Is your school turning pupils away?

Articles have appeared in the education press reporting that councils have accused schools of refusing so many challenging pupils that it could amount to “selection” by capping cohorts to prevent in-year transfers of vulnerable pupils and wrongly turning away youngsters in care.

Local authorities have reported what they suggest are tactics by schools to skew cohorts to the admissions watchdog as part of their annual reports, according to a freedom of information request by Schools Week.

The Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) has published its annual report for 2023-24 and noted that problems relating to in-year school moves involving own admission authorities were “raised by most, if not all, local authorities”.

It is reported that councils are concerned about the number of schools refusing in-year transfers of challenging pupils. Schools accused of capping their cohort numbers can have knock on effects on neighbouring schools forced to take in disproportionate numbers of children with complex needs.

Schools Week report that school leaders say that they are being asked to admit so many challenging pupils that it could jeopardise pupil safety and argue the issues are a consequence of ever-worsening finances and an accountability regime that disincentivises inclusion.

Does your governance board understand its admissions policy? Is your board its own admissions authority and if so, are you compliant?  Have a look at the Devon Association of Governance (DAG) website www.dagdevon.uk for the exclusive resource ‘DAG Busy Governance Guide to Admissions’ to understand more.