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Meeting: |
Combined Executive Member Decision Session |
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Meeting date: |
27 January 2026 |
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Report of: |
Maxine Squire, Assistant Director of Education and Skills Rachelle White, School Admissions Manager Claire Roberts, Place Planning and Capital Projects Manager |
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Portfolio of: |
Councillor Webb - Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education |
Decision Report:
Coordinated Admissions Schemes and
Admission Arrangements for 2027-2028 School Year
Subject of Report -
Admission Arrangements for 2027-2028
School Admissions
1. This report seeks approval of the admissions policies and published admission numbers for community and voluntary controlled schools – schools for whom the City of York Council is the admission authority – for the school year beginning in September 2027.
2. It also seeks approval of the coordinated admissions schemes for the City of York area – for which the City of York Council is the coordinating Local Authority – for applications to start the school year beginning in September 2027.
3. It also seeks a decision as to whether to support, not support or remain impartial for any amendments to admission arrangements for Multi Academy Trusts who are their own admission authority.
Benefits and Challenges
4. The benefits of the Admission Consultation and decision- making process is to ensure that as a Local Authority we are fulfilling our statutory duty to provide school places for children residing in the city and our sufficiency requirement.
5. The main risk is that some proposed requests are being made by Academy Trusts, who are their own Admission Authority. We can only support or not support the proposal but ultimately the decision is made by the Trust and not City of York Council.
6. Under the terms of the Education Act 1996, the Local Authority has a statutory duty to ensure that sufficient places are available for every child of school age, to promote diversity, parental choice and high educational standards; to ensure fair access to educational opportunity; and to help fulfil every child's educational potential. Academy trusts should work collaboratively with LAs, dioceses and other schools in the area, to ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach to place planning and delivery. The Department for Education has a strong expectation that academy trusts will support LAs to meet the Sufficiency Duty by providing additional places where they are needed and reducing the number of places offered where they are surplus to requirements.
Policy Basis for Decision
7. The co-ordination of school admissions is a statutory duty of the local authority and supports Article 2 of the Human Rights legislation that no person should be denied the right to education.
Financial Strategy Implications
8. There are no financial strategy implications. The local authority receives funding from the central services block of the dedicated schools block to deliver the statutory duty to co-ordinate admissions.
Recommendation and Reasons
9. The recommendations are that the proposed changes to the Admission Arrangements for September 2027-2028 should be accepted and supported based on the evidence shown in the Options Analysis and Evidential Basis section of this report.
10. This is to ensure that City of York Council continue to meet their statutory duty as set out in the terms of the Education Act 1996 and also work collaboratively with Academy Trusts to meet that duty whilst also appreciating the financial pressure on schools and trusts.
Background
11. It is the duty of the admission authority to carry out a consultation each year on admission arrangements where these have changed, or at least once every seven years. Admission arrangements include the admissions policy and the published admission number (PAN) for each school. City of York Council carries out a coordinated consultation on admission arrangements every year.
12. In the case of maintained schools, the admission authority is the local authority (LA), whilst for voluntary aided or academy schools it is the governing body or academy trust of the school.
13. As academies have come together in multi-academy trusts (MATs), the admission arrangements have been increasingly set by the trust boards of these MATs as the admission authority for all schools within the MAT. As the number of academies in York has increased and resulted in larger trusts, the centralisation of the policy and admissions functions has become more prevalent. However, in some cases the matter for setting an individual school’s admission arrangements may be delegated to the Local Governing Committee of an individual academy; this has not occurred for admissions for 2027 - 2028.
14. Admission policies detail the admission arrangements, what information should be provided by applicants and how preferences will be ordered according to the oversubscription criteria should schools be oversubscribed – that is where there are more applications for places than there are places available.
