We run a consultation on the proposed admission arrangements for our schools every year, so that you have an opportunity to have your say about how we allocate school places. To understand the process and how you can get involved, select a topic from the list below.
The latest consultation is on arrangements for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
Admissions consultations give parents an opportunity to influence our education policy. We also make sure that the following people and bodies, who are involved in education in our area, have a chance to see and comment on the documents:
- Head teachers and chairs of governors of all mainstream schools and academies in Bath and North East Somerset
- Neighbouring local authorities
- The Diocese of Bath and Wells, and the Clifton Diocese
- Bath & North East Somerset councillors
Council consultations
We hold two types of consultation, the Relevant area consultation and the School admission consultation. The relevant area consultation is held once every two years as stated in the 2021 School Admissions Code, and the School admission consultation is held every year.
Relevant area consultation
We are required to determine the area that admission authorities should use when consulting on arrangements for 2025/26 to 2026/27. The 'relevant area' being consulted on is the whole of Bath & North East Somerset, and for own admission authority schools and academies it is the district in which the school or academy is located. For VA Catholic church schools this will be for the parish area that they serve.
This consultation is open from 30 October 2024 to 8 December 2024. The results will be published by 15 December 2024.
We set the admissions criteria, or policy, for Community schools, and we include these in our public consultation.
School admission consultation
Some schools set their own admissions policy, such as academies and free schools, and will publish this for public consultation (see below). Even in these cases, we as a council still have to co-ordinate the admissions process, so we publish the scheme for this. We also publish the numbers of places each school will have, and how we will deal with applications to move to a school within the school year.
We are consulting on the proposed admission arrangements and admission numbers for Community schools. We are also consulting on the proposed schemes for co-ordination of admissions to all maintained schools and academies for the 2025/26 school year. Our consultation starts on 24 November 2023 and will end on 19 January 2024.
Following the consultation period, we will determine the admission arrangements by 28 February 2024, and these will then be published on this website by 15 March 2024. Once arrangements have been determined objections can be made to the Office of the School Adjudicator.
The key documents we normally consult on are as follows:
- Co-ordinated admissions schemes for primary and secondary
- Admissions criteria for community schools
- In-year admissions arrangements
- Admissions numbers (how many places each school can offer)
- The random allocation procedure for school admissions
When schools set their own admissions policy
Academies, Voluntary Aided schools and free schools all set their own admissions policy. They will run their own consultation process on this policy. We will add relevant consultation documents when they become available. Please always contact schools you are interested in first, to check what consultations they are running.
The consultation period is normally in the autumn and winter of the academic year before the arrangements will apply, so almost two years before the school intake.
Our 6 week consultation period takes place between October and the end of January. This statutory consultation period also applies to schools that set their own admissions policies.
Here is an example of the cycle from consultation to policy, to admissions process, and finally when pupils take up their school place:
- October 2023 to January 2024
- Consultation for the arrangements for 2025 to 2026
- Mid-March 2024
- We and our schools confirm and publish the arrangements we will be using
- Autumn 2024 to Spring 2025
- You make your preferences, apply for a place for your child, and we allocate places, using the agreed arrangements
- September 2025
- Pupils start at their agreed school place
For council consultations
Please send your comments by email to admissions_transport@bathnes.gov.uk Or write to us at:
- The Admissions and Transport Unit
- Bath & North East Somerset Council
- Lewis House
- Manvers Street
- Bath BA1 1JG
For school consultations
Please contact the school directly, addressing your comments on their proposals to the Headteacher or Chair of Governors. You should find their contact details on each school's website.
You can find details of the consultations on admission arrangements for the following local authorities below: