Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

62 Power to direct admission: extension to Academies

(1) In section 96(8) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (schools subject to local authority powers to direct admission of individual pupils), for “a maintained school” substitute “—

(a) a maintained school, or

(b) an Academy school, other than one specially organised to make special educational provision for pupils with special educational needs.”

(2) In the same Act—

(a) in section 96(1), for “governing body of” substitute “admission authority for”;

(b) in section 96(3A), after “99(2)(c)” insert “(or, in the case of an Academy school, that would fall within that provision if it applied)”;

(c) in section 96, after subsection (4) insert—

“(4A) Where Academy arrangements require the proprietor of an Academy school to act as if sections 1 and 86 applied in respect of the school, those sections are to be taken so to apply for the purposes of subsection (4).”;

(d) in section 96(5), for “governing body” substitute “admission authority”;

(e) in section 97(1)(b), for “governing body of” substitute “admission authority for”;

(f) in section 97(2)(a), for “governing body and head teacher of” substitute “admission authority for, and head teacher of,”;

(g) in section 97(3), for “governing body” substitute “admission authority”.