Application and admission considerations
Admission authorities understand that they cannot:
- refuse to admit a looked after child on the basis of challenging behaviour, or
- refer a looked after child for action via the Fair Access Protocol on the basis of challenging behaviour.
A local authority has the power to direct the admission authority for any maintained school in England (other than a school for which they are the admission authority) to admit a child who is looked after by the local authority, even when the school is full.
If you seek to arrange a school placement, the corporate parent has responsibility for this process.
- The child’s or young person’s social worker will liaise with other local authority staff and the Virtual School Headteacher to ensure a suitable setting is found.
The setting could be:
- a maintained school
- an academy
- an independent school
These schools could be selective, non-selective, boarding or day schools.
It might also, in some cases be appropriate to place a child in a special school or alternative provision.
When finding a suitable education placement, the following principles should apply
- Educational provision should mean a full-time place.
- Schools judged by Ofsted to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ should be prioritised when seeking a place for looked-after children in need of a new school.
Unless there are exceptional evidence-based reasons, looked-after children should never be placed in a school judged by Ofsted to be ‘inadequate’.
When consideration is given to schools judged ‘Requiring Improvement’
Virtual School Heads and social workers should have evidence that the school is providing high-quality support to its vulnerable pupils and will enable a looked-after child to make maximum progress before placing them in that school.
Paragraph 3.29 of the School Admissions Code states;
Where a local authority considers that an Academy will best meet the needs of any child, it can ask the Academy to admit that child but has no power to direct it to do so.
The local authority and the Academy will usually come to an agreement, but if the Academy refuses to admit the child, the local authority can ask the Secretary of State to intervene.
The Secretary of State has the power under an Academy’s Funding Agreement to direct the Academy to admit a child and can seek advice from the Schools Adjudicator in reaching a decision.
