Part III School admissions

Chapter I Admission arrangements

Admission arrangements: Wales

F189B Co-ordination of admission arrangements

(1)

Regulations may require a local education authority F2in Wales—

(a)

to formulate, for any academic year in relation to which prescribed conditions are satisfied, a qualifying scheme for co-ordinating the arrangements for the admission of pupils to maintained schools in their area, and

(b)

to take prescribed action with a view to securing the adoption of the scheme by themselves and each governing body who are the admission authority for a maintained school in their area.

(2)

Subject to subsection (3), F3the Welsh Ministers may make, in relation to the area of a local education authority F4in Wales and an academic year, a scheme for co-ordinating the arrangements, or assisting in the co-ordination of the arrangements, for the admission of pupils to maintained schools in that area.

(3)

A scheme may not be made under subsection (2) in relation to a local education authority and an academic year if, before the prescribed date in the year preceding the year in which that academic year commences—

(a)

a scheme formulated by the local education authority in accordance with subsection (1) is adopted in the prescribed manner by the persons mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection, and

(b)

the authority provide F5the Welsh Ministers with a copy of the scheme and inform F6them that the scheme has been so adopted.

(4)

F7The Welsh Ministers may by regulations require local education authorities F8in Wales to provide other local education authorities with such information as may be required by F9such other authorities in connection with the exercise of any of their functions under this Chapter.

(5)

Regulations may provide—

(a)

that each local education authority F10in Wales shall secure that, subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed, no decision made by any admission authority for a maintained school in their area to offer or refuse a child admission to the school shall be communicated to the parent of the child except on a single day, designated by the local education authority, in each year, or

(b)

that, subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed, a decision made by the admission authority for a maintained school F11in Wales to offer or refuse a child admission to the school shall not be communicated to the parent of the child except on a prescribed day.

(6)

In this section—

“academic year” means a period commencing with 1st August and ending with the next 31st July;

“qualifying scheme” means a scheme that meets prescribed requirements.

F12(7)

Nothing in this section applies in relation to arrangements for the admission to maintained schools in Wales of pupils—

(a)

who—

(i)

have ceased to be of compulsory school age, or

(ii)

will have ceased to be of compulsory school age before education is provided for them at the school, or

(b)

for the purpose of receiving sixth form education.