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A Parent Admission Authority: the Governing Body of Harris Academy

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A Parent Admission Authority: the Governing Body of Harris Academy DETERMINATION Case reference: ADA/002688 Objector: A parent Admission Authority: The governing body of Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, Grays, Essex Date of decision: 2 October 2014 Determination In accordance with section 88H(4) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, I do not uphold the objection to the admission arrangements determined by the governing body of Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, the admission authority for the school, for admissions in September 2015 I have also considered the arrangements as a whole in accordance with section 88I(5) of the Act and I determine that these do not conform with the requirements relating to admission arrangements. By virtue of section 88K(2) of the Act the adjudicator’s decision is binding on the admission authority. The School Admissions Code requires the admission authority to revise its admission arrangements as quickly as possible. The referral 1. Under section 88H(2) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, (the Act), an objection has been referred to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by a parent (the objector), about the admission arrangements (the arrangements) for September 2015, for Harris Academy Chafford Hundred (the school), a secondary academy school for pupils aged 11 to 18 years. The school is situated in Grays, Essex, within the local authority (the LA) of Thurrock. The objection is to the catchment area of the school which the objector contends is not reasonable. Jurisdiction 2. The terms of the academy agreement between the Harris Federation and the Secretary of State for Education require that the admissions policy and the arrangements for the academy school are in accordance with admissions law as it applies to maintained schools. These arrangements were determined by the governing body of the Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, which is the admission authority for the school, on 5 November 2013, on that basis. 3. The objector submitted the objection to these determined arrangements for 2015 on 26 June 2014 and I am satisfied the objection has been properly referred to me in accordance with section 88H of the Act and it is within my jurisdiction. I have also used my powers under section 88I of the Act to consider the arrangements as a whole. Procedure 4. In considering this matter I have had regard to all relevant legislation and the School Admissions Code (the Code). 5. The documents I have considered in reaching my decision include: • the objection dated 26 June 2014 with supporting documents and further comments dated 18 July 2014; • the school’s responses dated 16 July, 22 August and 19 September 2014; • the LA’s comments dated 2 July and further responses dated 14, 18 and 30 July 2014; • the LA’s “Pupil Place Plan 2014 to 2018”; • the minutes of the meeting of the full governing body held on 5 November 2013 at which the arrangements for 2015 were determined; • the determined arrangements for 2015; and • the master funding agreement for the Harris federation of South London Schools dated 31 August 2007 and annex 1 of the supplemental agreement for Harris Academy Chafford Hundred dated 1 October 2011. 6. I have taken account of all information, maps and data received during the meeting I convened at the school on 11 September 2014 attended by the objector and the school; and the further information that was requested at the meeting and which has been submitted subsequently by the school. The Objection 7. The objection is to the catchment area of the school which the objector contends is not reasonable. The objector says that the school’s catchment area includes 118 streets in Chafford Hundred; some of which are located as far as 1.3 miles east of the school. To the west of the school one area of West Thurrock is excluded although it is located only 0.7 miles away from the school. For this reason the objector contends that the current catchment area is unreasonable and unfair. 8. The objector states that if the school is to design the catchment area to address the needs of the local community, it should include the area of West Thurrock that is at issue and should exclude the area north-east of Chafford Hundred, located further from this school and already covered by the catchment area of other two schools. Paragraph 1.14 of the Codes says, “Catchment areas must be designed so that they are reasonable and clearly defined. Catchment areas do not prevent parents who live outside the catchment of a particular school from expressing a preference for the school.” Other Matters 9. During my investigation of the complaint the objector also raised an issue concerning the adequacy of the school’s last consultation in 2013 and I considered the matter with the school and the objector at the meeting I convened at the school. 10. Having reviewed the arrangements as a whole for admissions in September 2015, I considered there were other issues which may contravene the Code. These include the publication of the arrangements for admission to the school in September 2015 on the school’s website; the requirement to state that the school will admit pupils who have a statement of special educational needs that names the school; a full definition of looked-after and previously looked-after children; clarity about the staff who are eligible to seek priority in the arrangements for their children; placing all admissions information together for parents; a final tie-breaker; and information about the waiting list. 11. In relation to the separate arrangements for admission to the sixth form, matters include the requirement for a published admission number (PAN) for year 12; the clarity of the arrangements overall; and a number of issues relating to the application form. Background 12. The school which is in located in Thurrock converted to academy status on 1 October 2011 replacing its predecessor school, the Chafford Hundred Campus. The planned capacity of the school is 1320 places for pupils aged 11 to 18 years. There are currently 900 pupils on roll in years 7 to 11 plus a sixth form of 250. The school is significantly oversubscribed each year and data indicate that there were 630 preferences in 2013 of which 264 were first preferences. These figures increased in 2014 when there were 743 applications including 299 first preferences. In each year, after the admission of children with statements of special educational need, looked after and previously looked after children, places were allocated on the basis of catchment sibling priority and to other children living in the school’s catchment area. Not all children living within the school’s catchment area who had expressed a first preference for the school were able to gain admission. 13. The Resource Base provides places for an additional 20 for pupils who have a full statement of special needs for speech, language and communication impairment. These pupils are not included in the school’s PAN of 180, although they are largely integrated into mainstream lessons. 14. I was advised that the Harris Federation has received approval to open a new secondary Free School which will have specialisms in Science and Enterprise. Current plans are for it to open on a temporary site in the vicinity of the school until a permanent site is secured. The principal of the school will become the executive principal for both schools. The new Free School due to open in September 2015 in Chafford Hundreds will eventually admit up to its PAN of 180 but as there is surplus capacity in the wider LA area it has been agreed that initially the new school will admit only 120 pupils into year 7. It is proposed that one of the oversubscription criteria will be based on distance from home to school or to a fixed point in the area, rather than having a fixed area catchment. Meetings are scheduled for September and October 2014 to provide information to the community and a website for the new school invites parents and interested parties to give their views on admission arrangements and a range of other issues. 15. At present there is a joint governing body for the Chafford Hundred Primary Academy and the school. However, a new Harris Academy primary Free School (Harris Primary Academy Mayflower) opened in September 2014 in order to meet the significant need locally for new places and I was advised that it is likely that there will be a joint governing body for the two primary schools and a further joint governing body for the two secondary schools. A sixth form is planned in 2017 for the secondary phase Free School and it will be federated with the school. Consideration of factors 16. The LA describes Thurrock as “the largest regeneration area in the UK” and it has five main urban areas including West Thurrock, Purfleet and Grays plus the adjacent recent development at Chafford Hundred. Thurrock is a compact area and a significant majority of pupils attend schools that are local and easily accessed. Most primary pupils attend schools within two miles of their homes and most secondary school pupils attend schools within three miles of their homes. According to the LA’s ‘Pupil Place Plan for 2014 to 2018’, pupil numbers are projected to decline to their lowest level in the current academic year, that is, September 2014 when overall numbers for year 7 fall to 1704. There is capacity in the system to admit 1956 pupils and therefore a surplus of 252 places. However, as numbers are forecast to rise, plans are in place for the Gateway Academy to increase its PAN from 210 to 240 in September 2015.
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