This Order appoints 1 November 2023 as the day on which the School Admission Appeals Code (“the Code”) issued under sections 84 and 85 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”) by the Welsh Ministers, comes into force. The Code applies in relation to Wales and in respect of admissions to the school year 2023/2024 and subsequent years. The Code replaces the School Admission Appeals Code which issued in December 2013 and which came into force on 1 January 2014.
The Code imposes requirements and includes guidelines setting out aims, objectives and other matters in relation to the arrangements for appeals in relation to admission to schools. Under section 84(3) of the 1998 Act, it is the duty of local authorities, the governing bodies of maintained schools, admission forums and appeal panels when exercising functions under Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 1998 Act to act in accordance with any relevant provisions of the Code. In addition, any other person, when exercising any function for the purpose of the discharge by a local authority or the governing body of a maintained school of functions under that Chapter, must act in accordance with any relevant provisions of the Code.
The main changes introduced in this Code are—
a power for admission authorities to decide in certain circumstances whether an appeal hearing is to be held in person, by remote access (“a remote appeal”) or partly in person and partly by remote access (“a hybrid appeal”),
a duty that if the admission authority decides to have a remote appeal or a hybrid appeal it must make all necessary arrangements for the appeal panel to have access to the necessary remote access equipment, and
a power for the admission authorities to decide that an appeal may be decided on the basis of written information only in certain circumstances.