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11 Apr 08School Admissions Process
Borough of Poole has issued the following statement in response to media coverage of its school admissions process:
John Nash, Strategic Director for Children's Services, Borough of Poole, said: "Borough of Poole takes the issues of privacy, human rights and civil liberties very seriously. Equally, it is committed to operating a school admissions process that aims to ensure that every application is dealt with fairly.
The Government's Code of Practice on School Admissions states clearly that offers of school places can be withdrawn if fraudulent applications are made. It is on this basis, that on very rare occasions, the Council has chosen to undertake observations where concerns persist about the validity of the application.
"In doing this, the Council abides by the RIPA requirements in order to protect the interests of all parties and to ensure that surveillance can only be done in a properly authorised and controlled manner.
"The admission process begins with the submission of an application for a school place. The application form clearly states the provision of incorrect information could lead to the removal of the offer of a place.
"Following the allocation of a school place, enquiries are only made if evidence comes forward placing the validity of the application into doubt. This usually entails other parents coming forward to express their concerns.
"If the Council has reasons to believe an application for a school place may have been made fraudulently, it will invite the applicant to provide proof of residence such as utility bills or driving licences. Normally, this resolves the matter. However, if the Council has further concerns, observations may be authorised to verify the accuracy of the application.
"When an observation is authorised, an officer trained in RIPA procedures will attempt to establish if the family leave their stated address in the morning and return to it in the evening.
"Following this stage, parents are invited to discuss the investigation with a member of the Council's school admissions team. At their request, they are also given a report providing full details of the observations. They are again invited to provide more evidence if it is felt necessary in assessing the application
"In two of the three cases during the financial year 2007/08 the offer of a place was withdrawn. Following the completion of the process all records of the observations are destroyed.
"The advice of the Council's Legal and Democratic Services is that giving false information on an application form is a fraudulent act. Officers have operated within the requirements of RIPA and this has been appropriately monitored and recorded and is subject to review by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner.
"The Council believes this action is taken to ensure that the admissions process is fair to all those parents who have followed the rules in applying for school places."
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