Agenda item

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 2026.

Resolved: That the proposed changes to the Admission Arrangements for September 2026-2027 based on the evidence shown in the Options Analysis and Evidential Basis section of the report be approved, subject to the amendment that the Published Admission Numbers (PAN) for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC School and St Wilfrid’s RC School would maintain the same for 2026 admissions as they had been for 2025.

Reason: To ensure that City of York Council continues to meet its statutory duty as set out in the terms of the Education Act 1996 and also works collaboratively with Academy Trusts to meet that duty whilst also appreciating the financial pressure on schools and trusts.

The School Admissions Manager presented the report and noted that schools had been given the opportunity to respond through a consultation process which ran for six weeks through October to November 2024.

The School Admissions Manager highlighted the key changes to schools Published Admission Numbers (PAN) as referred to in the report, and it was reported that contrary to information within the report, the PAN for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC School and St Wilfrid’s RC School would maintain the same for 2026 admissions as they had been for 2025.

The Assistant Director, Education and Skills reported that schools were able to raise PANs within the scope of accommodating future children following sudden increases to the local population, such as due to the building of new housing developments.

The Executive Member encouraged schools to communicate effectively with City of York Council (CYC) and to make sure that information held by CYC was correct, and it was;

Resolved:

·         That the proposed changes to the Admission Arrangements for September 2026-2027 based on the evidence shown in the Options Analysis and Evidential Basis section of the report be approved, subject to the amendment that the Published Admission Numbers (PAN) for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC School and St Wilfrid’s RC School would maintain the same for 2026 admissions as they had been for 2025.

Reason: To ensure that City of York Council continues to meet its statutory duty as set out in the terms of the Education Act 1996 and also works collaboratively with Academy Trusts to meet that duty whilst also appreciating the financial pressure on schools and trusts.