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Academies could give priority on places to poorest Academies could give priority on places to poorest
(about 2 hours later)
  
Academies and free schools in England may be allowed to give priority to the poorest pupils when allocating places, under a new proposed admissions code.Academies and free schools in England may be allowed to give priority to the poorest pupils when allocating places, under a new proposed admissions code.
The rules, published for consultation, also make it easier for schools to expand and allow them to give priority to teachers' children. The rules, published for consultation, also allow all schools to give priority to teachers' children.
The government will also consider allowing free schools to give priority to their founders' children. The government said it wanted a simpler, fairer code and it would let good schools expand more easily.
There had been warnings that changes could water down the code. But teaching unions warned this would "create another generation of haves and have-nots".
The admissions code covers the controversial issue of school entry, particularly the basis on which places are allocated in popular, oversubscribed schools. The admissions code covers the controversial issue of school entry to all state schools, particularly the basis on which places are allocated in popular, oversubscribed schools.
Apart from grammar schools, state schools are not allowed to select on the basis of academic ability. School admissions remain highly competitive in some areas, with one in seven pupils failing to get a place at their first choice of secondary school this year.
But in many cases they give priority to families living within a certain distance of the school, prompting better-off parents to buy homes near popular schools. There are also concerns about a shortage of primary school places in the next few years in some areas, with London predicting a shortfall of about 70,000 over the next four years.
However, children eligible for free school meals - those whose parents earn less than £16,000 a year - could be given priority under the proposed changes, which will go out to consultation. 'Sharp-elbowed parents'
But this would apply only to "free schools" set up by parents and community groups under the government's flagship programme, and academies, which are state schools operating outside local authority control. Education Secretary Michael Gove said the old code, which was 130 pages long, was "bureaucratic and unfair".
Schools would not be forced to prioritise in this way and would have to consult the local community first if they wanted to, the Department for Education (DfE) said. The new version is just 50 pages, and includes a range of changes he said would help "give all children the chance of world-class schools".
A spokesman for the DfE said the existing system had "rationed good schools". The proposals include:
"Some families can go private or move house. Many families cannot afford to do either. The poorest are often left with the worst schools. The system must change," the spokesman said.
  • Allow free schools set up by parents and community groups, and academies - state schools outside local authority control - to give priority to children eligible for free schools meals (those whose parents earn less than £16,000 a year)
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  • Allow schools to give priority to the children of their own teachers and other staff, something which was stopped under Labour
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  • Allow popular schools to expand without permission from local authorities or the education secretary
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  • Allow primary schools to increase infant class sizes beyond 30 pupils in order to take in twins and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces
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  • Remove the explicit ban on admissions authorities drawing catchment areas and selecting feeder schools in such as way as to disadvantage children from deprived areas
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  • Ban local authorities from using area-wide lotteries
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  • Alter the appeals process to make it "cheaper and less burdensome"
    •
'Red tape' Mr Gove says the existing system needed to change because it "rationed good schools" and with wealthier families able to go private or move house, "the poorest are often left with the worst schools".
"Good schools should be able to grow and we need more of them," he said, having argued earlier in the week that allowing popular schools to expand more easily would increase the amount of good school places.
Journalist Toby Young, who is setting up one of the first free schools, welcomed the proposal to allow schools to set aside places for pupils on free school meals.
The plan would "enable successful free schools and academies to ensure children from low-income families aren't crowded out by sharp-elbowed, middle-class parents," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
'Spiral of decline'
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the proposals would not improve social mobility and would have a "damaging effect" on pupils from the most deprived areas.
In April, the coalition's "pupil premium" came into effect, under which schools receive an extra £430 per year for every pupil on free school meals that they teach.In April, the coalition's "pupil premium" came into effect, under which schools receive an extra £430 per year for every pupil on free school meals that they teach.
The draft code will also allow schools to give priority to the children of their own teachers and other staff, something which was stopped under Labour. ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said this would "hardly be enough of an incentive or a supplement for schools to provide the additional support that these pupils so often need".
Such a restriction "leads to some schools losing out on potentially very valuable members of staff as they seek to balance work and life as a parent", the updated code states. And allowing popular schools to expand would "create another generation of haves and have-nots".
It is also expected to remove the requirement for schools to obtain permission from their local authority or the education secretary if they want to increase the number of pupils they take. "Those schools left with the most challenging pupils, who need the most intensive support, will suffer a slow spiral of decline and their pupils will lose out on life chances," he said.
The DfE said it was "removing the red tape that now stops good schools from expanding". And the NASUWT teaching union pointed out that the rules would allow grammar schools to expand without having to run local consultations.
"Forget about selection by the back door. This is selection by the front door," said general secretary Chris Keates.
Separately, the government said that it would, on a case by case basis, consider allowing free schools set up by parents to give priority to the children of those who founded them.Separately, the government said that it would, on a case by case basis, consider allowing free schools set up by parents to give priority to the children of those who founded them.
This is not included in the new code, but would be written into each school's funding agreement with the government.This is not included in the new code, but would be written into each school's funding agreement with the government.
Another proposed change in the code would allow primary schools to increase infant class sizes beyond 30 pupils in order to take in children whose parents are serving in the armed forces. They are currently only allowed to do so for children in care. 'Useless document'
Highly competitive Coalition ministers have long said they wanted to shorten and simplify the existing code.
The use of school admissions lotteries across whole local authority areas could also be outlawed, although this is barely used, and individual schools and smaller localities will still be allowed to use random selection to allocate places. Outgoing chief schools adjudicator, Ian Craig, said he was "pleased" at the publication of the new code.
Coalition ministers have long said they wanted to shorten and simplify the existing code, and have reduced it from 130 pages to about 50. "Reducing the complexity and making it easier for parents to understand without removing the safeguards for vulnerable groups is essential to our admissions system," he said.
However, the outgoing head of England's chief schools adjudicator, Ian Craig, warned in November that this could risk "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". He had warned in November that slimming down the code could risk "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" and reducing it to "a useless document".
"I think we need to be very careful that while we're making it more accessible we don't simplify it to such an extent where it becomes a useless document," he said.
The government is also altering the school admissions appeals process in the Education Bill currently before Parliament.The government is also altering the school admissions appeals process in the Education Bill currently before Parliament.
It wants to end the requirement for local panels to be set up to consider individual appeals, and limit the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to investigating specific complaints, rather than wider issues where it suspects there may be a problem.It wants to end the requirement for local panels to be set up to consider individual appeals, and limit the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to investigating specific complaints, rather than wider issues where it suspects there may be a problem.
The government says this will reduce bureaucracy without affecting fairness, but Labour has warned that such changes could result in reduced scrutiny and an increase in "selection by the back door".The government says this will reduce bureaucracy without affecting fairness, but Labour has warned that such changes could result in reduced scrutiny and an increase in "selection by the back door".
School admissions remain highly competitive in some areas, with one in seven pupils failing to get a place at their first choice of secondary school this year.
There are also concerns about a shortage of primary school places in the next few years in some areas, with London predicting a shortfall of about 70,000 over the next four years.