Ensuring that vulnerable children are allocated a school place (Fair Access Protocol)

Requesting the Secretary of State to direct an academy to admit a child will only occur when a local resolution cannot be found.

If the Secretary of State is asked to direct an academy to admit a child, the request will be made by the Admissions and Transport Manager on behalf of the Local Authority.

The Schools Adjudicator acts on behalf of the Secretary of State in considering whether due process has been followed in applying the provisions of the Fair Access Protocol.

In requesting a direction from the Secretary of State, the Local Authority will need to provide evidence that the provisions of the Fair Access Protocol have been applied in a fair and appropriate manner. The Local Authority must also set out the relevant academy’s reasons for refusal (assuming these have been given) and the Local Authority’s response.

When seeking a direction from the Secretary of State the Local Authority will use the template provided by the Department for Education: Secretary of State direction to admit a child to an academy - GOV.UK.

On receipt of a request to direct, the Department for Education will inform the relevant Academy that it has received a request for a direction and ask the relevant academy for any evidence that has been supplied that shows the process has not been properly applied. The Department for Education can be expected to give an academy seven calendar days to respond.

The Secretary of State can be expected to consider the following when a direction has been requested:

• whether the local Fair Access Protocol has been applied appropriately
• the arguments advanced by the relevant academy and the Local Authority
• whether the Local Authority has considered the arguments for refusal
• the Local Authority’s reasons for still considering the placement is appropriate
• whether the establishment has been asked to accept a disproportionate number of children under the Fair Access Protocol compared to other local schools