Agenda item

Admission Arrangements For Surrey's Community And Voluntary Controlled Schools For September 2023

Decision:

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet RECOMMENDS that County Council agree:

1. That priority for children who have the school as their ‘nearest school’ is removed from the admission criteria for Hurst Park Primary School, Langshott Primary School, Meath Green Infant School, Tillingbourne Junior School and Wallace Fields Junior School for 2023 admission, as indicated in Enclosure 1.

2. That a catchment area is introduced for Walton on the Hill Primary School for 2023 admission to replace ‘nearest school’, as set out in Enclosure 1 and Appendix 5.

3. That a nodal point to measure home to school distance is introduced for Reigate Priory School for 2023 admission, as set out in Section 8 of Enclosure 1.

4. That the Published Admission Number for Year 3 at West Ashtead Primary School is reduced from 30 to 2 for 2023 admission, as set out in Appendix 1 of Enclosure 1.

5. That a Published Admission Number of 4 is introduced for admission to Year 3 at Leatherhead Trinity Primary School for 2023 admission, as set out in Appendix 1 of Enclosure 1.

6. That a Published Admission Number of 2 is introduced for admission to Year 3 at Felbridge Primary School for 2023 admission, as set out in Appendix 1 of Enclosure 1.

7. That priority is given to children of a member of staff for entry to a nursery school for 2023 admission as set out in Section 20 of Enclosure 1.

8. That a supplementary information form is introduced for families applying on the basis of exceptional social/medical need for 2023 admission, as set out in Appendix 6 of Enclosure 1.

9. That the Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for September 2023 for all other community and voluntary controlled schools are determined as they are set out in Appendix 1 to Enclosure 1.

10. That the aspects of Surrey’s admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for September 2023 for which no change has been consulted on, are agreed as set out in Enclosure 1 and its appendices.

Reasons for decisions:

Recommendation 1:

· It will bring the admission criteria into line with the majority of other community and voluntary controlled schools

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

· 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

· Where children might be displaced, a place at an alternative local school will be available

· It will enable school specific criteria to remain for Wallace Fields Junior School which exists to accommodate a feeder link from Wallace Fields Infant School

· 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

· 86% of academies, foundation, trust and voluntary aided schools do not give priority on the basis of ‘nearest school’

· The change is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of Hurst Park Primary School, Langshott Primary School, Meath Green Infant School and Wallace Fields Junior School

· The change is not supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of Tillingbourne Junior School which is concerned at maintaining pupil numbers and serving the areas of Gomshall and Shere. However, with a projected deficit of Year 3 places across Tillingbourne Valley until 2026/27 and the projected forecasts for Godalming showing a surplus of Year 3 places for the foreseeable future, the local authority does not anticipate that the school will face a shortage of pupils nor that children from Godalming will displace children from Gomshall and Shere.

Recommendation 2:

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

· It will simplify the admission arrangements

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

· The introduction of a catchment is not anticipated to affect the pattern of admission to the school as it has been based on the catchment created by use of ‘nearest school’

· 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 outside catchment but closer to the school are allocated ahead of children who live further away

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

Recommendation 3:

· It will ensure the pattern of admission does not change if the school moves site

· It will ensure that families to the north of Reigate will still be served by the school if the school moves site

· Use of a nodal point to measure home to school distance is permitted by the School Admissions Code

· It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team

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

Recommendation 4:

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

· It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team

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

· It will help the school maintain financial viability as they will be able to operate with just one class in KS2

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

Recommendation 5:

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

· It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team

· It will help to offset the reduction in PAN at West Ashtead Primary School

· It will help to alleviate any pressure on places in Fetcham and Bookham

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

Recommendation 6:

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

· It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team

· It reflects what is currently being operated within the school

· It will ensure parents know that they can formally apply for a place in Year 3

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

Recommendation 7:

· It will align the criteria for entry to a nursery to that for Reception

· Priority for children of staff is permitted under the School Admissions Code

· The definition of children of staff is compliant with the Code

· It will help nurseries with staff recruitment and retention

· It will put community and voluntary controlled nurseries on an equal footing with those academies, foundation, free, trust and voluntary aided nurseries which already give priority for children of staff

Recommendation 8:

· It will ensure applicants can be guided through the process for applying on the basis of social/medical need

· It will enable applicants to understand what they need to provide to support their application

· It will enable applicants to declare details of their case in more detail than is allowed on the application form

Recommendation 9:

· Most other PANs remain as they were determined for 2022 which enables parents to have some historical benchmark by which to make informed decisions about their school preferences for 2023 admission

· The PAN for Oakwood School has been increased from 300 to 330 to provide additional capacity in Horley

· The Education Place Planning team supports the PANs

Recommendation 10:

· The admission arrangements are working well

· The local authority has undertaken to review the admission arrangements for the remaining two schools which will still use ‘nearest school’ ahead of any consultation on the arrangements for 2024

· The arrangements enable the majority of pupils to attend a local school and in doing so reduce travel and support Surrey’s sustainability policies

· The changes highlighted in bold in Section 7, Section 11, Section 12 and Section 16 of Enclosure 1 have been made to add clarity to the arrangements and reflect existing practice

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning introduced the report and explained that the Council was responsible for determining the admissions arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools by 28 February each year. That following the statutory consultation on arrangements for September 2023, changes were being recommended for specific schools. She highlighted the matters covered by ten recommendations. She noted that the Cabinet was asked to consider the consultation responses with recommendation to the Council for publication by 15 March 2022.