There are many factors affecting a school’s popularity, alongside a Good OFSTED and Test performance. New housing development in many parts of the county can introduce pressures ahead of new school provision. One other factor that can produce a one off dramatic effect on demand is the number of siblings which can very sharply year on year, who have priority for admission in most schools, as discussed here. I have been very conscious this year of the increasingly high proportion of the parents who wish to discuss primary school admissions with me, citing OFSTED rating as their key criterion.

Where a child is offered none of their three chosen schools KCC offers a place in a school with vacancies and is counted as a Local Authority Allocated child (LAAC). As noted in my previous article: ‘Of those 444 children who were not offered one of their preferred schools, nearly half failed to make use of all available preferences, limiting Kent’s ability to offer them a preferred school’. So one must be careful not to read too much into this figure.

Please note that Reception Class Appeals will only succeed in exceptional cases; last year there were just 12 out of 248 upheld where Infant Class Legislation applied. I am aware of several of these and can confirm that the reasons will not apply to the vast majority of appellants. For the overwhelming majority of disappointed applicants the only chance of success, albeit usually a small one, is through the school waiting list.

At this time of exceedingly tough pressure on school budgets, failure to attract a good intake of pupils can be devastating as staff may have to be laid off or not replaced, if the money is not there to  pay them. Seven Kent primary schools have had at least two years being half empty or more.

You will find further information on individual schools (mainly OFSTED) here, performance here, and general here. 

I have tried to include as much detail as possible, but it is possible I have left out something of importance, or else made errors in such an extensive survey, in which case please feel free to contact me and if appropriate I will amend the article.

I have tried to include as much detail as possible, but it is possible I have left out something of importance, or else made errors in such an extensive survey, in which case please feel free to contact me.

 The Districts are:

Page 2 - Ashford; Canterbury (including Whitstable and Herne Bay); Cranbrook; Dartford; 

Page 3 – Dover, Deal & Sandwich; Faversham; Gravesham; Maidstone; Malling (including Kings Hill)

Page 4 -Sevenoaks ; Shepway (including Folkestone and Hythe); Swale  (including Sheppey); Swanley

Page 5 -Thanet; Tonbridge;Tunbridge Wells; Junior Schools

KCC carries out a rolling Commissioning Plan that looks at the whole of its school provision and plans for the future which is well worth a read if you have the patience to work through its 152 pages, but shows a far better sense of planning than the ad hoc methods of five or more years ago, with all the crises that accompanied it!  

Please note that my division of the county into districts varies from KCC’s. The immense pressure on town school places in a KCC district, often difficult to resolve, is often hidden by vacancies in the more rural hinterland. KCC retains its policy that the optimum size of an all through primary school is two forms of admission, and to only expand OFSTED Good or Outstanding schools, an ambition that is not fulfilled but is becoming easier with the risein proportion of Good and Outstanding schools. However, most schools of all categories in areas under pressure have now been expanded where possible and it is often difficult to see where further increase can be made, except by Free Schools opening in unsuitable premises for a school.  To expand a school permanently by one whole class of 30 requires there to be space for seven classrooms, as the increase works through the school, together with recreation land, a massive demand on an individual school in a limited boundary.

Away from the town, the only school seriously oversubscribed is as usual Challock Primary, rejecting 21 first choices. Brook with over half its 15 places empty probably simply suffers year on year because of a small catchment to draw on, although it also has a Good OFSTED in its favour. Another nine schools have over a quarter of their spaces unfilled.

Most families have their first choice outside the city, except at Blean which had 18 first choices disappointed, Hampton 13, and Herne Infants Nine. There were five oversubscribed at both Chislet and Hoath. Wickhambreaux added 5 places seeing all its first choices admitted. However, whilst just four of the twelve rural schools have vacancies - Adisham; Chartham; Littlebourne and Petham – there are plenty along the coast.

In the eastern part of Dartford District, mainly out of town, just three schools out of 13 were oversubscribed, most at Bean, turning away 12 first choices. The others were Hartley and Sutton at Hone. Most vacancies were at Knockhall Academy with 28 spaces, still recovering from its disastrous ownership, including a failed OFSTED, by the now closed Lilac Skies Academy Trust. The new Cherry Orchard Primary Academy in the Ebbsfleet Garden City development officially has 24 of its 30 places empty, but has been able to offer places outside the Kent admission scheme, so probably has more children coming.

The large fall in pupil numbers has created plenty of vacancies in eight schools, Chantry having 29 of its 60 places free, its recent OFSTED seeing the school jump two levels from Special Measures to Good, under the Greenacre Academy Trust, having come too late for the admission process. Copperfield Academy, which for some reason expanded by 30 places to 90 for the 2017 entry, still has 29 places free, in spite of being allocated 8 of the 20 Gravesham LAACs. It has now appointed as headteacher Kevin Holmes, until recently head of Istead Rise (see below). It is unfortunate that the school cannot spell its own head’s name correctly on its website!  Westcourt has 24 of its 60 places vacant.

