In-Year Fair Access Protocol (Secondary)
1.
Introduction
1.1 This protocol should be read in conjunction with Chapter 3, School Admission
Code (DFES Feb 2007).
1.2 In-Year Fair Access Protocols (formerly referred to as ‘hard to place pupil
protocols’) exist to ensure that access to education is secured quickly for
vulnerable children and young people who have no school place, and to ensure
that all schools in an area admit their fair share of children and young people
with challenging behaviour. The protocol includes:
1.2.1
children in public care (looked after children);
1.2.2
excluded pupils;
1.2.3
children attending PRUs who need to be reintegrated back into
mainstream education;
1.2.4
children who have been out of education for longer than one school
term;
1.2.5
children whose parents have been unable to find them a place after
moving to the area because of a shortage of places;
1.2.6
children of refugees and asylum seekers not in accommodation centres;
1.2.7
homeless children;
1.2.8
children with unsupportive family backgrounds where a place has not
been sought;
1.2.9
children known to the police or other agencies;
1.2.10 children without a school place and with a history of serious attendance
problems;
1.2.11 traveller children.
(DFES Guidance – Hard to Place Children – Developing and Agreeing a Protocol, 2006)
1.3 All admission authorities and Admission Forums must have Fair Access
Protocols in place by September 2007 and a locally agreed protocol
encourages Calderdale secondary schools to work together in partnership along
with the Local Authority (LA) to more effectively meet the needs of these
children and young people.
2.
Main Principles
2.1 Some of the following principles are based on mandatory requirements but
others have been included by agreement with representatives from Calderdale
Association of Secondary Headteachers (CASH) and local authority officers to
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reflect a shared commitment to the Every Child Matters agenda. It is
acknowledged that for the scheme to be successful:
2.1.1
all schools will take part;
2.1.2
schools will continue to admit local pupils who apply for an available
place, under normal admission arrangements;
2.1.3
schools cannot say that they are over-subscribed if they are asked to
admit a pupil under the scheme, and “difficult to place/high need” pupils
will be given priority for admission over any others on a waiting list or
awaiting an appeal;
2.1.4
schools must respond within the agreed timeframe (7 days) to requests
for admission so that the admission of the pupil is not unduly delayed;
2.1.5
the local authority will take account of any genuine concerns about the
admission, for example a previous serious breakdown in the
relationship between the school and the family, or a strong aversion by
the family to the religious ethos of the school;
2.1.6
if there is the potential to make a choice between a young person who
has a denominational affiliation or one who doesn’t then we would offer
the “denominational pupil” to the denominational school;
2.1.7
a clear vision and strategy for meeting the needs of hard to place pupils
will be agreed by the Admissions Forum;
2.1.8
these pupils are the shared responsibility of all those involved in the
young person’s education (schools, agencies and parents/carers);
2.1.9
the focus will be on meeting the needs of the identified young person
including the provision of flexible education;
2.1.10 every young person will receive an entitlement based on an agreed set
of standards across all schools;
2.1.11 all appropriate agencies will support the education of the young person;
2.1.12 a commitment to pooling funding and/or resources to support
successful placement for these young people will be sought from all
schools and appropriate agencies;
2.1.13 representatives from schools in the Calderdale Campus Collaboratives
will participate in cluster admissions panels for ‘difficult to place/high
need’ pupils in partnership with officers from the LA and representatives
from appropriate support services/agencies where necessary;
2.1.14 the procedures must be fair and transparent;
2.1.15 monitoring must be undertaken by the LA and reported on annually.
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3.
Procedure
3.1 The general rule should be that if a child moves into the area, he/she attends a
local school or the school named by the parents as their first preference.
Headteachers should not refuse to admit a child if there is a place available. It is
only in exceptional circumstances that schools may refuse admission (3.13
School Admission Code). For schools which are their own admissions
authorities Headteachers and Governing Bodies must agree a procedure
whereby the Head in consultation with the Chair is empowered to make speedy
decisions about the placement of a pupil so that there is not a further period of
absence from school.
3.2 If a pupil moves into the area and cannot find a school place, this may be for
one of the following reasons:
4.
