

Recommendation 1

That priority for children who have the school as their ‘nearest school’ is removed for the majority of community and voluntary controlled schools for 2022 admission, as indicated in Enclosure 5.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         It will ensure the local authority complies with a decision of the Schools Adjudicator

·         It will ensure that the admission arrangements for these schools comply with the School Admissions Code in regard to catchments

·         It will simplify the admission arrangements 

·         It will enable parents to better understand how their application will be considered

·         Analysis would indicate that this change will have no or minimal impact on the intake to each of these schools 

·         It will enable school specific criteria to remain where they already exist to accommodate feeder links

·         The final distance criterion will still exist which will enable remaining applicants to be prioritised based on the distance they live from the school, ensuring children who live closer to the school are allocated ahead of children who live further away

·         55% of academies, foundation, trust and voluntary aided schools do not give priority on the basis of ‘nearest school’

 

Recommendation 2

That a sibling link is introduced for Beauclerc Infant School with Chennestone Primary School for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         There was overall support for this change

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school

·         It would support families with more than one child as families with a sibling at Chennestone School would benefit from sibling priority for a place at Beauclerc Infant School

·         It would maximise the opportunity for families to keep children together or at schools with agreed links

 

Recommendation 3

That a sibling link is introduced for Horley Infant School with Yattendon School for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         There was overall support for this change

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school

·         It would support families with more than one child as families with a sibling at Yattendon School would benefit from sibling priority for a place at Horley Infant School

·         This proposal is in line with a separate proposal by the Governing Body of Yattendon School to introduce a reciprocal sibling link with Horley Infant School  

·         It would maximise the opportunity for families to keep children together or at schools with agreed links

 

 

 

Recommendation 4

That the Published Admission Number for Reception at Onslow Infant School is reduced from 90 to 60 for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school, having been requested by them

·         There will still be sufficient places for local children if the PAN is decreased

·         It would help the school maintain financial viability

·         It reflects what is currently being operated within the school

·         It will have no impact on children who are currently on roll at the school 

 

Recommendation 5

That the Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for September 2022 for all other community and voluntary controlled schools (excluding Onslow Infant School which is covered by Recommendation 4) are determined as they are set out in Appendix 1 to Enclosure 1.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         Most other PANs remain as they were determined for 2021 which enables parents to have some historical benchmark by which to make informed decisions about their school preferences for 2022 admission

·         The PAN for William Cobbett School has been increased from 50 to 60 to provide for consistent class sizes of 60 throughout KS2

·         The Education Place Planning team supports the PANs

 

Recommendation 6

That the aspects of Surrey’s admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for September 2022 for which no change has been consulted on, are agreed as set out in Enclosure 1 and its appendices.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The admission arrangements are working well

·         Surrey has undertaken to review the admission arrangements for the remaining eight schools which will still use ‘nearest school’ ahead of any consultation on the arrangements for 2023

·         The arrangements enable the majority of pupils to attend their nearest schools and in doing so reduce travel and support Surrey’s sustainability policies - this is still anticipated to be the case for 2022 admission, even with the changes proposed in Recommendations 1 to 5

·         The change highlighted in bold in Section 12 of Enclosure 1 has been made to add clarity to the arrangements and reflects existing practice

 

Recommendation 7

That the primary and secondary coordinated admission schemes that will apply to all schools for 2022 are agreed as set out in Enclosure 2. 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The coordinated schemes for 2022 are essentially the same as 2021 with dates updated

·         The coordinated schemes will enable the County Council to meet its statutory duties regarding school admissions

·         The coordinated schemes are working well

 

 

Recommendation 8

That Surrey’s Relevant Area is agreed as set out in Enclosure 3.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The local authority is required by law to define the Relevant Area for admissions

·         The Relevant Area must be consulted upon and agreed every two years even if no changes are proposed

·         Setting a Relevant Area ensures that any schools who might be affected by changes to the admission arrangements for other local schools will be made aware of those changes

·         No change has been made to Surrey’s Relevant Area since it was last determined in February 2019

 

 

The Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning explained that Surrey County Council was responsible for setting the admission arrangements for 91 community and voluntary controlled schools for 2022 and the coordinated schemes across education settings. This was an annual process for school admissions but detailed explanation of the considerations around the removal of “nearest school” designation were given and the requirement to respond to a decision on this from the office of the school’s adjudicator. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support explained that chatbots had been deployed on webpages to advise families on admissions arrangements. The Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning confirmed that the chatbots had been successful and were being assessed for deployment on the school transport webpages.

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Cabinet make the following recommendations to the Council on 9 February 2021.

 

Cabinet recommends that Council: 

Recommendation 1

That priority for children who have the school as their ‘nearest school’ is removed for the majority of community and voluntary controlled schools for 2022 admission, as indicated in Enclosure 5.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         It will ensure the local authority complies with a decision of the Schools Adjudicator

·         It will ensure that the admission arrangements for these schools comply with the School Admissions Code in regard to catchments

·         It will simplify the admission arrangements 

·         It will enable parents to better understand how their application will be considered

·         Analysis would indicate that this change will have no or minimal impact on the intake to each of these schools 

·         It will enable school specific criteria to remain where they already exist to accommodate feeder links

·         The final distance criterion will still exist which will enable remaining applicants to be prioritised based on the distance they live from the school, ensuring children who live closer to the school are allocated ahead of children who live further away

·         55% of academies, foundation, trust and voluntary aided schools do not give priority on the basis of ‘nearest school’

 

Recommendation 2

That a sibling link is introduced for Beauclerc Infant School with Chennestone Primary School for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         There was overall support for this change

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school

·         It would support families with more than one childas families with a sibling at Chennestone School would benefit from sibling priority for a place at Beauclerc Infant School

·         It would maximise the opportunity for families to keep children together or at schools with agreed links

 

Recommendation 3

That a sibling link is introduced for Horley Infant School with Yattendon School for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         There was overall support for this change

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school

·         It would support families with more than one child as families with a sibling at Yattendon School would benefit from sibling priority for a place at Horley Infant School

·         This proposal is in line with a separate proposal by the Governing Body of Yattendon School to introduce a reciprocal sibling link with Horley Infant School  

·         It would maximise the opportunity for families to keep children together or at schools with agreed links

 

 

 

Recommendation 4

That the Published Admission Number for Reception at Onslow Infant School is reduced from 90 to 60 for 2022 admission.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school, having been requested by them

·         There will still be sufficient places for local children if the PAN is decreased

·         It would help the school maintain financial viability

·         It reflects what is currently being operated within the school

·         It will have no impact on children who are currently on roll at the school 

 

Recommendation 5

That the Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for September 2022 for all other community and voluntary controlled schools (excluding Onslow Infant School which is covered by Recommendation 4) are determined as they are set out in Appendix 1 to Enclosure 1.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         Most other PANs remain as they were determined for 2021 which enables parents to have some historical benchmark by which to make informed decisions about their school preferences for 2022 admission

·         The PAN for William Cobbett School has been increased from 50 to 60 to provide for consistent class sizes of 60 throughout KS2

·         The Education Place Planning team supports the PANs

 

Recommendation 6

That the aspects of Surrey’s admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for September 2022 for which no change has been consulted on, are agreed as set out in Enclosure 1 and its appendices.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The admission arrangements are working well

·         Surrey has undertaken to review the admission arrangements for the remaining eight schools which will still use ‘nearest school’ ahead of any consultation on the arrangements for 2023

·         The arrangements enable the majority of pupils to attend their nearest schools and in doing so reduce travel and support Surrey’s sustainability policies - this is still anticipated to be the case for 2022 admission, even with the changes proposed in Recommendations 1 to 5

·         The change highlighted in bold in Section 12 of Enclosure 1 has been made to add clarity to the arrangements and reflects existing practice

 

Recommendation 7

That the primary and secondary coordinated admission schemes that will apply to all schools for 2022 are agreed as set out in Enclosure 2. 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The coordinated schemes for 2022 are essentially the same as 2021 with dates updated

·         The coordinated schemes will enable the County Council to meet its statutory duties regarding school admissions

·         The coordinated schemes are working well

 

 

Recommendation 8

That Surrey’s Relevant Area is agreed as set out in Enclosure 3.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The local authority is required by law to define the Relevant Area for admissions

·         The Relevant Area must be consulted upon and agreed every two years even if no changes are proposed

·         Setting a Relevant Area ensures that any schools who might be affected by changes to the admission arrangements for other local schools will be made aware of those changes

·         No change has been made to Surrey’s Relevant Area since it was last determined in February 2019