Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Accepted
Paragraph: 43
The School Admissions Code is not working in the interests of looked-after children.
Conclusion
The School Admissions Code is not working in the interests of looked-after children. The admissions system is weighted in favour of schools, and against the interests of looked-after pupils. The absence of sanctions means it is a risk-free process for schools to refuse to admit a looked-after child. This enables some schools to take an adversarial stance against admitting looked-after children without facing any consequences.
Government response summary AI-generated
Looked-after children already have priority in school admissions, and guidance states that schools judged 'Good' or 'Outstanding' should be prioritised for their placement.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
43
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
As set out in the response to other recommendations above, looked-after children have priority in school admissions and statutory guidance for VSHs states that, when arranging a looked after child’s education placement, schools judged by Ofsted to be ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ should be prioritised. There may be circumstances where it may be more appropriate that a looked after child is not placed in a school judged by Ofsted to be ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, for example, where a school judged ‘Requiring Improvement’ is evidenced to be providing high-quality support to its vulnerable pupils. However, the guidance is clear that unless there are exceptional evidence-based reasons, looked after children should never be placed in a school judged by Ofsted to be ‘Inadequate’.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