Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Austen and Hodgkiss, Mrs. G. Atkin, Mrs. P. Powell, Mr. F. Hedge, Mr. F. McDermott, and Mr. M. Robertson.

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 11th November, 2004, were accepted as a true record.

The minutes of the meeting of the School Organisation Committee, held on 20th January, 2005, were received and their contents noted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Leader Resources and Information which covered issues that have arisen as a result of the annual consultation exercise with and between schools and other Local Education Authorities on school admission arrangements for the Admission Year 2006/07.

Annex 1 provided details of the LEA’s consultation document relating to community and controlled schools.  The admissions criteria are unchanged from the previous year and there has been no specific feedback from consultees on this.

Proposed admission numbers for community and controlled schools had, in the main, been agreed by school governing bodies.  There had been some feedback and details were indicated at Annex 2 to the report.

Aided schools have also been taking part in the consultation and for this year this has been facilitated by use of the LEA’s internet site.  Details of aided schools proposed admission number and admissions criteria have been included on the site.

There has been no specific feedback on the consultation regarding the co-ordinated admission schemes.  The period for consultation ended on 1^st March, 2005 and determinations by admission authorities had to be made by 15^th April, 2005.

The Local Admissions Forum also noted that there would be further consideration of the admission number for Aston ComprehensiveSchool.

Agreed:- That the information about schools’ proposed admission numbers for 2006/07, contained in the report now submitted, be received.

The Local Admissions Forum discussed the co-ordinated arrangements for the admission of pupils to schools at the beginning of the 2005/06 academic year. The co-ordinated arrangements were being operated this year, for the first time in Rotherham. The following points were noted:-

- offer letters for admissions to Secondary Schools had been issued in accordance with the timescale on 1st March, 2005;

- offer letters for admissions to Primary Schools would be issued in accordance with the timescale on 1st April, 2005;

- 94% of parents had been offered a school place for their child at their first preference secondary school;

- 37 parents had not been offered a place for their child at any of their original three preferred secondary schools; these pupils would later be offered a place either at their catchment area school, or, if that school was already full, at another community school with places;

- a number of parents had, at a later stage, asked for their child to be placed on the waiting list for the school which had been their second or third preferred school;

- there had been fewer calls from irate parents than in previous years and, to date, no parent had questioned the operation of the co-ordinated admission arrangements;

- there was a positive working relationship with school admissions staff in the Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield Local Education Authorities;

- to date, there had been fewer admission appeals received by the Council.

The Local Admissions Forum placed on record its appreciation of the work of the school admissions staff in successfully implementing the co-ordinated admissions arrangements and agreed that a letter of congratulation be sent to the staff concerned.

The Local Admissions Forum noted the alterations which had been made to the additional information form to be used by Church of England Schools when requesting details of children who wished to be admitted to those schools.

The Local Admissions Forum considered a report of the Executive Director of Education, Culture and Leisure Services concerning the Government’s Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners and the way this Strategy highlighted the need for schools to work together in providing school places for hard to place children. The Government expected every Local Admissions Forum to agree a protocol for sharing hard to place pupils and the protocol would have to be agreed with schools and be in operation at the start of the school year beginning on 1st September, 2005.

In discussing this issue, the Local Admissions Forum took note of advice received from the Department for Education and Skills, as well as a sample protocol and factors to be taken into account in the preparing a successful protocol.

The Local Admissions Forum noted that the protocol for Rotherham schools was currently being prepared by a multi-disciplinary team, co-ordinated by the Local Education Authority. The draft protocol would be issued to Members of the Local Admissions Forum in advance of the next meeting, enabling the protocol to be fully debated and agreed at the Admission Forum’s next meeting on 21st July, 2005.

Agreed:- That the next meeting be arranged for Thursday, 21st July, 2005, commencing at 9.30 a.m.