In the countryside, Cobham is the only seriously oversubscribed school, turning away 35 first choices. Istead Rise has still not thrown off its previous dreadful reputation when run by Meopham Community Academy, now Swale Academy Trust run, and has seen its number of vacancies triple to 29 out of 60. Other schools with vacancies are Culverstone Green, Shorne and Vigo Village.

There is a 5% fall in Year R pupil numbers since 2016. Molehill Primary (previously run by the disastrous AET chain, now by Leigh Academies) has 21 vacancies, or 47% of its 45 places. Barming and Holy Family Catholic have 43%, all three academies with a recent Special Measures judgement clearly having an effect. Next comes the three year old Jubilee Primary with 9 vacancies or 30% of its total of 30. Jubilee, run by an Evangelical Group was proposed for expansion to 60 places, supported by KCC last year, when the pressure was on, but it is clear this is not a popular option and perhaps should not be encouraged again. Then come Tree Tops with 29% (also previously AET now Leigh) and Aylesford (Valley Invicta Trust) 18%, in spite of a Good OFSTED before primary applications were submitted, but previously in Special Measures. The 11 vacancies would have been 24 were it not for 13 LAACs, ninth largest figure in Kent. Southborough Primary almost filled, but had 28 LAACs, the largest figure in the county.

Only 6 of the 20 primary schools in the rural villages and towns were oversubscribed, Loose with its recent OFSTED Outstanding, the only one heavily so, with 24 first choice children not accepted. Next is Bredhurst, on the Medway border, with an Outstanding OFSTED as long ago as 2011, with 9.

Outside the town, there are four schools with half or more of their places vacant, suffering a damaging 9% fall in Year R numbers since 2016. Ulcombe with just four of its 15 places filled, and Leeds & Bromfield CofE five out of 15, both in spite of Good OFSTED Inspections last year improved from the previous Requires Improvement, are clearly struggling to attract pupils. The other two are the normally oversubscribed Platts Heath, six out of 13, and Sutton Valence, 15 out of 30.

Just two schools with a significant number of vacancies: Valley Invicta (Leybourne Chase) with 32 out of 60; and Wouldham 23 also out of 60.

As usual, the only school with vacancies is Seal, just outside the town, with 18 of its 60 places empty.

I consider Swanley and District separately below, so the only seriously oversubscribed school in the large Sevenoaks hinterland is Anthony Roper Primary in Eynsford, with 16 first choices turned away. Half of the 22 schools have vacancies, most at Edenbridge with 26 and Dunton Green 18.

Most vacancies are at All Souls, with 44% of its places, a total of 20 children, empty. Then come Martello Grove Academy, another casualty of Lilac Sky, now taken over by Turner Schools with 23%, and Harcourt 20%. Surprisingly, both All Souls and Harcourt have had two consecutive Good OFSTEDs.

Outside Folkestone, there is a massive 21% vacancy level across the 19 schools, headed by Brenzett Primary with two thirds of its 20 places empty, followed by Dymchurch 58% of its 45 places vacant. Both schools’ most recent OFSTED placed them in Special Measures, but they have now both been taken over as an academy by the CofE Canterbury Diocese. Next comes Bodsham, with 7 of its 15 places empty.

Just six schools are oversubscribed, none by more than four first choices.

The two schools with most vacancies are the 90 place capacity West Minster and Halfway Houses, with 30% and 26% vacancies respectively.

Sunny Bank School, the renamed recent amalgamation of Murston Infant and Juniors, has most vacancies, with 51% of its 45 Reception places empty. Lansdowne, with its most recent Ofsted placing the school in Special Measures, now run by the Stour Academy Trust, has 36% of its 60 places empty, and Milton Court Primary Academy, now out of Special Measures, 27% of its 30%.

Half the rural schools are oversubscribed, led by Bobbing Village school with eight disappointed first choices. Rodmersham has eight and Teynham Parochial CofE 4. Newington CofE has 12 places empty and Hernhill 8, both out of 30.

Crockenhill and Horizon School, Swanley, are both 8 places oversubscribed, and Downsview, Swanley, just one.

Last year, there were just two schools out of 13 in the Margate of the district with vacancies, for 2017 there are six. Drapers Mills Primary Academy, Margate, is run by TKAT, with a difficult past and now out of Special Measures, has 49 of its 90 places empty, followed by Salmestone, also in Margate and run by TKAT, 18 out of 60. Birchington CofE has 17 out of 90. Cliftonville still has eight vacancies, in spite of its Outstanding Ofsted last November, up from RI, and the 11 LAACs allocated to the school, over half of the 20 allocations in total.

The most oversubscribed school is Holy Trinity and St John’s CofE with 22, and Palm Bay, Cliftonville, with 21. Bromstone Primary, habitually undersubscribed in recent years, has now become sought after under a new headteacher and turned away 11 first choices. The new primary section of St George's CofE Foundation School, Broadstairs, which offers priority for admission to the secondary part, the most oversubscribed non-selective school in Kent is unsurprisingly proving very popular, being 10 places oversubscribed.  

