Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Executive Education Leeds which provides an update on the September 2009 Admission Round.

(Report attached)

The Chief Executive Education Leeds submitted a report which provided an update on the September 2009 Admission Round.

Addressing the report Mrs Buckland said that over recent years there had been an increase in the birth rate, both nationally, and locally.  There were around 600 more allocations to primary school this year than at the same time last year.  Whilst some surplus places still exist, in a small number of primary schools, these are in a limited number of areas of the City.  It had been possible to allocate all parents who applied on time a place, however each year there were a significant number of parents who apply late and it was increasingly difficult to place these children within a reasonable distance.  These factors are adversely affecting the number of parents being offered their preferred school. 

The number of secondary school allocations on 1 March was approximately the same as last year.  There remain a small number of schools where children are unable to gain a place in their nearest school.  However all nearest children were offered a place in Roundhay school this year, following the changes to the admission policy reflecting the David Young Community Academy as a nearest school.

The on-line service had once again proved popular with parents, with 26% of on time applications using this method to apply for a school place.

Admission Round

Percentage of first preferences achieved

    2009  2008  2007  2006 

Secondary    83.7    86.7  86.6  86.9

Primary    83.2  88.6  94.5  93.3

Junior    96.9  95.3  94.6  97.4

Total    83.7  87.8  90.5  90.1

The admission policy within Leeds allows parents to try for a school out of their local area because they have the safety net of their local school if they are unsuccessful.  As an equal preference policy it allows parents to be as aspirational as possible.  It enables parents to ask for their favourite school, despite knowing their chances may not be high, without prejudicing their chance at obtaining a place in their nearest school, so long as they put it on the preference form. Given this is the agreed policy a further measure is the percentage of parents who received one of their three preferences.

Percentage of parents who achieved one of their three preferences

    2009  2008  2007  2006 

Secondary    95.5  97.0  97.5  96.9 

Primary    91.3  95.1  98.8   97.3

Junior    97.3  96.1  98.8  99.3

Total       93.5  96.1  98.2  97.2

School Appeals

Whenever a parent is refused entry to a school they have a right to appeal against the decision. The appeal is heard by an independent panel which is organised by Governance Services as the process needs to be fully independent.

The figures below are based on the period from National Offer day on March 1st to the end of July for secondary and primary appeals.  The in year appeals cover those appeals that have taken place within the academic year 08/09.

  Granted  Not Granted   Total  % Granted

Secondary    53    236  289    18.3%

Primary   13    298  311    4.2%

In year  177  185  362  48.9%

Total    243    719  962   

There have been fewer block appeals this year despite a fall in the percentage of parents gaining their first preference.  The number of in year appeals has significantly increased although the percentage that were successful has reduced by 30%.

The number of primary appeals had fallen slightly from last year although the number of successful appeals had not changed.  Most primary appeals are governed by the infant class size legislation where there are only very limited grounds on which a parent can succeed. 

In year appeals throughout the year now comprise more than either primary or secondary block appeals.  This is a combination of a reduction in both primary and secondary block appeals, but also a marked increase in the number of in year appeals, with almost 100 more than last year.  Despite this increase the number of in year appeals granted by the panels had fallen by almost 50, reducing the percentage of successful appeals by parents from 78.2% to 48.9%.

The increasingly effective operation of the Fair Access Protocol does mean that many parents are offered a more appropriate school place, sometimes above the admission number of the school, removing the need for an appeal.  Changes introduced by new legislation in February 2009 will see families who move into an area where there are no appropriate places available within a reasonable distance also placed through the Fair Access Protocol, further reducing the need for appeals.

In conclusion Mrs Buckland saidthere had been a general increase in the number of applications for admission that had been received in the last year.  The birth rate was rising both locally and nationally and around 600 more primary allocations were made on 1 March than at the same time the previous year.  Despite this increase the number of primary and secondary block appeals had fallen this year suggesting that whilst the percentage of parents being offered their first preference school had fallen, parents are relatively content with the school they have been offered.

The number of in year appeals had significantly increased although there had been a fall of 30% in the success rate.  This indicates that the independent panels do not consider the cases being put forward by parents are strong enough to warrant offering places in schools that are already full.  A change in the Appeals Code has meant that fewer schools now send representatives to assist Education Leeds in defending the appeals, however the preparatory work undertaken on the written statements has proved effective.

There continues to be some pockets of the City where demand for a child’s nearest school cannot be met, and although this has improved in the secondary sector the number of primary schools where the issue exists has risen from 7 to 15.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted