Council 'failed' to follow school summer-born Government guidance, finds Ombudsman
Katy Morton
Friday, July 30, 2021
Leeds City Council has agreed to review its decision making around summer-born children’s admission to school.
It comes after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found the council ‘failed’ to follow Department for Education (DfE) guidance when deciding when an August-born child could start school.
The girl’s mother had applied to postpone her daughter’s school start last year because she felt it was not in her best interests.
As per Government guidance, children born from 1 April to 31 August (summer-born), do not need to start school until the September after their 5th birthday, a full year after they could have first started school.
Where a parent delays their child’s start, they may request their child is admitted out of their normal age group in order to start in Reception rather than in Year 1. It is up to the school admission authority to make a decision on which year group a child should be admitted to. The decision should be based upon the circumstances of the case and what is in the best interests of the child.
According to the Ombudsman, a panel set up by Leeds City Council considered the mother’s application, but applied the wrong test. Instead of deciding whether the girl should join Reception or Year 1 in September (2021), it looked at whether she should start Reception in 2020 or 2021.
The council decided it would not be in the summer-born child’s best interests to start out of her year group. It said she should start Reception in September 2020 and if her mother declined, she would need to apply for a Year 1 place in 2021.
Pauline McDonagh Hull of the Summer Born campaign said the case highlights the ‘urgent need’ for the Government to act on its promise to give all summer-born children the automatic right to enter Reception when starting school at compulsory school age (age five).
The mother complained to the council and explained why she thought it had not made the right decision, but the council did not properly take into account her concerns, said the Ombudsman.
The girl has now been given her place in her chosen school.
Commenting on the case, Michael King of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said, ‘The key point here is that the parent decides when their child starts school, and the council decides in which year group.
‘Government guidance states admission authorities must make decisions based on a child’s individual needs and abilities and consider whether these can best be met by them starting school in Reception or Year 1.
‘They should also take account of the potential impact of being admitted into Year 1 without first having completed the Reception year. In this case, the council did not do this and so we have found fault with its decision-making process.’
He added, ‘I am pleased the council has accepted my recommendations to improve its decision making for other young children in the city.’
Nursery World has contacted Leeds City Council for a response.
Ms McDonagh of the Summer Born campaign added, ‘While we welcome the Ombudsman’s findings, it reinforces the power of schools and councils to insist on Year 1 entry at compulsory school age.
‘If a local authority’s decision is for a child to start in Year 1, parents have no right of appeal, and can only complain, which so many do. This creates unnecessary work, stress and costs for everyone involved.’
