School criticised again over admission appeal panel

Archived press release

Date Published: 20/05/09

The Governors of St Peter’s Collegiate Church of England School, Wolverhampton, have refused to provide a parent with a new admission appeal to remedy fault found by the Ombudsman.

The Governors of St Peter’s Collegiate Church of England School, Wolverhampton, have refused to provide a parent with a new admission appeal to remedy fault found by the Local Government Ombudsman, Jerry White. He found that the School had provided incorrect information to the appeal panel, and it was not clear how and why the Appeal Panel reached the decision that the School would be caused prejudice if further pupils were admitted.

The School has responded that the correct information about the capacity of the School was presented by the appellant, and therefore the Appeal Panel was not misled.

In his further report, issued today (20 May 2009) Mr White says: “…the response appears to miss the point. I recommended a fresh appeal hearing because it was not clear how the Appeal Panel reached the decision that it would cause prejudice to the School by admitting further pupils. The point the School now makes does not clarify the decision of the Appeal Panel about how it decided that prejudice would be caused by admitting further pupils.”

He added “My previous report identified clear and significant failures to follow the Appeals Code. The Governing Body’s continuing intransigence in the face of the evidence is disappointing. I remain unconvinced by its reasons for not implementing my recommendations in full. Its failure to do so means that Mr Smith [the complainant] continues to be denied the opportunity of a fair hearing. I have drawn this matter to the attention of Mr Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and I shall send him a copy of this further report.”

Mr White also points out that it is the role of the admissions authority (in this case, the Governors) to provide accurate information about the capacity of the School, and it cannot and should not rely on appellants to do so.

The Ombudsman calls upon the Governing Body to live up to its responsibilities and do justice to Mr Smith.

Further report reference: 07B03178