Consultation on admission arrangements for Barnet Community Primary Schools 2025/26

Overview

All schools must have admission arrangements that clearly set out how many children will be admitted, and the oversubscription criteria to be used to decide the order of priority, if there are more applications than places available. The admission authority for the school must determine the admission arrangements annually, even if there are no changes. Where changes are being proposed, the admission authority is required to carry out a formal consultation.

What we are proposing

Barnet Council is the admission authority for 39 community primary schools and Friern Barnet Secondary School. There are no proposed changes to the oversubscription criteria for Barnet community schools. However, the governing bodies for three primary community schools have asked the council to consult on a proposed reduction to their published admission Number (PAN), by one form of entry or 30 places, as follows:

• Deansbrook Infant School, from 90 to 60 places
• Moss Hall Infant School, from 120 to 90 places
• Wessex Gardens School, from 60 to 30 places.

All three schools have seen falling rolls and are already operating at the reduced numbers. The fall in demand reflects the London-wide decline in the birth rate since 2012, and changes in migration patterns. The proposed PAN reduction will assist the schools to provide stability in their long-term planning and make the most efficient use of resources.

This proposal is supported by the changing population trends in the borough. Barnet’s primary school forecast indicates a continuation of falling demand for places at these schools, through to the end of the decade. The projections also show that there will be sufficient places for local children even if the PANs for all three schools are reduced, as proposed. However, if demand for places unexpectedly increases in the future, the admission numbers will be reviewed, and existing capacity will be reutilised without the need for a formal consultation. No other changes to the admission arrangements for community schools are being proposed.

You can view the full proposed arrangements for 2025/26 here.

Consultation dates

The consultation starts on 24 November 2023, and will remain open until 31 January 2024.

Your views are important to us

This consultation is an opportunity for you to give your views and contribute to the council’s decision-making process. We want to hear from all as many residents as possible on the proposed change. To take part, please complete our short online questionnaire here.

What happens next?

When the consultation closes, your views will be shared with the schools' governors who will take them into account and decide whether they would like the council to proceed with the proposed PAN reductions.

Consultation Regulations

In accordance with the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012, admission authorities (in this case London Borough of Barnet) are required to consult on any proposed changes to admission arrangements. A consultation on arrangements for the year 2024/25 must run for a period of six weeks and be completed by 31 January 2024.