Some secondary academies in Rotherham had no admissions arrangements after a “fundamental misunderstanding” that the council was instead responsible, the Office for the Schools Adjudicator has ruled.
Academy headteachers believed Rotherham Council was their admission authority – despite academies being in control of entry to their schools.
An investigation by the schools adjudicator (OSA), published this week, found that “most” academies in the area were “under the impression” that the council’s co-ordinated admission process “extended to, and in fact was the determined arrangements for, the schools”.
Co-ordinated admissions simplify the process for parents. But they do not take away academies’ duties to set their own criteria.
