Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

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Biddendenmum
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:56 pm

Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Biddendenmum »

Hi, wonder if anyone can help with this? What is the difference between "Planned Admission Number" and "Published Admissions Number". One is published by the school and one is published by KCC and in this instance they are different? Any info much appreciated. Many thanks from a long time lurker (yr7, yr6 & yr5 Mum in middle of 3 very busy 11+ and transfer years!!) :D
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Etienne »

Which one is being used by the school, and which by the county council?

I would have thought the number should be the same (assuming they're talking about the same year of entry).

The current Codes of Practice refer to an 'Admission Number' (which means the published Admission Number).

A decade ago the term used to be 'Standard Number'. This changed following the Education Act 2002:
The Education Act 2002 removed the need for schools to define their capacity by
means of ‘standard numbers’ which could only be changed by publishing statutory
proposals – instead, admission authorities will rely on a published admission
number determined following local consultation. This number should relate,
though, to the assessed capacity of the school and to sensible organisation of
children and classes within the school. [Admissions Code 2003]
The assessment of a school's capacity does include something called the "Indicated Admission Number" - one of the factors to be taken into account when deciding on the published Admission Number.
Etienne
Biddendenmum
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:56 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Biddendenmum »

Hi Etienne, the schools prospectus shows "planned admission number" of 180" and KCC shows "published admission number" of 174. After speaking with admissions officer it feels strongly that the school would like to accept 180 and he even indicated that the appeal panel are well aware of this each year. Following reading through all the information on appeals on here, feels very wrong in terms that I understood all available places should be allocated in the first instance .. if there are further places and they are held back to be given at appeals I just wanted to investigate to see if it could constitute maladministration as our child would have been entry number 180 on 2nd March! However, need to investigate deeper to discover why the difference exists. Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated. BM x
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Etienne »

all available places should be allocated in the first instance
This is entirely correct - but it's the published admission number that specifies the number of places available.

Although the school is acting improperly by showing a different figure, I don't think there's been maladministration as far as the allocations are concerned because the 'correct' admission number has been applied. (It would have been unlawful if the other number had been used.)

Any school that doesn't mind taking another 6 pupils could try to 'engineer' this by weakening its case at appeal - and an appeal panel might well see some logic in 6 classes of 30, especially if the school comments that it wouldn't really have a problem with 180!

The Code of Practice prohibits an appeal panel from taking an appellant's position on the waiting list into account - nothing to stop you, however, from pointing out at an appeal just how close to the cut-off point you are.
Etienne
Biddendenmum
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:56 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Biddendenmum »

Many thanks Etienne, we will continue along the route of matching our child specifically to the school and work with that for the best outcome via appeal. Your swift and accurate input very much valued. Will post a summary once all is done and dusted. Biddendenmum x
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by mystery »

174 is such a very strange number. Presumably it's a 6 form entry school, so the school is claiming that when they agreed their published admissions number of 174 with the LA etc, that there was some good reason why they could only have 29 children in each class, not 30. Has each classroom got one corner missing, and one individual desk rather than a table for two for the child who sits next to the missing corner?!!

None of this is any use to you this year, because as Etienne points out, the school correctly filled up to 174 on 1 March, and your position of 180 was irrelevant. Take heart from the fact that at 180 you are pretty likely to get in via the waiting list if appeal does not work, and at least you know that the school will not be putting up a strong case to oppose the 6 strongest appeals.

I guess the only way you could show "maladminstration" would be if you could show that the school was disingenuous when first agreeing its admissions number of 174 and that they were in effect reserving 6 places to be selected by an appeals panel rather than by the cut and dried admissions policy. This would be very hard to prove. The thing that would be very wrong would be if they topped up to 180 off the waiting list at some point in the future, particularly if the school administers the list themselves, as this would allow the school potentially to manipulate who got those places off the waiting list. I'm not sure how Kent administers waiting lists now but certainly in the past this was an area that could have been vulnerable to manipulation.

The other thing to bear in mind is that when they administer their waiting list in future, they should be waiting to drop down to standard numbers of 174 before they take anyone off the list.
twinkles
Posts: 514
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:23 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by twinkles »

Biddendenmum wrote:We will continue along the route of matching our child specifically to the school and work with that for the best outcome via appeal.
Hi Biddendenmum

Do you have HT support, have they supported appeals in the past? That should help towards your appeal. Do you have other children at the school you are appealing for? Do you have a good back up school if the worst case scenario happens?

I went through appeal last year (it's not a nice process) and so know what you are going through.

Hopefully you will get in from the waiting list and won't have to go through the whole appeal process.

Good luck
T12ACY
Posts: 800
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:12 pm
Location: Kent

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by T12ACY »

Being relatively local to 'biddenden' I wonder if the school is Highworth? I have seen this from the school website which refers to entrance for year 2012:

http://www.highworth.kent.sch.uk/upload ... 2-2013.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Essentially it says:

Numbers admitted
It is proposed to raise the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the school from 174 to 180 from September 2012

Maybe the prospectus has been updated early, which is unfortunate but as Etienne says the LEA haven't failed to offer in full the current PAN.

Of course I may be wrong and it isn't this school at all, but think the coincidence is too great?
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
joop
Posts: 115
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 7:40 pm

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by joop »

If it is the same school and if they plan to increase the PAN by six the following year could you not question how will letting your child in over the current PAN prejudice the resources of the school if they plan to do this anyway the following year. I presume it then may be dependant on less than six children appealing for them all to be successful ?
Marylou
Posts: 2164
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Published Admission Number vs. Planned Admissons Number?

Post by Marylou »

joop wrote:If it is the same school and if they plan to increase the PAN by six the following year could you not question how will letting your child in over the current PAN prejudice the resources of the school if they plan to do this anyway the following year. I presume it then may be dependant on less than six children appealing for them all to be successful ?
Our school increased its PAN from 168 to 174 a few years ago. It was announced quite a long time in advance and was useful knowledge for the parents appealing for the year before it came into effect, and about 6 appeals were allowed - presumably on the basis that if they can manage it next year, it won't be a problem this year. It did make our appeal more difficult the following year though, as the PAN had already increased by then and only one transfer appeal was allowed.
Marylou
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