Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

The Chief Officer (Education and Youth) introduced the School Admission Arrangements 2019/20 report which advised of the outcome of the statutory consultation exercise on the admission arrangements for September 2019.

            The current admission arrangements had been in place since 2003 and the majority of parental preferences, 96%, continued to be met.

            There were no changes proposed to the admissions oversubscription criteria however the opportunity had been taken to review and clarify some of the wording.  The revised wording was outlined in the Appendix and summarised as:

·         Home address – clarification that it was the parents’ responsibility to reach agreement on the preferences expressed in an application;

·         Distance – the definition of how distance was calculated had been updated to reflect current practice; and

·         Waiting lists with a number of points being clarified.

The opportunity had also been taken to amend admission numbers for two schools to reflect changes in accommodation.  They were Ysgol Glanrafon, Mold and Broughton Primary School.

Applications for places were made using the Council’s on line system and this was working well.  Assistance was provided by Council staff for any parents experiencing difficulties completing or submitting the online form.  100% of applications were now received online however paper copies of application forms would continue to be made available upon request.

Councillor Thomas asked that it be reiterated to parents that free school transport was only available to the nearest school which the Chief Officer confirmed would happen.  In response to a comment from Councillor Thomas on schools becoming full, the Chief Officer explained that the School Place Planning Team used a recognised model for the potential yield any new developments would bring.  If a school was full, an alternative place would be offered and there was also the option to appeal.

Councillor Bithell commented on the importance of informing parents of the need to put down more than one preference on the application form, and explaining that by doing so it would not affect their first place application.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed admission arrangements for 2019/20 be approved.