Scheme for co-ordinated admissions to infant, primary and junior schools – Admissions Year 2022 to 2023
(Admissions to Reception or year 3 of Junior School in September 2022)
Introduction
The main purpose of the co-ordinated scheme is to ensure that every parent of a child living in Brighton & Hove who has completed a school preference form receives one offer of an infant, primary or junior school place. This will be on a set date following the conclusion of the normal admission round for pupils seeking admission to school. The scheme is designed to foster clear communications on school admissions between the City Council, community schools, Academies (for the purposes of this document Free Schools are included as Academies), and voluntary aided schools which act as their own admission authority, and neighbouring Local Authorities (LAs) and admission authorities. It fulfils the requirements of the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements (England)) Regulations 2014 and more detailed arrangements set out in the School Admissions Code 2014. The scheme does not affect the rights of voluntary aided schools and Academies to set their own admission priorities, and consider applications on the basis of those priorities. It is intended to set out a process and time scale for the exchange of pupil information between the parties to the scheme, resulting in the offer of a single school place. This should represent a preference listed by the parent /carer following the application of the admission priorities by the Local Authority (LA) or by own admission authority schools. Where it is not possible to allocate a place at any of the preferred schools for a child living in Brighton & Hove, a place will be offered at the nearest school to their home address within the city boundaries with a place available. This will not preclude parents from seeking an alternative place elsewhere if they are unhappy with the offer, nor will it prevent them from lodging an appeal with the admission authority for their preferred school.
All residents of Brighton & Hove should apply using the City Council’s common application form (online or paper) even if they are seeking a place at a maintained school in the area of another Council.
The time scales set out in the scheme will be broadly in line with the time scales used by neighbouring LAs. Please be aware that governing bodies for VA schools and Academies will need to meet between 21 February 2022 and 08 March 2022 when the ranking order needs to be returned to the Local Authority.