The Education (Objection to Admission Arrangements) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations amend the Education (Objection to Admission Arrangements) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/125) (``the principal Regulations''). They are consequential upon amendments made to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 by the Education Act 2002.

Regulation 2(3) re-enacts regulation 2 (Cases where an objection may not be referred to an adjudicator) of the principal Regulations with amendments. By virtue of section 89(2) of the 1998 Act, as amended, governing bodies of community and voluntary controlled schools in a relevant area who are not admission authorities are now included among the bodies whom an admission authority must consult about their proposed admission arrangements. However, regulation 2(2)(b) of the principal Regulations as amended limits these governing bodies' rights to object to the adjudicator under section 90(1) in two ways. Firstly, they may not object to the admission arrangements for any other community or voluntary controlled school in the relevant area whose admission arrangements have been determined by the local education authority; and secondly, they may not object to the admission arrangements determined for their own school unless the objection relates to the determination of any admission number for that school.

Regulation 2(4) and (5) respectively re-enact regulations 4 (Parents who are eligible to refer an objection) and 5 (Objections that may be referred by parents) of the principal Regulations with amendments. The amendment to regulation 5 extends a parent’s right to refer an objection to the adjudicator under section 90(2) of the 1998 Act in circumstances where the admission authority for a school have determined an admission number for any relevant age group which is lower than the number indicated by the net capacity assessment method set out in guidance (Assessing the Net Capacity of Schools). This guidance can be obtained from DfES Publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham, NG15 0DJ. The amendment to regulation 4 defines a parent who may refer an objection to the adjudicator according to whether the objection is about pre-existing selection arrangements or the determination of a lower admission number.

Regulation 2(6) re-enacts regulation 8(1)(a) and (b) (Publication of decisions) of the principal Regulations with amendments. Regulation 8(1)(a) now requires that any decision of the adjudicator or the Secretary of State on an objection is to be notified to the parties to the objection and all the other bodies whom the admission authority in question were required so to consult under section 89(2), or would but for sub-section (2A) of that section have been required so to consult, about their proposed admission arrangements. Regulation 8(1)(b) now requires that where the objection relates to pre-existing selection arrangements or an admission number which is lower than the indicated admission number, the decision must also be published in a newspaper circulating in the area served by the school, whether or not any such objections were referred by a parent.

Regulation 2(7) re-enacts regulation 10(3) (Power to alter arrangements following an objection) of the principal Regulations with amendments. Where an admission authority determine to revise their admission arrangements to achieve consistency with a decision by the adjudicator or Secretary of State upholding an objection to another admission authority’s admission arrangements, they must do so within two months of being notified of the decision. They must now notify all the admission authorities that they were required to consult under regulation 89(2) on their own arrangements, or would but for sub-section (2A) of that section have been required to so consult, of any such revised arrangements.