Issue - meetings

The Forum to consider the Wokingham Borough Council proposed admissions arrangements.

The Forum considered the report which was set out on agenda pages 11-20 and the appendices attached to it.  Piers Brunning, Service Manager, Policy, Strategy & Partnerships presented the report.

Piers pointed out that the main change proposed to the admissions arrangements for voluntary controlled and community schools and co-ordinated admissions schemes for 2018/19 was the move towards an entirely online process.  The proposal to introduce a paperless process was driven by the 21 Century Council agenda in an effort to deliver good value for money.

Piers noted that it was expected that some families may need help and this would be offered by customer services.

The Chairman asked what was the percentage of online applications received this year.  Piers was not sure of the exact numbers but stated that this was high, probably over 60%.  Piers informed that the number of publications was reduced this year as more people were encouraged to use online services.

During the discussion of the item the following points were made:

·           Councillor Rowland was concerned about the gap between the wealthier and the poorer families.  She would like to know how people would know that they had to make an application online.  Piers replied that the admissions team had already moved to customer services and would be helping people that weren’t able to fill in online applications.

·           Sue Runciman was concerned that schools had not been consulted about this.  She reported that schools made allowances and helped children that were not able to do their homework online.  Schools often helped parents when necessary.

·           The Chairman stated that if a mistake was made in the application process with families that used the customer services, it would be difficult to argue the case if this came to a school admission appeal.  

·           Celia Thatcher, Grazeley CE Aided Primary Headteacher expressed concern that this would put additional pressure on the Local Authority, as it would create extra work to support families that may need help.

·           Sue Runciman suggested that libraries may be able to offer advice and help to the community.

·           Councillor Rowland was concerned about people with English as a second language as they may find this process more difficult.

·           The Chairman stated that the help offered by customer services would be good for people that struggled to fill in forms.

·           Piers reminded the Forum that this proposal related to 2018/19 arrangements.

·           Councillor Dolinski stated that any transitions to new systems were likely to encounter difficulties in the first year, but he was confident that there would be enough people to help.

·           Celia Thatcher stated that it would be helpful to spread the message to other Headteachers, so that the information could be shared with parents.

·           The Chairman noted that the legislation did not specify if applications should be on paper or online.  He questioned the legitimacy of denying a paper copy to parents if it came to a legal challenge.  It remained to be seen how this would work in practice, but he was supportive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29