15. Published admissions numbers (PANs) are important because they relate to the maximum number of children it is intended to admit in the year of entry (reception in primary and infant schools, year 3 in junior schools, and year 7 in secondary schools).For year 12 entry in secondary schools, this number is the intended number of external applicants to be admitted, that is excluding those that attended year 11 at that school who meet the required academic standards and continue into year 12.
16. Separate from the responsibility to set admission arrangements for its schools, it is also the duty of the LA to have in place area-wide coordinated admissions schemes for each coordinated year of entry. These schemes apply to all state funded schools in the LA area and detail how and when applications can be made and coordination between admission authorities and local authorities will take place.
17. Previous member decisions have been to agree with the recommendations made within Admission Consultation reports, however this is after suitable scrutiny and questioning which has then determined the additional detail added to subsequent reports.
Consultation Analysis
18. After an invitation from the LA, all admission authorities within the LA area have agreed to take part in a joint consultation to provide parents, schools and other interested parties with the admissions arrangements for 2027 – 2028 in one place for those taking part.
19. Where a MAT are changing their admission arrangements they are also holding their own admission consultation in the Autumn to request responses through their own MAT website and school websites. Responses are considered prior to determination.
20. LA officers have continued to support MATs and existing academies with the formulation of their admission arrangements, many of which now have arrangements that are operationally identical to the LA’s own arrangements. Following the work which was jointly undertaken in 2017 with partner admission authorities, officers have continued to work with trusts in the development and maintenance of common definitions and practices between the policies of these schools, the LA, and the MATs where possible.
21. This work assists academies with their admission arrangements and supports schools with their responsibilities, which were previously the responsibility of the LA, but also ensures the admissions policies of all non-faith schools are aligned where possible. This work has continued the consistency of the admissions process especially where policies are the same as the LA policy.
22. Although coordinated by the LA, the responsibility for the formulation, determination and consultation of admission arrangements for schools for which the LA is not the admission authority remains the responsibility of the respective governing body/academy trust.
23. Due to the decision making timeframes Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust and Yorkshire Learning Trust (including the previous MAT South York Multi Academy Trust) were unable to provide their draft admission polices and associated documents for the City of York Council Coordinated Consultation. Each trust provided the dates and location of their Admission Consultation which was included on our information page.
24. The School Admissions Code of Practice 2021 (School admissions code 2021) requires that where consultation takes place it must be for a minimum of 6 weeks between 01 October and 31 January. Determination of these admission arrangements by admission authorities must be completed by 28 February 2026 for the school year beginning in September 2027. This timeframe means that consultation on arrangements takes place up to 23 months before children would be due to start school.
25. Neighbouring LAs, school head teachers, governing bodies, dioceses, and those that had previously expressed a continued interest in school admissions in York were sent details of the consultation. The views of residents and parents/carers were also sought, although as is common, only a small number of residents responded via online survey or in writing.
26. The consultation ran from Wednesday 8 October to Friday 21 November 2025 and included admission arrangements for schools in the LA area for the 2027 - 2028 school year as listed in the annexes. Information was made widely available online and publicised by schools and the LA in newsletters and notices with reminders sent to all school offices and head teachers and requested to be forwarded to their respective Chair of Governors via email.
27. In previous years the number of responses have been minimal and not directly relating to the admission arrangements.
Options Analysis and Evidential Basis
28. The recommendations in this report have been prepared following consultation with schools and others. The Executive Member can approve, reject or modify the proposals relating to community and voluntary controlled schools contained in this report and attached annexes.
29. The Executive Member may also choose to support or if objecting may raise a statutory objection to voluntary aided and academy schools admission arrangements, though these bodies will have undertaken a parallel process of determining their arrangements since the consultation closed, and therefore some may have already formally determined their arrangements.
Published Admission Numbers (PAN)
30. The following general principles should apply when considering increases in PANs:
31. The school should have enough physical space to accommodate a full complement of children in each year group, based on the proposed number (or agreement from the local authority to provide additional space). Alternatively, there must be firm capital project plans in place to provide any additional accommodation required and the required funding must be secure, if necessary.
32. The increase should form part of the agreed place planning strategy for the area. This means that there should be sufficient demand from within the school’s catchment area (if applicable), or from across the wider community, to limit the risk of drawing increased numbers of pupils away from other schools.
33. The proposed number should enable relatively straightforward organisation of classes, bearing in mind the infant class size limit of 30 children per fully qualified teacher for reception, year 1 and year 2 pupils.
34. The following general principles should apply when considering decreases in PANs:
35. The school should still be able to accommodate demand from within their local area (catchment area, parish or priority area).
36. The requested number should enable or facilitate relatively straightforward organisation of classes, bearing in mind the infant class size limit of 30 children per fully qualified teacher for reception, year 1 and year 2 pupils.
37. Schools should not make permanent or significant changes to the school premises to reduce the capacity of the school without consultation with City of York Council as PAN increases may be required in the future; for example, if there is a significant increase in birth rates, increase in children living within catchment such as new housing developments or any fundamental changes within the city that may require schools to increase their PAN.
Maintained School Proposals
38. There are two maintained school PAN change requests within the admission arrangements for 2027-2028.
|
School |
Proposal |
Recommendation |
Reason |
|
Clifton Green Primary School |
Reduce PAN from 45 to 30 pupils |
Approve |
Reducing the PAN to 30 improves the financial viability of the school as it will be staffed to accommodate full classes of 30. |
Proposal to Reduce the Published Admission Number (PAN) at Clifton Green Primary School from 45 to 30
39. The governors of Clifton Green Primary School have requested that the admission number for the school is decreased from 45 to 30 for the Reception year starting school in the 2027-28 school year.
40. The reason for the request is that the school has seen a fall in demand due to a reduction in birth rates over recent years. Pupil forecasts demonstrate a continued decline in pupil numbers for the foreseeable future. Reducing the PAN to 30 improves the financial viability of the school as it will be staffed to accommodate full classes of 30.
41. There is further capacity in neighbouring schools and the school will continue to work with the admissions team to ensure children living in catchment can be accommodated at the school.
42. There are no plans to change the physical capacity of the school and housing developments in the area have been considered in pupil forecasts.
43. School and education officers will continue to monitor pupil numbers and forecasts and will increase the admission number in future if required.
44. The requested changes will not affect pupils already attending the school.
|
School |
Proposal |
Recommendation |
Reason |
|
Headlands Primary School |
Reduce PAN from 45 to 30 pupils |
Support |
Reducing the PAN to 30 improves the financial viability of the school as it will be staffed to accommodate full classes of 30. |
Proposal to Reduce the Published Admission Number (PAN) at Headlands Primary School from 45 to 30
45. The governors of Headlands Primary School have requested that the admission number for the school is decreased from 45 to 30 for the Reception year starting school in the 2027-28 school year.
46. The school has seen a fall in demand due to a reduction in birth rates over recent years and pupil forecasts demonstrate a continued decline in pupil numbers for several years.
47. Reducing the PAN to 30 improves the financial viability of the school as it will be staffed to accommodate full classes of 30.
48. There is further capacity in other primary schools in Haxby and Wigginton and the school will continue to work with the admissions team to ensure children living in catchment can be accommodated at the school.
49. There are no plans to change the physical capacity of the school. The governors are aware of plans to build new housing in Haxby and will retain physical capacity in the school to accommodate an increase in pupil numbers in the future. School and education officers will continue to monitor pupil numbers and forecasts.
50. The requested changes will not affect pupils already attending the school.
Admission Policies
51. The LA has consulted with relevant admission authorities on the proposed admissions arrangements for the 2027-28 school year. The City of York has proposed the published admission number (PAN) for all schools, highlighting any changes in Annex Z. The City of York proposed coordinated schemes and admissions policies are set out in Annexes C-G. Policies for voluntary aided and academy schools are contained in Annexes H-P with Year 12 admissions policies contained in Annexes T-Y.
