Faith school mismanaged admissions and appeals arrangements

The admission arrangements of St Paul's Church of England Primary School in Mill Hill did not comply with statutory codes of practice.

The admission arrangements of a faith school in Mill Hill did not comply with statutory codes of practice, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin in a report issued today. The Ombudsman criticises St Paul’s Church of England Primary School for failing to treat an application fairly, providing incorrect information, delaying its response unreasonably and ultimately misunderstanding its own responsibilities. These failings were found during the Ombudsman’s investigation into a complaint from parents about the way the school considered their application for a place for their daughter, and their subsequent request for an appeal.

The principal faults were that:

  • the admission criteria were applied unfairly, in that an applicant’s commitment to religious faith was assessed in a way that could contravene the Disability Discrimination Act, and this was not considered by the appeal panel
  • the school did not write to the parents to inform them of the refusal of a place, or to give its reasons for refusal, or to provide information about the appeal process
  • the governors wrongly refused to allow the appeal, and refused to tell the parents what position their daughter was on the waiting list
  • the governors delayed holding the appeal hearing until well after the statutory time limit, and gave unacceptable grounds for doing so (they insisted on meeting with the parents first, which introduced delay and should not have been necessary), and
  • the appeal panel failed to consider complaints about the admission process and refused to consider arguments legitimately raised by the parents; it misunderstood its role and remit, interpreting them too narrowly as verifying the admission criteria.

The parents who complained to the Ombudsman in this case have now accepted a place for their daughter at a different church school, where they say they have been made welcome.

The Ombudsman welcomes the School’s decision to omit from its admission criteria in future the requirement for applicant parents to demonstrate commitment through church-related activities.

Dr Martin said of the report: “This case highlights a catalogue of errors which were all avoidable, if only basic systems had been in place. The school did not treat the applicants fairly in that it did not take the disability of a family member into account. This failure was then compounded by incorrect information, unreasonable delay, poor communication and then finally, a mismanaged appeals process”.

The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and recommends that the School’s governing body:

  • apologises to the parents for the inconvenience and stress it caused them
  • immediately reviews its admission arrangements, in particular its letter informing applicants of the refusal of admittance
  • reviews and revises its appeal arrangements to comply with the School Admission Appeals Code, and
  • reviews the protocols and training for its admissions committee.

Report ref no: 10 006 162

Article date: 26 May 2011

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