Annex B
LONDON ISSUES
1. While the admissions framework applies
in the same way in London as to the rest of England, the city
faces some difficulties which are more extreme than elsewhere
in the country and which have an impact on meeting parental preference.
2. The first of these is the issue of supply
of school places. In some boroughs, especially those whose schools
are particularly sought-after, it would appear that demand greatly
exceeds supply. For example, the OFSTED report on Wandsworth in
May 2000 stated that there were 3,000 applications for fewer than
2,000 places. This is by no means exceptional. Although figures
are not collected centrally, evidence shows that an unacceptable
number of children in some London boroughs have no school place
at all. This is, in part, due to the difficulty LEAs have in tracking
the movement of pupils into and out of their area, and also because
some parents will not accept places at the schools available to
them. The research on Parents' Experiences of the Process of Choosing
a Secondary School found that London parents were more likely
to prefer a school with higher than LEA average GCSE performance
scores and less likely to be offered a place at a preferred school.
3. However, because many London parents
apply for more than one school, quite possibly in more than borough,
most boroughs have sufficient school places overall to meet the
demand for them. But parents' perceptions of the hierarchy of
schools lead to those they perceive as "better" schools
being heavily oversubscribed, while schools of poorer reputation
struggle to attract applications. Places at these are likely to
be offered to parents less successful in their applications, often
resulting in great dissatisfaction and parents preferring to keep
their child at home than to send them to an unsatisfactory school.
4. A feature of co-ordinated admissions
is that, on 1 March, LEAs should make an offer of a secondary
school place for each child in their area—either at a preferred
school or, if that is not possible, at another school. As well
as ensuring that, as far as is practicable, every child going
through the secondary transfer process is offered a place, co-ordination
will give LEAs the information they need to be able to track those
children whose parents do not accept any offer made. This will
enable them to intervene at an earlier stage to ensure that every
child is provided with an education.
5. With funding from the Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister, all London LEAs are co-operating in developing
a "PAN-London register"—a centralised admissions
and transfer system—which will facilitate the electronic
exchange of details on school applications and offers of school
places between boroughs, and aid implementation of co-ordination.
As so many London parents apply for schools in both their own
and a number of neighbouring boroughs, this joint initiative will
provide parents with a more seamless service while making inter-LEA
communication more effective.
6. The London Challenge strategy will join
up neighbourhood renewal and other policies essential to making
the best of school improvement. The strategy will focus on the
five boroughs—Islington, Haringey, Southwark, Hackney, Lambeth—where
there is most to be done and which include some of the secondary
schools facing the greatest challenge. In these areas particularly
the aim is to seek a genuine transformation, a step change in
aspiration and expectation. The strategy is also focusing on the
schools facing the most difficulty in establishing an achievement
culture, wherever they are in London. These schools are in the
frontline in our quest to break the link between deprivation and
under-achievement. We have carried out rigorous diagnostic work
on each school, holding case conferences to prescribe solutions
(involving LEAs) and follow-through with the LEA, using Leadership
Incentive Grant and other programmes. We have appointed a team
of expert London Advisers who are well engaged with schools and
LEAs. They are working in the 55 schools, assessing plans for
change, ensuring they are being implemented effectively and have
the highest chance of success.
7. The London Challenge strategy supports
change, aiming to make a clear break with the past. The strategy
includes:
— significant investment in Academies—independent
schools fully funded by the state—potentially involving
several Academies in one borough. New Academies will be required
to work together and with other schools to secure wider change;
— new schools, through competitions,
enabling new providers, including groups of parents, to bring
forward innovative ideas—re-engaging communities that have
lost confidence in their local schools and where many pupils leave
an area for their secondary education;
— increased sixth form provision—including
new sixth form colleges and school sixth forms—in places
where little is currently available;
— targeted use of "extended"
schools—open in the evening and at weekends, providing a
full range of services and support to students and their families
and breaking down barriers to achievement;
— the creation of the new specialist
system, with every secondary school specialising in an area of
strength and together providing a coherent offer to parents;
— encouraging schools to work together
as a means of providing support and leadership capacity in weaker
school; and
— the need for 20 new schools by 2008
to respond to growing pupil numbers—the London Challenge
Team will be encouraging LEAs to work together on planning school
places.
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