Ombudsman urges DfE to clarify school admissions appeals code
The Local Government Ombudsman has urged the Department for Education to provide greater clarity in the code that governs school admissions appeals.
The letter from the LGO, Jane Martin, follows publication of a report into a complaint about the conduct of an appeal panel in relation to Poole High School.
A parent had unsuccessfully applied for a place for her daughter at the school and was dissatisfied with how her appeal against refusal was handled.
The LGO decided that there was no maladministration on the part of the appeal panel, but concluded that the 2009 School Admissions Appeals Code of Practice – which the panel had followed – was unclear.
This is because “it is silent as to what should happen if an appeal concludes, as in this case, that some, but not all, of the children making appeals could be admitted to the school without prejudicing efficient education or the efficient use of resources”.
The LGO suggested that this lack of clarity had resulted in confusion for the parent and may have unintentionally limited parental preference.
The school had ended up admitting five more children after the panel interpreted the code, but the complainant’s daughter was not among them.
Martin said: “Whilst it is understandable that the complainant was confused by the outcome and felt that the reasons for her preference had not been properly considered, I consider that this was a consequence of an unclear Appeals Code and not the fault of the appeal panel.”
The Ombudsman warned that this was unlikely to be an isolated approach by an appeal panel and there could be many other parents who are being refused places on appeal that according to the law should have been allowed.
The LGO added: “Whilst I do not believe that the Code intended to limit a parent's entitlement to school preference under section 86 [of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998] where there is no prejudice, it seems that this may have been an unintended consequence in this case.”
