Secondary School Fair Access Protocol (FAP)

Section 3 - Children included in FAP

Fair Access admissions only apply to pupils without a mainstream school place.

The FAP may only be used to place the following groups of vulnerable and/or hard to place children, where they are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, and it can be demonstrated that reasonable measures have been taken to secure a school place through the usual In-Year admission procedures.

The categories for Fair Access admissions are as follows:-

1. Children either subject to a Child in Need Plan or a Child Protection Plan or having had a Child in Need Plan or Child Protection Plan within 12 months at the point of being referred to the Protocol;
2. Children living in a refuge or in other relevant accommodation at the point of being referred to the Protocol;
3. Children from the criminal justice system;
4. Children in Alternative Provision who need to be reintegrated into mainstream education or who have been permanently excluded but are deemed suitable for mainstream education;
5. pupils that have Special Educational Needs and are currently receiving additional targeted support within school (including children undergoing statutory assessment) but do not have an EHC Plan;
6. Children who are carers;
7. Children who are homeless;
8. Children in formal kinship care arrangements (as evidenced by a Child Arrangements Order not relating to either birth parent or a Special Guardianship Order);
9. Children of, or who are, Gypsies, Roma, Travellers, refugees and asylum seekers;
10. Children who have been refused a school place on the grounds of their challenging behaviour (see * below for definition)
11. Children for whom a place has not been sought due to exceptional circumstances; (it is for the LA to decide whether a child qualifies to be placed via the FAP under this category, based on individual circumstances);
12. Children who have been out of education for four or more weeks where it can be demonstrated that there are no places available at any school within a reasonable distance from their home;
13. Previously Looked After children for whom the Local Authority has been unable to promptly secure a school place.

* Behaviour can be described as challenging where it would be unlikely to be responsive to the usual range of interventions to help prevent and address pupil misbehaviour or it is of such severity, frequency, or duration that it is beyond the normal range that schools can tolerate (DfE School Admissions Code 2021).

Where a School Attendance Order (SAO) is being considered these pupils may fall under category k therefore, the Fair Access and Pupil Placement Officer will need to take the following into account before identifying a school to be named for the purpose of the SAO.

The nearest school to the child's home address, or the nearest school that has not admitted a pupil subject to a School Attendance Order during the academic year, or the last school the pupil was on roll at (within the district).