The Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2002

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on 20th January 2003.

(2) These Regulations apply only in relation to the arrangements under which pupils are to be admitted to secondary schools in England in the academic year 2004-05 and any subsequent year.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996(1);

“the 1998 Act” means the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;

“application”, in relation to arrangements made by a local education authority under section 86(1) of the 1998 Act, means a parent’s expression of a preference as to the school at which he wishes secondary education to be provided for his child in the exercise of the authority’s functions;

“authority”, in relation to co-ordinated arrangements for admission, means the local education authority formulating a qualifying scheme with a view to securing its adoption by that authority and each governing body who are the admission authority for a secondary school in their area or, as the case may be, for whose area an imposed scheme relating to secondary schools has been, or is to be, made;

“imposed scheme” means a scheme for co-ordinating the arrangements for the admission of pupils to secondary schools made by the Secretary of State under section 89B(2) of the 1998 Act;

“qualifying scheme” means a scheme, formulated by an authority pursuant to section 89B(1)(a) of the 1998 Act and these Regulations, for co-ordinating the arrangements for the admission of pupils to secondary schools;

“school” means a community, foundation or voluntary school;

“the determination year” relating to any academic year means the year preceding the year in which the academic year commences;

“the initial year” means the academic year 2004-05;

“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(2).

(2) Where an application for the admission of a child to a relevant age group at a secondary school is submitted later than the date stipulated by a qualifying scheme (or, as the case may be, an imposed scheme), for the purposes of these Regulations it shall still be considered to have been made in the course of a normal admission round if—

(a) the relevant admission authority for the school determine, in accordance with the school’s admission arrangements, the order of priority in which the application is ranked; and

(b) a determination relating to that application is made by an authority on or before the date prescribed by regulation 7(2).

Formulation of a qualifying scheme

3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), and regulation 9, in relation to each academic year to which these Regulations apply, an authority shall formulate a qualifying scheme relating to each secondary school in their area.

(2) A qualifying scheme shall comply with the requirements specified in the Schedule.

(3) The duty in paragraph (1) to formulate a scheme shall not apply where—

(a) a qualifying scheme has been adopted in relation to an academic year by the authority and each governing body who are the admission authority for a secondary school in their area, and after reviewing the scheme the authority consider that it should again be adopted by themselves and each of those governing bodies in relation to the academic year immediately following; or

(b) an imposed scheme has been made and has not since been varied or revoked under section 89C(7) of the 1998 Act.

Action to be taken by a local education authority to secure adoption of a qualifying scheme

4.—(1) This regulation prescribes for the purposes of section 89B(1)(b) of the 1998 Act, in relation to any academic year following the initial year, the action to be taken by an authority with a view to securing the adoption of a qualifying scheme by themselves and each governing body who are the admission authority for a secondary school in their area.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), an authority shall formulate a qualifying scheme no later than 1st January in the relevant determination year.

(3) The authority shall refer a qualifying scheme which they propose should be adopted in their area to any Admission Forum established for that area under section 85A(3) of the 1998 Act and shall have regard to any advice or recommendations of the Forum.

(4) After taking the action required by paragraph (3), the authority shall consult the following about any proposed qualifying scheme, namely—

(a) each governing body who are the admission authority for a maintained school in their area; and

(b) any other local education authority as the authority may determine.

(5) The consultation pursuant to paragraph (4)(b) shall be undertaken with a view in particular to securing that the arrangements for the admission of pupils to secondary schools in the areas of different local education authorities are, so far as is reasonably practicable, compatible with each other.

(6) Once the authority have carried out any consultation required under this regulation they shall determine the qualifying scheme (either in its original form or with such modifications as the authority think fit) which they propose should apply for the academic year in question and shall take all reasonable steps to secure its adoption by themselves and each governing body they consulted.

Information to be provided to Secretary of State

5.  Where, following the action required to be taken under regulation 4, an authority secure agreement to the adoption of a qualifying scheme, they shall inform the Secretary of State accordingly and provide the Secretary of State with a copy of the scheme.

Making of a scheme by the Secretary of State

6.—(1) Subject to section 89C(6) of the 1998 Act, in any case where by 15th April in the relevant determination year an authority have not informed the Secretary of State in accordance with regulation 5 that a qualifying scheme has been adopted in relation to each secondary school in their area, an imposed scheme may be made.

(2) An imposed scheme may make provision corresponding to the requirements of a qualifying scheme.

Date on which decisions are to be communicated to parents

7.—(2) Subject to regulation 9 and paragraph (3), this regulation prescribes for the purposes of section 89B(5)(b) of the 1998 Act the single day in each year on which an authority’s determination in accordance with the provisions of a qualifying scheme or an imposed scheme to offer or refuse a child admission to a secondary school in their area shall be communicated to a parent.

(2) The prescribed day shall be 1st March in the year following the relevant determination year except that, in any year in which that day is not a working day, the prescribed day shall be the next working day.

(3) This regulation does not apply to applications made otherwise than in the course of a normal admission round.

Sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996

8.  Sections 496 and 497 of the 1996 Act shall apply to an authority or a governing body as if any of the obligations imposed on them under a qualifying scheme or an imposed scheme were duties imposed on them under that Act.

Transitional provisions

9.  In relation to the initial year these Regulations shall have effect with the following modifications—

(a) in regulation 3—

(i) in paragraph (1), for “shall” there shall be substituted “may”,

(ii) after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted—

“(2A) Where an authority decide to formulate a qualifying scheme pursuant to paragraph (1)—

(i) they shall notify the Secretary of State of their decision;

(ii) these Regulations shall apply as if they were under a duty to formulate such a scheme; and

(iii) if a scheme is adopted or made it shall be treated as having been adopted or made by virtue of section 89B of the 1998 Act.”, and

(iii) paragraph (3) shall be omitted;

(b) in regulation 4—

(i) in paragraph (1) there shall be omitted “, in relation to any academic year following the initial year,”,

(ii) in paragraph (2), for “1st January in the relevant determination year” there shall be substituted “31st March 2003”, and

(iii) after paragraph (4) there shall be inserted—

“(4A) The duty to consult in paragraph (4) shall apply notwithstanding that no Admission Forum may have been established for an authority’s area.”;

(c) in regulation 6(1), for “15th April in the relevant determination year” there shall be substituted “1st July 2003”; and

(d) in regulation 7—

(i) in paragraph (1) there shall be omitted “in each year”, and

(ii) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted—

“(2) The prescribed day shall be 1st March 2004.”.

David Miliband

Minister of State

Department for Education and Skills

18th November 2002