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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to comments made by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, Chair of the Accord coalition, opposing proposals to prevent organisations from objecting to the admission arrangements of schools.

Lord Nash

The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

We want the Schools Adjudicator to be able to focus on objections raised by those who will be affected by admission arrangements. Local Authorities will continue to have a right to object on behalf of the local community.

The Government supports the need for an independent body to respond to concerns raised about the fairness of school admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator is that body and we are confident of both the independence and rigour of the adjudication process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that all schools should follow the School Admissions Code, and if so, why objections to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator that have been upheld have been described by the Secretary of State for Education as vexatious”.”

Lord Nash

All maintained schools and academies are required to comply with the School Admissions Code.

Currently, legislation allows ‘any person or body who considers that a maintained school or academy’s arrangements are unlawful’ to refer an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. However, the Adjudicator raised concerns in her recent annual report that, in some instances, groups and individuals appear to have referred objections in an attempt to influence government policy.

We want to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns that parents may have about their local school’s admission arrangements, and is not held up by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area. We are, therefore, proposing that only local parents and local authorities should be able to refer objections to the Schools Adjudicator.

We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children seeking asylum in the UK they estimate not to be in education, and for how long; and what steps they plan to take to tackle this issue.

Lord Bates

Education is a devolved matter. Parents of children of compulsory school age have a duty to ensure their children receive a full time education suitable to the children’s age, ability, aptitude and any special education need the children might have, either by regular attendance at a school or otherwise.

Where a child of compulsory school age (including children of asylum seekers) is not registered at a school or receiving an education other than at a school, the relevant local authority has the power to require that parent to satisfy them as to the suitability of the education being provided for that child.

If they are not satisfied then the local authority can require the child to register at a named school. However, the issue of education provision for children seeking asylum is an important one and the Home Office makes every effort to ensure that families with children who claim asylum support have access to education at the earliest opportunity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional steps, if any, they will take to monitor and enforce compliance with the School Admissions Code in the light of their decision to limit those who can formally object to school admission arrangements; and what estimate they have made of what percentage of the objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by (1) parents, and (2) groups or organisations, were successful between 2012 and 2015 inclusive.

Lord Nash

The School Admissions Code exists to ensure that places in all state funded schools are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. The Department for Education will shortly be consulting on a package of changes to the Code, which will include measures to assist parents and promote fairness and transparency. The proposed changes in relation to objections are designed to ensure that the Schools Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school and is not held up by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area. Local authorities will continue to have the right to object so that they are able to act on behalf of the local community.