Consultation on Admissions Arrangements for 2027/28
From 1 November 2025 to 31 January 2026, the Local Authority, as well as all academies, free schools and voluntary aided schools, can consult on changes to their admissions arrangements for the 2027/28 academic year.
Where schools wish to consult on any changes, they must do so for a period of 6 weeks between the above dates. Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to consult between 1 December 2025 and 26 January 2026.
If you are proposing any changes, please send a copy of your proposed admissions arrangements, a document detailing any changes proposed and the dates of your consultation to consultationforadmissions@oxfordshire.gov.uk
We will then add your documents to the public 'Let's Talk Oxfordshire' consultation website. If we receive any comments or queries from the public or any other stakeholders, we will forward them to you for your consideration.
Please bear in mind that the Office of the Schools Adjudicator has made it clear that it is the responsibility of individual admission authorities to decide how best to consult and we recommend at a minimum you place the policy on your website and notify families with children who attend your school as well as those schools/early years providers that you have identified as key colleagues from whom the majority of your prospective children come from. The bigger the changes you intend to make, the more widely you should consult.
Key Areas to check compliance:
Home Address:
Paragraph 1.13 of the School Admissions Code 2021 states that admission authorities must make clear how the “home” address will be determined, including provisions for cases where parents have shared responsibility for a child following the breakdown of their relationship and the child lives for part of the week with each parent.
This should also include whether or not the school will accept evidence of a future move for school admission purposes. In the case of children of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting and crown servants returning from overseas, you should make reference to the provisions made in paragraph 2.21 of the School Admissions Code 2021.
Children of Staff (if applicable)
If you include children of staff within your oversubscription criteria, please check that you only refer to staff working at the school and not the Trust, and that you specify which groups of staff this applies to. Please see paragraphs 1.39-1.40 of the School Admissions Code 2021.
Social or Medical Need:
If you include Social or Medical need as an oversubscription criterion, you must explain how this will be determined (ie: describe the make up of your panel) and detail any evidence you will require. Please see paragraph 1.16 of the School Admissions Code 2021.
Admission of children outside their normal age group:
Admission authorities must make clear in their admission arrangements the process for requesting admission out of the normal age group and must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child concerned. This includes how applications for summer born children will be considered. Please see paragraphs 2.18-2.20 of the School Admissions Code 2021 for further details.
No changes to your admission arrangements?
Even where there are no changes, academies, free schools and voluntary aided schools need to consult once every seven years.
However, if you are not consulting, you will still need to have your determined admissions policy for 2027/28 signed off in February, published in March, and made available on your school website, and please send a copy to: consultationforadmissions@oxfordshire.gov.uk