3.2.1
all the local schools are genuinely full in the relevant year group;
3.2.2
the pupil has serious behavioural problems which the school cannot
deal with (e.g. because it is in Special Measures);
3.2.3
the pupil cannot travel to the school which can be offered, either
because it is too far away or because the pupil has specific difficulties.
Non-contentious requests
4.1 Where a child moves into an area and the only obstacle preventing that child
from obtaining a place is that all local schools are full, the Admissions Officer
will assess the situation to identify whether:
4.1.1
all local schools are genuinely full in that particular year group;
4.1.2
there has been no demonstration of challenging behaviour as identified
through fixed term or permanent exclusions at any previous secondary
school or schools.
4.2 The Authority has a statutory obligation to ensure that suitable educational
provision is found within 20 days for pupils who are not in education. Where
non-contentious requests are received and the above circumstances apply, the
Admissions Officer may take the decision to invoke the protocol and direct a
school to admit a pupil even where a school has already reached its published
admission number.
4.3 Such requests will not be considered through Area Admissions Panels and will
not attract additional support. Where directed to admit children, a school will
however be awarded points under the points-weighted system.
5.
The points-weighted list of schools
5.1 If the pupil is accepted by the local authority as being “difficult to place/high
need”, the schools best suited to meeting the pupil’s needs will be identified and
a points-weighted list will be referred to in order to identify which school’s turn it
is to admit next. A single points-weighted list will be used (Appendix 1), in the
case of secondary schools, to place “difficult to place/high need” pupils,
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permanently excluded pupils and pupils entering school through the Managed
Transfer Protocol.
5.2 The schools are ranked (Appendix 2), using data relating to such factors as the
number of pupils with statements of SEN, pupils on School Action Plus and the
number of children eligible for free school meals.
5.3 When a school admits a pupil under the In-Year Fair Access Protocol or
Managed Transfers Protocol points are credited to the school and the school
moves to a lower position on the list. Schools will not normally be asked to
admit more than three or four pupils in any one year.
5.4 Ideally, pupils will be placed in a school within their local
community/collaborative but, in certain circumstances, there may be a
requirement to place the pupil in a school within a different collaborative. (e.g.
there could be placement issues in the Central Campus due to the designation
and current status of secondary schools within that collaborative.)
5.5 Updated information on placements made via the In-Year Fair Access and
Managed Transfers Protocols will be issued to schools annually in the summer
term.
6.
Additional Support
6.1 Hard to place pupils admitted to schools under this scheme may require
additional support to ensure successful placement. In order to facilitate this,
identified agencies will be requested to participate in the Area Admissions
Panels and will be asked to contribute to the pupil’s individual support plan,
where appropriate.
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Managed Moves Protocol
1.
Introduction
1.1 In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for a registered pupil of
compulsory school age to transfer to another school to reduce, for example, the
risk of the pupil being permanently excluded.
1.2 Managed moves should be undertaken according to a clear procedure in order
to avoid disputes between schools, parents and the local authority regarding
respective responsibilities for the education of the particular pupil.
1.3 A managed move should be initiated by the pupil’s current school following
discussion with parents.
1.4 A managed move is not appropriate when:
2.
1.4.1
The pupil is a persistent non-attender. This is the responsibility of the
current school in co-operation with the Education Welfare Team.
1.4.2
The young person is not on a school roll. A young person of compulsory
school age who is not on roll is the responsibility of the local authority.
Principles
2.1 All maintained schools in Calderdale must agree to act in accordance with this
protocol particularly with reference to its time-scales and in the provision of
appropriately detailed pupil information.
2.2 All schools must act in a spirit of partnership and co-operation for the managed
transfer arrangements to work.
2.3 A managed transfer request will normally be initiated by the child’s current
school.
2.4 The full agreement of parents to the managed move must be obtained in
writing.
2.5 The interests of the child or young person are paramount when considering a
managed move. The views of the pupil to voluntarily undertake a transfer to
another school should therefore be sought and considered carefully.
Justification for the transfer of “looked after” pupils or pupils who have a
statement of SEN will need to be especially strong.
2.6 Where a pupil has a statement of SEN, interim statutory review procedures
must be implemented prior to any transfer request or a permanent exclusion. A
managed move must form part of either the pupil’s Pastoral Support Plan (PSP)
or Individual Education Plan (IEP), for pupils with special educational needs.
