Parents are invited to have their say on changes to school admission arrangements.

Hertfordshire County Council is proposing the following changes are proposed to admission policies for 2020/21 school year.

  • To amend the definition of ‘exceptional social and medical reasons to attend a specific school’ to include children previously looked after abroad and subsequently adopted;
  • To amend the schemes of co-ordination to clarify the process for late applications and continuing interest
  • To reduce the published admission number at four primary schools.

The proposal to amend the current definition of ‘Rule 2’ to include children adopted from abroad is being undertaken on advice given to all local and admission authorities by the Department for Education, whilst the proposal to strengthen the information in the scheme of coordination is intended to add clarity and transparency to the late application and continuing interest process for parents and schools alike.

The School Admissions Code requires a local authority to consult publicly when changes are proposed to existing admission arrangements and where it is proposed to lower a school’s Published Admission Number (PAN).

The county council will also consult the individual governing body of each community and voluntary controlled school in Hertfordshire on the proposal to maintain or raise the PAN for their school.

PANs for all community and voluntary controlled schools in Hertfordshire for 2020/21 are available at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions2020

Public consultation on the proposals and own admitting authority school admissions arrangements will take place for six weeks between November 19 and January 6, 2019. Please visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions2020 for further information about the proposals and details on how to respond.