Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that schools comply with their admission policies, and what action they take when a school is found to be admitting pupils in contravention of their admission policy.

All state funded schools are required to comply with the statutory School Admissions Code when setting and applying their admission arrangements. Once admission arrangements have been determined, anyone who believes they are unfair or unlawful may make an objection to the Schools Adjudicator.

When allocating places, admission authorities must ensure they do so strictly in accordance with their published admissions criteria.

Any parent who is refused a place at a school for which they have applied has the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. If the panel finds that the school’s admission arrangements were unlawful and had not been applied properly in the individual’s case, the appeal must be upheld and the admission authority must admit the child.