School admission changes set out

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Academy schools in England will be able to prioritise poorest pupils when allocating places, under a proposed new admissions code from the government.

Published today in draft form and now subject to consultation, the code will abolish "lotteries" currently used by a third of councils in England.

Schools must give priority to teachers' children, as well as children in care, and ensure twins and triplets are in the same class, as part of a plan to give more power to individual schools.

Children from armed forces families will also get priority as part of the military covenant announced earlier this month.

Schools will also be encouraged to take children from lower income families by extra government funding of £430 each pupil per year.

Proposals also include giving parents more time to appeal after being rejected from the school of their choice, with the current 10-day deadline being extended to 30 days.

And to increase the number of places available in good schools by making it easier for popular establishments to take more pupils.

Education secretary Michael Gove said the changes were designed to be fair to those families who could not afford to move into a neighbourhood where there was a popular school.

The government is now holding a 12 week consultation on the code before putting them in place.

Gove said: "The school system has rationed good schools, some families can go private or move house," he said, as the slimmed down list of rules was published.

"Many families cannot afford to do either. The system must change. Schools should be run by teachers who know the children’s names and they should be more accountable to parents, not politicians.

"Good schools should be able to grow and we need more of them."

Shadow education secretary Andy Burnham said the system would erode "the principle of fair admissions" and lead to a two-tier system.

He said: "This code will make it easier for some parents – like those setting up free schools – to get the school, they want, but by weakening the system overall, it will make it harder for the majority of parents."

Chris Keates, general secretary of teaching union NASUWT, said the revised code could lead to an expansion of grammar schools and accused the government of "deceiving the public" over claims it was not beefing up the selective system.

"A cursory glance at the code demonstrates that once again the public are not being told the whole truth on school admissions," she said.

"Forget about selection by the back door. This is selection by the front door."

Christine Blower, general secretary National Union of Teachers, said the number of special interest groups awarded reserved places could lead to unsustainably large classes in some schools.

"The idea that primary class sizes could go beyond 30 for whatever reason is a backward step," she said. "This is of no benefit to anyone, least of all children.

"Large class sizes will increase the dependency upon teaching assistants who, while providing very useful support and back up in the classroom, have been shown to have little effect on attainment.

"We need to see class sizes reduced to at least 20 to ensure pupils get the maximum support and attention from their teacher."