Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England's 2015 Annual Report, published in December 2015, what assessment she has made of the effect of the level of the religious oversubscription criteria used by some schools on parents applying to such schools.

The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code. These changes will respond to concerns from parents and to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports. These changes will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the Code. This includes a requirement that ‘the practices and the criteria used to decide the allocation of school places are fair, clear and objective’.

The Code is clear that parents have a right to object to a school’s admission policy. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the admission arrangements are unclear, or unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority is required by law to change them. The deadline for objections is set many months in advance of the closing date for school applications. This ensures that any admission arrangements which breach the Code can be amended to comply before parents apply for a place.