Ensuring that vulnerable children are allocated a school place (Fair Access Protocol)

The process for requesting that the Secretary of State direct an Academy to admit a child:

• Requesting the Secretary of State to direct an academy to admit a child will only occur when a local resolution cannot be found.
• If the Secretary of State is asked to direct an academy to admit a child, the request will be made by the Admissions and Transport Manager on behalf of the Local Authority.
• The Education and Skills Funding Agency acts on behalf of the Secretary of State in considering whether due process has been followed in applying the provisions of the Fair Access Protocol.
• In requesting a direction from the Secretary of State, the Local Authority will need to provide evidence that the provisions of the Fair Access Protocol have been applied in a fair and appropriate manner. The Local Authority must also set out the relevant academy’s reasons for refusal (assuming these have been given) and the Local Authority’s response.
• When seeking a direction from the Secretary of State the Local Authority will use the template provided by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
• On receipt of a request to direct, the Education and Skills Funding Agency will inform the relevant Academy that it has received a request for a direction and ask the relevant academy for any evidence that has been supplied that shows the process has not been properly applied. The Education and Skills Funding Agency can be expected to give an academy seven calendar days to respond.
• The Secretary of State can be expected to consider the following when a direction has been requested:
  • whether the local Fair Access Protocol has been applied appropriately.
  • the arguments advanced by the relevant academy and the Local Authority.
  • whether the Local Authority has considered the arguments for refusal.
  • the Local Authority’s reasons for still considering the placement is appropriate.
  • whether the establishment has been asked to accept a disproportionate number of children under the Fair Access Protocol compared to other local schools.

The process for directing a maintained school for which the Local Authority is not the Admission Authority when the school concerned refuses to accept a child:

• Directing a maintained school to admit a child following a decision made under the Protocol will only occur where a local resolution cannot be found.
• Initially a letter will be sent from the admissions authority of the school stating that a place needs to be made available following a decision under the Protocol. Any maintained school approached in this way must respond to the Local Authority within seven calendar days.
• If the child concerned has been refused entry to, or permanently excluded from, every appropriate school within a suitable distance the Admissions and Transport or Education Entitlement Team Manager will then write to the school to inform the Governors and Headteacher of the intention to direct admission.
• The Governing board may appeal by referring the case to the Schools Adjudicator. The Governors have 15 calendar days within which to refer the case.
• If the Schools Adjudicator does not uphold the direction, the Adjudicator may direct admission to an alternative school.
• If the Schools Adjudicator upholds the direction, the child must be admitted to the school. The school will then need to agree a start date with the child’s parents.

• Buckinghamshire Council is the admission authority for community and voluntary controlled schools in Buckinghamshire. Therefore, there is no direction process and if Buckinghamshire Council, the admission authority of a community or voluntary controlled school, decides to admit a child to one of these schools, that school has no lawful basis for refusing to place that child on roll.