52. The coordinated schemes Annexes C-E are applicable to all state funded schools in York including community, voluntary controlled, voluntary aided and academy schools.
53. The City of York admissions policy for each year of entry is applicable to all schools for which the LA is the admission authority; that is all community and voluntary controlled schools. Voluntary aided and academy schools operate their own admissions policies; though as stated above, those of schools that have recently become their own admission authorities are almost identical to the admissions policies for community and voluntary controlled schools. The LA assists in the formulation and maintenance of these other policies each year whilst these schools maintain their wish for the similarity of these policies to the LA’s own policies to the benefit of residents.
54. In line with the City of York Council and York School and Academy Board’s (YSAB) commitment to Fair School Admissions we have reviewed our admissions arrangements in line with the Sutton Trust Fair School Admissions Pledge.
55. The proposed change to the admission arrangements for 2027-2028 admissions relate to the Year 7 admission policy. The proposal is to amend the over subscription criteria. Previously criteria 6 was “Pupils who live closest to the preferred school using the nearest available safe walking route.” referred to as distance, this would be divided to those who are eligible for Pupil Premium and Service Pupil Premium and then those who are not eligible for Pupil Premium and Service Pupil Premium.
56. The proposed over subscription criteria would prioritise pupils eligible for Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium over those who are not eligible for Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium for whom a higher priority (criteria 1-5) does not apply.
57. The proposed oversubscription criteria is –
1) Pupils who are either currently or have previously been ‘looked after’
2) Pupils who live within the catchment area normally served by the preferred school, with a sibling at the preferred school at the time of admission
3) Pupils who live within the catchment area normally served by the preferred school.
4) Pupils considered by the admission authority to have exceptional social or medical needs which makes the preferred school the most suitable school for the pupil.
5) Pupils with a sibling at the preferred school at the time of admission.
6) Other applications for whom no previous criteria applies (previously called distance) where a pupil is eligible for Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium ordered from closest to furthest from school.
7) Other applications for whom no previous criteria applies (previously called distance) where a pupil is not eligible for Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium ordered from closest to furthest from school.
58. The City of York admissions policies for reception have had no significant changes from those previously determined.
VA and Academy Proposals
59. The proposed Year 7 admission arrangements for all Secondary Schools within the York Schools and Academies Board are proposing to prioritise Pupil Premium and Service Pupil Premium eligibility above none eligible applications within the over subscription criteria.
60. Each Multi Academy Trust (MAT) will be consulting on their admission arrangements for 2027 applications and their draft policies.
61. The final MAT decision on Admission Arrangements will be subject to their own consultation results and determination.
Catchment Areas
62. Catchment areas are designed to be reasonable and clearly defined. The following factors are taken into account when considering changes in catchment area:
a) The number of children (pupil yield) expected from new housing developments.
b) The geographical location of new housing developments in relation to nearby schools and the associated ease of travel.
c) The PAN and net capacity of nearby schools and their ability to accommodate additional pupils or, where appropriate, the school’s ability to expand.
d) The number of children living within the catchment area; historically, currently and the number forecast to be living within the catchment area in the future.
e) The trend in school preferences both into and out of the catchment area.
f) The schools named in the Section 106 agreements for new housing developments and therefore the associated potential funding available for any necessary expansion work.
63. There are no catchment changes proposed within this consultation.
Admission Consultation Responses
64. All maintained schools and academies in York were asked for their comments on admission arrangements and proposed PANs. The consultation survey had 8 respondents who left their contact details with the survey being accessed 18 times.
65. The open admission consultation which was available to the general public, stakeholders and other interested parties the consultation survey had 7 respondents who left their contact details with the survey being accessed 20 times.
66. As each year the Admission Arrangements Consultation receives so few respondents and responses to proposed changes to the Admission Arrangements, a review of the consultation process and questions asked will be conducted before the Admission Consultation for 2028 admissions in a bid to increase the number of respondents and improve the responses received.
