School admission policies: confusing and discriminatory, experts claim

The Good Schools Guide has claimed that school admission policies are over-complicated and disadvantage children whose parents work weekends or do not speak fluent English, requiring “labour-intensive” research and reams of paperwork.

Elizabeth Coatman, state education specialist at the Guide, said requiring parents to decipher a complex admissions policy could be “discriminatory”. There were 604,500 applications for secondary school places in September 2019, with 4.6 percent of applicants offered places at non-preferred schools. The Guide claims that popular state schools are most likely to be over-subscribed and tend to have over-complicated policies in place to decide which pupils to admit. In addition, faith schools often expect additional paperwork and prioritise baptised children from families who regularly attend worship.

“The variation in admissions policies is incredible. What one school demands of an applicant may be very different from the requirements of an apparently similar school down the road,” said Coatman. “Setting aside time to research options and work out the likelihood of a successful application, not to mention fathoming the further obligations and paperwork as required by some schools, is labour intensive and no doubt disadvantages less affluent families.”

The Guide is calling for a simplified approach, and for the admissions watchdog to be given greater power over policies. The Department for Education responded that any concerns about admission arrangements can be raised with the School Adjudicator.

Top schools are designing admissions policies that favour middle class families, Good Schools Guide says (The Telegraph) Schools excluding poorer families with confusing admission policies, experts warn (The Independent) School admissions system is 'a headache for parents' (TES) School admission policies in England 'favour certain sections of society' (The Guardian)

Why should this matter to me?

The pressure on parents seems to be higher than ever, and it may be that some unscrupulous schools are employing complicated admissions forms to ‘cherry-pick’ children from middle-class, anglophone households. This story suggests that parents of children approaching secondary school age could benefit from resources designed to support the transition. This story could also be a turning point for schools seeking to clarify their policies or pivot to an online application process.