Primary Education: Admissions

(asked on 12th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent London School of Economics report which has found that children with special educational needs and disabilities who attend nurseries based in primary schools are significantly less likely than their peers to be admitted into the school’s reception class.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 21st June 2019

The government’s ambition for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is the same for every other child: to make the most of early education, thrive in school and to live happy fulfilled lives.

The London School of Economics report focusses on data related to the behaviour of schools and a cohort of children born into the 2006/07 academic year. This report does not consider parental choice in that some children may have gone onto a special school rather than the primary school they attended as their preschool choice.

Where a child’s education health care (EHC) plan names a school, the child must be admitted to that school. Where a child does not have an EHC plan, places will be allocated in accordance with the school's published admission arrangements.

Furthermore, all mainstream state-funded schools must comply with the school admissions code and wider admissions law, as well as with equalities law. The code is clear that admission authorities must ensure their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, directly or indirectly a child with SEND.

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