67. Any responses/comments relating directly to a proposed change by a Multi Academy Trust have been forwarded to the Trust to consider within their admission arrangements determination.
68. Any additional responses/comments relating directly to the consultation and City of York proposals or the consultation process have been categorised below as either PAN consultation response, admission policy consultation response or catchment area consultation response.
PAN Consultation Responses
69. A PAN response was received to support the PAN reduction at Clifton Green Primary School, the PAN reduction would allow the school to plan with budget and allow for controlled staff planning.
Admission Policy Consultation Responses
70. An Admission Policy consultation response received was received to support the new over subscription proposal as children who live in catchment or have a sibling at the school still retain their current priority order whilst those Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium pupils from outside area now gain preference over distance. This seems to be equitable. However, the respondent did advise that they would still have expected a distance category to be required for those children who are outside catchment and not Premium eligible. To clarify, there is still a criteria of pupils with a distance criteria without Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium eligibility.
71. A second response regarding Admission Policies received to ask if the change to oversubscription criteria will be made to the Reception Policies at a later date. There are currently no plans to amend the oversubscription criteria for other year groups.
Catchment Area Changes Responses
72. There are no catchment area changes.
73. There were no catchment area responses received.
Organisational
Impact and Implications
74. The report demonstrates that all relevant implications of the proposals have been considered with the service area responses shown below.
· Financial - Changes to admission limits at schools have no direct impact on Local Authority funding as the council will continue to be funded for all pupils at the same level, regardless of the schools that they attend. For individual schools pupil numbers do have an impact on school funding, particularly if the school is changing in size, as pupil led funding is lagged (based on the previous autumn census numbers for the following financial year). For schools that are growing the additional pupils will not be funded for the first 7 months (12 months for academies). However, depending on the scale and reason for the growth, the school may be eligible for some funding from the pupil growth fund.
· Human Resources (HR) - If the proposal to reduce pupil numbers impacts on the school establishment i.e. the need to reduce staffing numbers, the relevant policies and procedures will be followed to support the process.
· Legal - Admission arrangements for all schools, whether the relevant admission authority is the Local Authority, Governing Body, or Academy Trust, must comply with the requirements of the School Admissions Code 2021 (issued under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998) (the “Code”).
Where an admission authority proposes a reduction to the Published Admission Number, consultation is required under the Code. The consultation carried out between Wednesday 8 October to Friday 21 November 2025 complies with all relevant requirements of the Code.
Under the Code, parents have the right to appeal against any decision to refuse their child a place at a school for which they have applied, a process which is further governed by the School Admission Appeals Code 2022. Where a reduction in PAN for any of the schools mentioned in this report leads to a higher number of refusals, there is a chance that more parents will choose to appeal against those refusals. Where pupils are being “pushed back” to schools in other areas, those schools may also see higher numbers of appeals as there will be more pupils competing for available places. Although an appeals panel must take PAN into account when hearing an appeal, this will not be the sole deciding factor and therefore places may be granted at appeal even where this would put the school above PAN.
· Procurement – No procurement implications
· Health and Wellbeing - Public Health support the paper in allowing CYC to fulfil its statutory function re school places and also its commitment to continue to monitor reduced school places. Education is a cornerstone in reducing health inequalities.
· Environment and Climate action - A school admissions process which encourages children to attend their local school has beneficial implications in terms of environment with lower emissions and they are more likely to use sustainable modes of travel.
· Affordability - This report ensures fair access to educational opportunity; to help fulfil every child's educational potential and opportunities going forward.
· Equalities and Human Rights - A full EIA is included at Annex A.
· Communications - There are no direct corporate communication and engagement implications, with no proactive corporate communications around this issue planned. We will, of course, respond accordingly to any media interest in the report.
