09/12/24

In line with new Welsh Government regulations, proposals to change Cardiff's co-ordinated admissions scheme have been consulted on.

The new regulations state that all Local Authorities in Wales are required to formulate a coordinated school admissions scheme for all maintained mainstream schools in their area, from the 2027-28 academic year.

Cardiff was the first Local Authority in Wales to introduce coordinated admissions and theschemehas been successfully adopted for more than seven years.

Of the 117 mainstream primary and secondary schools, 114 are now within the coordinated arrangements which are intended to simplify the process of school admissions by allowing applicants to apply for community schools, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools using one common application form and ensuring that they receive only one offer of a school place.

This enables parents to submit their preferred schools all on one online application, providing a better chance of securing a preferred school in the first round of admissions and preventing parents from receiving multiple offers, which would otherwise stop other children being offered these places.

Following the introduction of Welsh Governments regulations, stakeholders were provided with the opportunity to have their say on the coordinated admissions scheme during a consultation which ran until November 5, 2024.

The required changes include:

• Making it compulsory for all schools to join the scheme from the 2027-28 academic year. In Cardiff this is two remaining primary schools and one remaining secondary school.
• Changing to the deadline date to 31^stOctober for secondary school applications which is a Welsh Government regulation requirement.
• Applicants to receive no more than a single offer of admission for a child to a maintained school.

Three formal responses were received with concerns raised around the regulation requirement of an earlier application deadline for secondary school places. As there is no requirement in respect of the opening date, the Council and the Cardiff Admissions Forum, will consider options for opening the secondary school admissions process earlier than in previous years, to allow a sufficient timeframe for families to be supported with the application process.

Other views were around the role and authority of school Governing Bodies in the admissions process and cross-border coordination with other Local Authorities which the Council will look to further develop in future years. Appraisals to these can be viewed in the report.

A Cardiff Council Spokesperson said: "The establishment of Cardiff's coordinated admissions scheme successfully promotes an equitable system of allocating school places in Cardiff, helping parents by making the school application process more straight forward and providing them with a better chance of securing one of their preferred school choices, in the first round of admissions.

"Over the years we have worked closely with the Catholic Archdiocese and the Church in Wales Diocese to expand the scheme and simplify arrangements, with almost all schools across the city joining ensuring a fairer and easier way of applying for school places"

The coordinated admissions scheme does not apply to applications for nursery places, sixth form places, or places at maintained special schools..

The scheme is separate from Cardiff Council's School Admissions Policy, which sets the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools within Cardiff. The rights of the Governing Bodies of foundation and voluntary aided schools to consult on and determine their own admissions arrangements and to rank the order of applicants against their own oversubscription criteria are not affected by their participation in the coordinated admissions scheme.

Cardiff Council's Cabinet will meet on Thursday 12^thDecember to consider the recommendations contained in the report, and a webcast of that meeting will be available to watch on the dayAgenda for Cabinet on Thursday, 12th December, 2024, 2.00 pm : Cardiff Council