Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they propose to take, if any, to reduce the complexity of the admission arrangements employed by religiously selective schools, as highlighted in the report An Unholy Mess published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, and the 2014–15 annual report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, so that all parents are better able to understand what is required to gain admission to their local school.

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.

Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

When constructing faith-based oversubscription criteria, including deciding how membership or practice of the faith will be determined, admission authorities must have regard to the guidance of their relevant religious authority, and their arrangements must comply with the statutory School Admissions Code. They must consult with their religious authority when proposing any changes to their admission arrangements.