2.7 It is the collective expectation of both schools and the local authority that a
managed move must be considered prior to a permanent exclusion being
implemented. The pupil would be expected to be at least at School Action Plus
of the SEN Code of Practice, thereby demonstrating that all other preventive
strategies have been exhausted.
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2.8 Pupils will normally be expected to have undergone a managed transfer
between schools prior to a managed transfer to the PRU.
2.9 All managed moves will last for an initial trial period of six weeks, with a set date
for a formal review procedure, at which a final decision will be made as to
whether the move will now become permanent.
2.10 The home school will retain the pupil on its admission register throughout the
trial transfer period and must also maintain a daily attendance register during
that time. Pupils attending the PRU as a managed transfer will be dual
registered with the home school and the PRU.
2.11 A receiving school must admit the pupil in accordance with the principles
outlined in a plan tailored to meet the child’s individual needs. This might, for
example, include mentoring or a period of attendance within a Learning Support
Unit alongside full mainstream school activities for the duration of the trial
period.
3.
Procedures
3.1 Where a Headteacher wishes to initiate a managed move he/she (or member of
staff with delegated responsibility) should inform the Reintegration Officer of the
possibility of a managed transfer being requested.
3.2 The Headteacher (or member of staff with delegated responsibility) should then
consult parents and the pupil about their views on a transfer to another school
at a review meeting of the child’s progress, as part of the pupil’s current pupil
support plan (PSP) or individual education plan (IEP).
3.3 Where a pupil is the subject of a statement of SEN, the review must take the
form of a statutory interim review, which must be attended by an appropriate
local authority officer.
3.4 Written consent should be obtained from the parents or carers with a clear
indication of which school(s) the parent is willing to consider. Parents should be
informed that there is no guarantee that their request will be met. In most cases,
the local authority would expect a managed transfer between schools to have
been carried out, prior to applying for a place in the PRU.
3.5 The Headteacher (or member of staff with delegated responsibility) wishing to
initiate the managed move should then complete the appropriate ‘Request for
Managed Transfer’ form. The form is used for record keeping and monitoring. A
copy should be sent to the Reintegration Officer.
3.6 The home school will be required to provide the receiving school with
information relating to the pupil’s progress, attainment and behaviour. If the
pupil has a statement of SEN both the latest statutory annual review and the
results of the interim review should also be provided.
3.7 The Headteacher (or member of staff with delegated responsibility) wishing to
initiate the move will contact the proposed receiving school with the request for
a managed transfer. If the request is approved by the receiving school, a
meeting with the new Headteacher (or member of staff with delegated
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responsibility) and parents and pupil will be arranged without delay. The
receiving school will explain to the parent and pupil how the six-week ‘trial’
period will operate and that the pupil must remain on the previous school’s
register during this period. The Reintegration Officer will only become directly
involved with managed transfer procedures in cases where the request for a
managed transfer is proving problematic.
3.8 The following arrangements must be put in place in implementing a managed
transfer:
3.8.1
the starting date for the trial period of the transfer;
3.8.2
any agreed attendance arrangements; for example, it may not be
appropriate for all pupils to transfer on a full-time basis with immediate
effect;
3.8.3
the length of the trial transfer (usually six weeks) and the date set for
the final review meeting;
3.8.4
the arrangements for reporting and recording the child’s attendance
record. (This will be kept on the “home” school’s register, using the
code for “receiving education off-site”, so long as the child is actually in
attendance when required. Absences which are not approved must be
recorded as “unauthorised”);
3.8.5
any other issues needing clarification such as transport, learning
support, involvement of local authority officers and other professionals.
3.9 In exceptional circumstances, if the receiving school wants to end the trial
before the six-week period is completed, the Headteacher (or member of staff
with delegated responsibility) must, firstly, consult with the Reintegration Officer
and the Headteacher (or member of staff with delegated responsibility) of the
home school before confirming this in writing to the parent(s), the local authority
and to the home school Headteacher, specifying the date from which the child
must return to their home school. This will only occur in instances of extreme
behaviour.
3.10 At the agreed final review meeting, a decision must be made to determine
whether the child will return to their home school or be admitted to the new
school on a permanent basis. Further trials will only be appropriate in unusual
circumstances such as long-term absence through illness.
