To be provided by 31 October 2025
To request the report details, you can contact the School Admissions Team.
| Year Group | Much less challenging | Less challenging | No change | More challenging | Much more challenging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | X | ||||
| Year 7 | X | ||||
| Other relevant years of entry | X |
How well does the admissions system in your local authority area serve the interests of looked after children at normal points of admission?
Well.
How well do the admissions systems in other local authority areas serve the interests of children looked after by your local authority at normal points of admission?
Well.
How well does your admissions system serve the interests of children who are looked after by other local authorities but educated in your area at normal points of admission?
Well.
How well does the admissions system in your local authority area serve the interests of previously looked after children at normal points of admission?
Well.
How well served are children with special educational needs and/or disabilities who have an education, health and care plan that names a school at normal points of admission?
Well.
| Phase | Much less challenging | Less challenging | No change | More challenging | Much more challenging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | X | ||||
| Secondary | X |
If you wish, please explain the factors that have changed the level of challenge for your in-year admissions:
Overall the council has faced similar challenges to last year. Two primary schools were closed in 2023 to 2024. A further primary school closed in 2024 to 2025 and these pupils required alternative school placements to be found. Schools are more consistently having to reduce the number of classes across multiple year groups or capping year groups for financial efficiency reasons. While there are still sufficient vacant places across the city for some movement and new arrivals, it does present challenges when having to place siblings at the same school.
How well does the in-year admission system serve children who are looked after by your local authority and who are being educated in your area?
Well.
How well does the in-year admission systems in other local authority areas serve the interests of your looked after children?
Well.
How well does the in-year admission system serve the interests of children who are looked after by other local authorities but educated in your area?
Well.
How well does your in-year admission system serve the interests of previously looked after children?
Well.
How well served are children with special educational needs and/or disabilities who have an education, health and care plan that names a school when they need to be admitted in-year?
Well.
How well served are children with special educational needs and/or disabilities who do not have an education, health and care plan when they need to be admitted in-year?
Well.
What proportion of the state-funded mainstream schools in your area have said that they agree to the local authority fair access protocol?
Primary: 100%.
Secondary: 100%.
| Type of school | Number of Primary aged children admitted | Number of Secondary aged children admitted |
|---|---|---|
| Community and voluntary controlled | 2 | 21 |
| Foundation, voluntary aided and academies | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 2 | 29 |
If you have seen a change in the number of children referred to your Fair Access Protocol between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025 compared to the previous academic year please indicate what you consider the key reasons for this change to be?
There were similar numbers of pupils placed in 2024/25 to last year.
How well do you consider children referred to the Fair Access Protocol are served in in your area?
Well.
Please provide any comments you wish on the protocol not covered above:
FAP panels meet every two weeks (secondary) and three weeks (primary), and pupils are broadly placed in the appropriate time frame. Where there has been delay this has sometimes been about the scheduling of meetings or ensuring there is sufficient information to allow for an appropriate decision to be made under the FAP.
It is important that only Directions to maintained schools are included here. Numbers of Directions to academies are already held by the Department.
How many directions did the local authority make between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025 to maintained schools for which the local authority is not the admission authority to admit children (including children looked after by the local authority but resident in another area)?
| Total number of children | Of which, looked after | Of which, not looked after |
|---|---|---|
| 0 |
For the schools for which the local authority co-ordinates in-year applications, in the year between 1 Aug 2024 and 31 July 2025 did you receive.
Slightly fewer applications than last year.
For what proportion of primary schools in your area did the local authority co-ordinate in-year admissions during the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
Between 75% and 100%.
Between 75% and 100%.
4. If you wish, please provide any comments about how well in-year admissions works for children who are not looked after or previously looked after and/or do not have SEND:
Pupils are generally very well served due to all schools participating in the councils coordinated scheme and applications are processed within the required timescale.