State schools admission schemes "complex and discriminatory" says report

State schools admission is unduly complex, open to discriminatory tactics and a propensity to cherry pick children on the basis of aptitude, a report commissioned by independent research charity the Research and Information on State Education (RISE) Trust has found.

According to the report, although admissions criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools are relatively simple, the situation is different with voluntary aided schools.

The report highlights that in voluntary aided schools there can be a high number of criteria relating to religion and religious practice, creating difficulties for parents and carers and allowing scope for discretion.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) stated in the report that its own research had found that while the system may not appear to be complex, it often proved to be complex in practice. “This is highly likely to be the case with parents/carers who are not highly educated,” the DCSF stated.

Consequently, RISE suggested legislative changes are needed to the associated School Admissions Code and determinations made by Schools Adjudicators if these student groups are not to be discriminated against. The report also calls for further guidance to schools as to what questions are fair and appropriate to ask parents during the admission process.

"There still clearly are some schools that are breaking the schools admissions code, but there are also many ways in which, even without breaking the code, they can generate a lot of uncertainty," said report author Philip Noden.

Another concern raised by the report is the significant proportion of academies and foundation schools selecting a proportion of children on the basis of aptitude and ability in a subject area.

“Fair banding across a wide area on the basis of the range of ability of children in the area or random allocation are likely to be more effective if the overall aim is to widen access to particular schools and create greater social equity,” the RISE Trust said.