3.11 On the agreed date, the child must be removed from the admission register of
the home school and added to the admission register of the receiving school.
Any remaining school records should then be transferred. Once this has
happened, the receiving school cannot remove the pupil again, except by
permanent exclusion or referral for a managed transfer to the PRU. In the case
of a pupil with a statement of SEN, this would be required prior to an interim
review of the statement.
3.12 There are no budget considerations connected with managed moves unless the
headteachers of the home school and the receiving school agree between them
to transfer funds.
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Note: In this protocol, “parent” includes any person who has ‘parental responsibility’
for a child.
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Gender/Ethnicity/SEN
ZB
10
Mytholmroyd OOA
f/w
b
V
SL
9
Elland
m/
wb
D
AP
11
Boothtown
m/
wb
C
LP
10
Hebden
Bridge
f/w
b
V
MP
11
St John’s HX1
f/oo
th
C
√
MN
11
Shelf
m/
wb
D
√
EA
9
Gibbet St HX1
m/a
pk
V
JB
10
Hove Edge
m/
wb
D
In Year Fair Access Protocol
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Page 9
√
√
√
√
√
√
√ (ESOL)
√
√
√
TOTAL (out of 14)
Unable to find place
due to shortage of
places
Managed Transfer
Protocol implemented
asylum seeker, young
carer, teenage parent
Other e.g. refugee,
CAMHS
Care Services
YOT, police.
Domestic violence
Minimal home
support
Disaffected
Out of ed for more
than one term
History of attendance
problems
Permanently excluded
Significant no. of fixed
term exclusions
Looked after
CC collaborative
Year group
Address
Name
Appendix 1
In-Year fair Access Protocol (Identification of Hard to Place Pupils) – Draft
9
√
6
√
4
3
2
2
2
1
Appendix 2
Collaboration Model – Secondary School Rankings - Draft
Campus
Valley
Central
Schools
Specialism
Diploma
SA+
SEN(
statements)
FSM
Total
(ave)
Rank
Media
31 (3.8%)
35 (4%)
105 (13.8%)
7.2%
3
Todmorden High
Visual Arts
Ryburn Valley High
Media Arts
49 (3.6%)
41 (3.1%)
114 (10.1%)
5.6%
2
Sowerby Bridge High
Maths & ICT
32 (3.3%)
44 (4.5%)
224 (26%)
11.3%
4
Calder High
Technology
23 (1.8%)
47 (3.4%)
111 (10.2%)
5.1%
1
Halifax High at WP
MFL/Performing
Arts
36 (5.2%)
16 (2.5%)
268 (41.6%)
16.4%
5
North Halifax
Grammar
Science
5 (0.5%)
2 (0.2%)
7 (0.9%)
0.5%
1
St Catherine’s
Catholic High
Science &
Technology
50 (6.1%)
10 (1.2%)
132 (17.4%)
8.2%
4
Holy Trinity C of E
Senior
Business &
Enterprise
24 (2.4%)
23 (2.3%)
49 (5.5%)
3.4%
3
The Ridings
Visual Arts
55 (10.4%)
22 (3.3%)
229 (39.1%)
17.6%
5
Crossley Heath
Grammar
MFL
9 (0.9%)
2 (0.2%)
11 (1.4%)
0.8%
2
45 (87%)
7 (13%)
18 (35%)
45%
N/A
PRU
In Year Fair Access Protocol
IT
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District
30 (2.1%)
44 (3.2%)
121 (10.1%)
5.1%
4
Business &
Enterprise
28 (2.1%)
39 (3.1%)
65 (6.2%)
3.8%
1
Hipperholme &
Lightcliffe High
Sport
43 (3.7%)
20 (1.8%)
69 (6.8%)
4.1%
3
Brooksbank
Sport
9 (0.6%)
35 (2.3%)
123 (9.1)
4%
2
Park Lane High
Arts
32 (7.4%)
25 (6%)
141 (34.1%)
15.8%
5
Ravenscliffe
Sport
0 (0%)
115 (100%)
26 (32.5%)
N/A
N/A
Rastrick High
Technology
Brighouse High
Calderdale College
In Year Fair Access Protocol
Health &
Social Care
Construction
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