·
City Development/Economy - Robustly planned education
services and infrastructure are essential to supporting the city's
current and future productivity and competitiveness and supporting
our physical growth aspirations. The report is welcomed in this
respect
Risks and Mitigations
75. One risk with regards to reducing the Publish Admission Number within a school, is reducing the number of places in schools as the year group moves through the school. In year movement is difficult to plan and make projections for, where a school reduces its PAN there will be fewer places available in year which can be particularly challenging when that year group is restricted by infant class size limits of 30. It is vital that we monitor school place sufficiency and have processes in place to provide reasonable offers where necessary to ensure compliance with statutory duty.
76. The further risk relates to the financial implications for schools with a reduction in the PAN and therefore a reduction in funding. However, PAN reductions are ordinarily requested to assist with school finances, reduce surplus places and provide school places in line with local demand while better managing the school organisation.
Wards Impacted
77. All Wards
Contact details
For further information please contact the authors of this Decision Report.
Author
|
Name: |
Rachelle White |
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Job Title: |
School Admissions Manager |
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Service Area: |
Inclusive Education Service |
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Telephone: |
01904 554239 |
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Report approved: |
Maxine Squire |
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Date: |
06/11/2025 |
Co-author
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Name: |
Claire Roberts |
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Job Title: |
Place Planning and Capital Projects Manager |
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Service Area: |
Education & Skills |
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Telephone: |
07394843925 |
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Report approved: |
Maxine Squire |
|
Date: |
06/11/2025 |
Background
papers
School Admissions Code 2021
Annexes
|
Annex A |
Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) |
|
Annex B |
Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) checklist and questionnaire for Admission Consultation Report |
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Annex C |
Coordinated Admissions Scheme - Primary and Infant Schools for Reception DRAFT |
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Annex D |
Coordinated Admission Scheme – Junior schools for Year 3 DRAFT |
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Annex E |
Coordinated Admissions Scheme – Secondary Schools for Year 7 DRAFT |
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Annex F |
CVC Admissions Policy – Primary and Infant schools for reception DRAFT |
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Annex G |
CVC Admissions Policy – Secondary Schools for Year 7 DRAFT |
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Annex H |
Archbishop Holgate’s Church of England School – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex I |
Ebor Academy Trust – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex J |
Ebor Academy Trust – In Year Policy DRAFT |
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Annex K |
Excel Learning Trust - Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex L |
Heworth Church of England Primary School – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex M |
Heartwood Learning Trust – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex N |
Manor Church of England Academy – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex O |
Naburn Church of England Primary School – Admissions Policy |
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Annex P |
Pathfinder MAT – Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex Q |
Archbishop Holgate’s Church of England School – Supplementary Information Form DRAFT |
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Annex R |
Heworth Church of England Primary School – Supplementary Information Form DRAFT |
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Annex S |
Manor Church of England Academy – Supplementary Information Form DRAFT |
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Annex T |
Archbishop Holgate’s Church of England School - Year 12 Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex U |
Huntington School - Year 12 Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex V |
Joseph Rowntree School - Year 12 Admissions Policy DRAFT |
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Annex W |
Huntington School - Year 12 Application Form DRAFT |
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Annex X |
Joseph Rowntree School - Year 12 Application Form – Internal Students DRAFT |
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Annex Y |
Joseph Rowntree School - Year 12 Application Form – External Students DRAFT |
|
Annex Z |
Published Admission Number Matrix |
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Annex AA |
In Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme - DRAFT |
|
Annex AB |
In Year Admissions Policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools – DRAFT |
|
Annex AC |
Primary School Application Form 2027 DRAFT |
|
Annex AD |
Junior School Application Form 2027 DRAFT |
|
Annex AE |
Secondary School Application Form 2027 DRAFT |
|
Annex AF |
In Year School Application Form 2027 DRAFT |
|
Annex AG |
DPIA checklist for Admission Consultation Report |