Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools that refused to admit (a) looked-after and (b) previously looked-after children were subsequently directed to do so by her Department in each of the last three academic years.

All schools are required to give highest priority in their admissions criteria to looked after children and previously looked after children, including those children who appear to the admission authority to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

Local authorities have powers to direct maintained schools to admit a pupil, in certain prescribed circumstances. Local authorities do not have powers to direct academies, but can, where appropriate, request that the Secretary of State, directs the academy to admit.

The Secretary of State has powers under an academy’s funding agreement to direct an academy to admit a pupil if they have not been able to secure a school place using the normal in-year admissions procedures. The School Complaints Compliance Unit acts on behalf of the Secretary of State in issuing directions to admit a child to academies

The department has not issued any directions to academies in the last three academic years for looked after children. The department has issued ‘minded to direct’ outcomes where the department’s view is that an academy should be directed to admit a pupil. If an academy does not admit by a set date or provide further information to explain why the academy should not admit, then the department would proceed to issue a formal direction.

The department classifies all looked after children and previously looked after children as ‘looked after children’ (LAC) on our correspondence system and therefore does not differentiate between them.

The data the department holds is visible in the table below: