FAIR ACCESS PROTOCOL
1. Introduction.
Educational opportunities for some children are put at risk because they are regarded
as hard to place and they experience delays in admission to school, their placement
breaks down shortly after admission, or they find themselves denied access to a
school place. A suitable school place should be found quickly. It is also important that
no school should be asked to take an excessive or unreasonable number of such
pupils and that support services are aligned around a new Fair Access admission, so
that the placement is successful. The definition of a Fair Access pupil is in 3 below.
All school Admitting Authorities (not just the Local Authority {LA}) are under a duty to
comply with the Admissions Code and the SEN Code of Practice. The LA has a duty
to ensure that there are sufficient places in the area and has a responsibility to both
pupils and schools to ensure that the placement is given the best chance to succeed.
This protocol applies to all primary and secondary schools in Torbay, including
voluntary aided and foundation schools.
2. Aims of the Protocol.
a. To ensure that the needs of the pupil are fully considered before admission to
school.
b. To ensure that the admission of fair access pupils is supported so that the
placement succeeds.
c. To ensure that there is openness and fairness in the process and every school is
treated as equally as possible.
d. To ensure that there is an agreement to admit to a school a pupil covered by this
Protocol within 20 school days of an application being made.
e. To develop further collaboration amongst schools and between schools and the
LA on the understanding that the provision of a sustainable school place is the
shared responsibility of all parties.
3. Definition of Fair Access pupils.








Children in Care (CIC) who have complex needs.
Pupils who have been educated for some time in a system where
language, culture or curriculum makes swift integration difficult
Children attending PRUs who need to be reintegrated back into
mainstream education
Children who have been out of education for longer than one school
term
Children whose parents have been unable to find them a place after
moving to the area, because of a shortage of places
Children withdrawn from schools by their family, following fixed term
exclusions and unable to find another place
Children of refugees and asylum seekers;
Homeless children;









Children with unsupportive family backgrounds, where a place has not
been sought;
Children known to the police or other agencies;
Children without a school place and with a history of serious attendance
problems;
Traveller children;
Children who are carers;
Children with special educational needs (but without a statement);
Children with disabilities or medical conditions;
Children returning from the criminal justice system
Children of UK service personnel and other Crown Servants.
Other children requiring a school place will continue to be placed in accordance with
the usual admission procedures.
4. Arrangements for Children with a Statement of SEN
Children with a statement of SEN are not covered by the protocol, as their needs
must be considered separately and admissions arranged by the LA’s SEN Team
using the SEN Code of Practice.
In brief this process is that parents are invited to express a preference for a school.
This places a duty on the LA to consult with the preferred school with the
presumption that the school will be named on the Statement and the pupil admitted
unless the school cannot meet the child’s needs, or the admission is incompatible
with the efficient use of resources.
Where pupils with statements of SEN meet one of the Fair Access definitions, they
will be counted as a Fair Access admission for the purposes of monitoring.
5. How the Protocol will operate.
Parental preference will initially determine where the request for admission is made.
In the case of Fair Access Pupils transferring between schools in Torbay, and in
accordance with normal transfer procedures, schools will provide the LA’s
Admissions Team with full information on the pupil, within 5 school days to enable
admission to be arranged.
Where Fair Access Pupils move into Torbay from schools outside the LA area, the
LA’s Admission Team will gather information from previous schools/LA as above.
Prior to the admission of any Fair Access pupil, an identification of need will be
carried out by the LA to determine the appropriate educational placement, taking
account of parental preference, and determine the support and intervention
strategies that can be offered to the pupil in order to maximise the chances of
successful admission. The Head of Learning Access (HoLA), or her nominee, will
discuss arrangements for admission with the pupil and the parent/carer within 10
school days from the date that it becomes known a Fair Access pupil is in need of a
school place.
In identifying needs, the LA will draw upon expertise from services located in or
aligned to the Cluster teams.
Where the identification of need concludes that a Fair Access pupil should be
admitted to school, the LA will draw up an integration plan with the receiving school
describing the support that will be available to the pupil before, during and after
admission to school. The plan will describe support that is to be offered by the school
and by the LA and identify an appropriate curriculum offer. The plan will also
determine the duration of any support programme which will not normally exceed one
half term.
In Secondary schools this will be enabled through the Behaviour & Attendance
Partnership arrangement (in conjunction with the HoLA). In Primary schools
arrangements will be made through the Admissions & Student Services Manager
(ASSM)
6. Availability of Places
In deciding whether places are available for Fair Access Pupils, all Admission
Authorities must follow their admissions arrangements and the Admissions Code in
deciding whether a place is available. If a parent is refused a place at their preferred
school they will be informed of the right of appeal.
Fair Access Pupils are expected to meet the selective or denominational
requirements for admission where these are required.
Provided there is space in the relevant year group and integration plan is in place,
schools will admit Fair Access Pupils. If the PAN has been reached, admitting
authorities will also admit Fair Access pupils above the PAN (or above any informal
“admission limit”) unless:
a. the class is a Key Stage One class and the admission of an additional pupil
would create an unlawful large class of more than 30 pupils (though Children in
Care who are Fair Access can be admitted) or
b. the relevant year group is more than 5% above the PAN/admission limit or
c. in the case of a Primary school, either it has already admitted to the school two
Fair Access pupils during the current term and these pupils are still on roll or it has
already admitted a Fair Access pupil to the relevant class during the current term
and this pupil is still on roll.
d. in the case of a Secondary school, it has already admitted two Fair Access pupils
during the current term into the relevant year group and these pupils are still on
roll.
Where the above process cannot secure a place at the preferred school, the child will
be admitted to the nearest school to the pupil’s home which can offer a place.
Where the process above cannot secure a place at any Torbay school, the LA will,
after consideration of the circumstances of the case, identify a school placement. If
necessary, the LA will then proceed to secure the admission of the pupil using
provisions to direct admission within the School Admissions Code. The LA will only
direct the admission of a Fair Access Pupil if it has first drawn up an integration plan
for the child.
7. Monitoring arrangements
a. The LA will retain a record of every Fair Access pupil admitted via the LA
Admissions Team.
b. Foundation and VA schools should notify the ASSM of any Fair Access pupil, as
defined in the Protocol, they admit as a casual admission
c. The LA will keep a list of all Fair Access Pupils and share this with relevant
Children’s Services staff, the Secondary Behaviour & Attendance Partnership
Management Group and the Schools Partnership Steering Group. A report will be
given to the Admissions Forum at every meeting
d. Where a Fair Access placement breaks down, there will be a review of the case,
led by HoLA to determine how to avoid future difficulties with placement and any
alternative placement for the pupil in question.
8. Pupils reintegrating from the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)
Some pupils at the PRU will still be on the roll of their school with the intention that
they will be able to return to their school, but some pupils e.g. those who were
excluded in the past may have no school place to return to. In such cases the
Headteacher will contact the Admissions and Student Services Section and arrange
for a preference form to be sent to the pupil’s parents. When the preference form is
returned it will be dealt with in accordance with the protocol.
9. Children in Care from other Local Authorities.
Some children are placed in Torbay by other local authorities and a separate protocol
has been established to deal with such cases, to include a professionals meeting
with the appropriate agencies involved with the child. The Fair Access protocol is
then followed as outlined above.
10. Funding.
Funding arrangements will be determined annually by the LA in consultation with the
Schools Forum.
For Secondary schools the resources to deliver the Integration Plans will be
contained in the funding of the Behaviour & Attendance Partnership.
For Primary schools a level of funding will need to be identified annually from DSG
and agreed by Forum to resource the integration plans.
January 2008
AJ Porter