This guidance is for parents and carers whose child has been referred to the inclusion support panel under the Fair Access Protocol.
A child may be referred by their current school, or following an in-year application where information from a previous school shows the child may need extra support when starting a new school due to difficulties in education.
Why your child was referred to the panel
The school admissions code September 2021 states that:
3.14: Each local authority must have a Fair Access Protocol to ensure that unplaced and vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible.
3.16 No school – including those with places available – should be asked to take a disproportionate number of children who have been permanently excluded from other schools, who display challenging behaviour, or who are placed via the Protocol. Fair Access Protocols must also set out how the needs of children who have been permanently excluded, and children for whom mainstream education is not yet possible, will be met
The documentation emphasises the importance of openness and fairness in all pupil admissions, but especially in cases where pupils may have more difficulty securing a place because of previous exclusion or risk of exclusion from school.
Non-Portsmouth residents’ cases will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. Pupils considered Hard to Place will be referred back to their home authority initially.
What the inclusion support panel is
The inclusion support panel was devised by Portsmouth Head teachers as the process to make decisions (in line with the Fair Access Protocol) in an open and transparent way, involving representatives from all schools and other agencies.
Who attends the panel
At each panel meeting there is a member of senior leadership from each of the secondary schools within Portsmouth, at least 3 primary head teachers, an Educational Psychologist, a SEND Advisor, and a member of Social Care. The meeting is chaired by the Attendance, Admissions, Exclusions & Reintegration Service Manager.
Parents are welcome to attend this meeting though they will have been afforded an opportunity to present their views in advance rather than speaking at the meeting. All information you wish to be heard at the meeting should be shared in advance as due to the time limit on each case there is no time for additional discussion.
We would ask you to contact the Admissions, Exclusions & Reintegration Team (details below) to confirm if you wish to attend.
How decisions are made at the panel
All schools will be represented as far as possible but decisions will be made even when not all schools are represented. All decisions will be made by open and transparent majority vote. Each school will have one vote as will the Local Authority SEN team, Social Care, Educational Psychology, primary school representatives. Votes are non-transferable (i.e. a school or Academy representative must be present in order to vote).
How often the panel meets
The inclusion support panel meets every two weeks in term time to consider any pupils referred to it.
What a Change of Provision (COP) form is
The change of provision form was devised to ensure fairness, consistent, objective data and information is provided for each case being referred to the panel.
This form should be completed by the current/or previous school and shared in its entirety with parent. The school should ask the parent/carer and pupil to give their views and comments.
Parents/carers will be asked to sign the form to acknowledge that they are aware their child is going through this process, that they understand it and that they agree with the information contained within the form.
The completed and signed form will be then sent back to the Admissions and Exclusions Team with supporting evidence in a timely manner before the deadline for the next available inclusion support panel.
Choosing your school preferences
When completing the parental and pupil comments, please indicate any school preferences you may have and the reasons for them.
The panel will always look to take parental preference into consideration however there is no guarantee the panel will agree a preference school.
Who may meet the Fair Access Protocol criteria
A pupil may meet criteria under Portsmouth Fair Access Protocol if their behaviour or circumstances have caused undue concern and admission to school would require arrangements over and above those already made.
Indicators may include:
- multiple exclusions including alternative exclusions
- pupils who may have accessed a reduced timetable/alternative provision for a period of time
- pupils who may have multi-agency involvement for concerns around behaviour
- pupils who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion
- pupils who are or have attended specialist provisions such as The Harbour School or a Pupil Referral Unit and applying for a mainstream school
- pupils known to the criminal justice system
- pupils withdrawn from school by their family and/or have been out of education for 6 months or more
This is not necessarily a fully comprehensive list of all the circumstances where a pupil may be considered may meet criteria under Portsmouth Fair Access Protocol.
If no communication is made, the Local Authority will assume the decision of the allocated school is final and they should be in contact with parents to arrange admission.
How a new school placement is decided
The panel refers to data which indicates the numbers of pupils that have moved via the Fair Access Protocol and how they have been distributed between schools in Portsmouth. The panel / cluster meeting of Headteachers consider whole school and year group data in a number of different areas including contextual information, alongside parental preference and geographical location in relation to each case before voting on a school placement.
What happens after the panel
In relation to secondary school pupils – after the meeting schools have until the Friday lunchtime following the inclusion support panel to raise any issues in relation to pupils allocated to their school.
In relation to primary school pupils – after a school placement is agreed at the cluster meeting of headteachers the chair will contact the Local Authority and the parent to advise of the cluster’s decision.
How we inform you of the panel decision
Emails detailing the outcome of the meeting will be sent to parents on the Friday afternoon, following the inclusion support panel. Parents may also call the number below for an update at this time.
Emails for a primary aged child will be sent once confirmation is received from the chair of the cluster meeting.
When your child will start at the new school
It is an expectation that the allocated school will have admitted a pupil allocated under the Fair Access Protocol within 10 days of the panel meeting. A representative from the exiting school (where this is a Portsmouth school including the Harbour School) should be invited to the induction meetings. Where this is a pupil from out of city, the Fair Access Protocol Reintegration Support Worker should be invited (a representative of the Exclusions and Reintegration team should be invited where this is not practicable). A minimum of 48 hours’ notice should be given for this meeting. These meetings must be conducted in an open, honest and welcoming manner as should apply to all induction meetings. A reintegration support plan should be developed.
Support when your child starts their new school
Each pupil who meets the criteria under Portsmouth’s Fair Access protocol and offered a new school placement will be allocated a Reintegration Support Worker (based at The Harbour School). They will support at meetings and liaise with school, pupils and parents for at least the first 6 weeks upon starting at the new school.
Any additional support needed for the pupil should be discussed at the induction meeting or within the reintegration support plan.
If you do not agree with the panel’s decision
In the first instance you should contact the local authority to advise that you do not wish to accept the placement offered by the inclusion support panel. You should detail why you would not want your child to take up the placement and list any reasons.
In exceptional circumstances cases are able to be re-heard if the reason for not accepting the allocated school is reasonable and detailed. In these cases the panel will revisit their decision – their options will either be to re-agree their first decision or in exceptional circumstances name an alternative.
In cases where a decision has been re-agreed and parent/pupil is still unhappy with the decision a meeting/discussion with the parent will take place with the Local Authority which will establish whether the pupil remains at the originating school or accepts the allocated school. An outcome letter of this meeting / discussion will then be sent to parent.
Contact us
For more information, contact us at catherine.hill@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or on 023 9283 4147.
Address:
Admissions, exclusions and reintegration team
Portsmouth Local Authority
Floor 4, Core 1
Civic Offices
Portsmouth
PO1 2EA