Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children’s Services.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families.

Following public consultation held between November 2022 and January 2023, Cabinet is asked to determine the admission arrangements for admission to community nursery, primary, junior and secondary schools and to St Aidan’s Voluntary Controlled school and for sixth form admission for the year 2024/25.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families introduced the report which outlines the proposed admission arrangements for the school year 2024/25, in respect of the borough’s community and voluntary controlled (VC) schools.  On 8 November 2022, the Cabinet agreed that statutory consultation should be carried out on the proposed admission arrangements between 25 November 2022 and 6 January 2023.  The report outlines details and analysis of the representations received on admission arrangements, and makes recommendations based on these.

In response to questions from Councillor Cawley-Harrison, the following information was provided:

-           A reduction in school rolls could have an impact on the methodology of allocating school places.  A fuller response on the methodologies used and consideration for future allocations would be provided to Councillor Cawley-Harrison outside of the meeting.

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RESOLVED

1.      To consider and take into account the feedback from the consultation undertaken which is set out in appendix 8 and a summary included from para. 7.1 – para. 7.6 of this report.

1.         To consider and take into account the equalities impact assessment of the proposals on protected groups at appendix 7.

2.         To agree the recommendation set out in this report to proceed with the proposal to reduce the published admission number (PAN) for the 8 primary schools listed in table 1 below by one form of entry (1FE) – 30 Reception pupils each from September 2024.

3.         To determine the Council’s admission arrangements for the academic year 2024/25 as set out in Appendices 1 – 4.

4.         To agree Haringey’s fair access protocol as set out in Appendix 5 to come into force from 1 March 2023.

5.         To agree that the determined arrangements for all maintained primary and secondary schools in the borough are published on the Council’s website by 15 March 2023 with an explanation of the right of any person or body, under the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) Regulations 2012, to object to the Schools Adjudicator in specified circumstances^[1]. 

Reasons for decision

In common with many London authorities, Haringey has experienced a decrease in demand for reception school places for several years. This is due, in part, to the turbulence brought about by Covid-19 and Brexit. However, the decrease in applications is likely to reflect a wider set of factors at play that have been impacting demand for primary reception places for the past few years.

Following years of rising demand due to the growth in Haringey’s population, Haringey is in a position of needing to reduce capacity because of a flattening birth rate and a higher than projected increase in out-migration. This has contributed to a higher than necessary number of reception places in some of Haringey’s educational planning areas where supply is predicted to outstrip demand.

This report sets out our response to the change in demand for reception places in the borough and seeks agreement from Cabinet to proceed with the proposal to reduce the published admission number (PAN) for the 8 primary schools listed in table 1 below by one form of entry (1FE) – 30 Reception pupils each from September 2024.

Background information

The School Admissions Code 2021 requires all admission authorities to determine admission arrangements every year, even if they have not changed from previous years. Regulation 17 of the School Admissions Regulations 2012 also requires admission authorities to determine admission arrangements by 28 February in the determination year.

In addition, the Regulations require the admission authority to publish on its website by 15 March in the determining year the determined arrangements of all maintained primary and secondary school and academies in the borough, advising the right to object to the Schools Adjudicator, where it is considered that the arrangement do not comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code 2021.

The Council consults on its admission arrangements annually irrespective of whether or not there is a proposed change to the arrangements. This is to ensure transparency and openness on the contents of the admission arrangements and to allow all stakeholders to make representations which can then be considered as part of the determination of the arrangements.