At the Ramsgate end, whilst there are only four schools with vacancies, they have 127 empty spaces between them. Highest is Ramsgate Arts Primary School, a new Free School, with 70%, or 42 of its 60 places empty. Next comes Dame Janet Primary Academy, yet another TKAT school, with 44 of its 90 places empty. It is followed at a distance by Ellington Infants, 28 out of 90, and Minster CofE, 13 out of 60. Newlands Primary, another TKAT school, manages to fill its 60 places by virtue of 21 LAACS out of a total of 30 in the District.

A new Free primary school, Bishop Chavasse Academy was due to open in September 2016 but has now been delayed twice, current target 2018, because of delays at the Regional Schools Commissioners. This is clearly causing extreme pressure, but no sign yet of the dreadful situation two years ago when a number of Tonbridge children were allocated to schools in Tunbridge Wells.

Slade Primary is the most oversubscribed primary school in Kent, turning away 43 first choices, found Outstanding by Ofsted in 2011. Next come Sussex Road, with 26, and St Margaret Clitherow Catholic, with 11.

Even St Stephen’s Primary, placed in Special Measures by Ofsted earlier this year, is full, albeit with seven LAACs.

The town has the second highest proportion of LAACs, children with no school of their choice, in Kent, at 7%, 18 being offered St Matthew’s High Brooms CofE, 17 St Mark’s CofE, and 8 allocated to St Barnabas’ CofE.

Most oversubscribed is Upton Juniors, Ofsted Outstanding, turning away 18 first choices, and Christ Church CofE Juniors, with 14, both in Thanet, but with no specific linked Infant school, perhaps reflecting the unhappiness some families have with alternative all-through primary schools in the District. There are three Junior schools seven places oversubscribed: Minterne Community, Sittingbourne; St James’ CofE, Tunbridge Wells; and Whitstable & Seasalter Endowed CofE.  

The four-year programme, to begin in September, will be run by Kieran Mackle, an outstanding practitioner, a MaST (Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher) and author of “Tackling Misconceptions in Primary Mathematics”, published by Routledge, earlier this year.  As one of the 50 Specialist Leaders of Education selected to attend the 2014 Department for Education Shanghai project, Kieran has already observed the ‘mastery’ approach first hand and has identified transferable practices to be used in the UK.

Chris Jackson, Head of School at King’s Farm Primary School and Collaboration Lead, said: “Our ultimate commitment is to increase pupils’ enjoyment of maths and develop life-long passion for the subject.  Longer term, we’ll use our knowledge and experience to share best practice enabling delivery of the programme within other schools in Gravesham.”

Nick Harland, Deputy Clerk at The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, said: “Lord Sutherland and the Trustees of the Goldsmiths’ Charity are delighted to support this innovative approach and look forward to seeing it become a reality in September 2017.”

 Pam Jones OBE, Executive Head of The Cedar Federation, said: “We are thrilled that the three schools have been awarded this exciting opportunity which will see pupils’ aspirations and attainment raised.  We look forward to sharing our progress and learning with other schools in Gravesham”. As a Governor of the Cedar Federation, incorporating Kings Farm Primary (according to Ofsted, a school that 'serves a community with above-average levels of deprivation' and Ifield Special School (Ofsted Outstanding with a national reputation) I am delighted and proud of this recognition of the potential at Kings Farm to take on this challenge.    

Note: the initial allocation figures for all Kent secondary schools reports that 3251 children, 19.5% of the total, did not get their first choice school on allocation. This figure is misleading as 887 of these were children who put grammar schools in first place but had not been found selective and so were ineligible, this becoming an irrelevant choice. They should therefore be deducted from the figures, reducing the figure to some 14% of children overall in Kent who did not get their first legitimate choice, a much lower figure than in many parts of the country.

You will find further information on Individual Secondary Schools here, currently being updated. 

Dartford Grammar School for Girls which, a few years ago, did give priority to local girls, has now gone down the same route, and as a result is the second most oversubscribed grammar school turning away 188 girls most from London Boroughs.  23 of their 55 ooc girls are coming from Greenwich or Lewisham, and the pass mark for local girls is also climbing fast, to 347.

Both of the Wilmington Grammar Schools made a clear statement two years ago when they gave priority for 90% of their places to local children, but because there are still not enough locals to fill all available places (a situation that will change rapidly as the Ebbsfleet Garden City blossoms) are also taking in a large London intake many making them their first preference schools, the Boys admitting 60, and the Girls 57. Wilmington Girls rejected 58 grammar qualified girls (making it the sixth most popular in Kent) and the Boys, 43.

There are calls from some political circles for another grammar school in Dartford, which would of course simply attract another grammar full of children from London. I am not sure this is the point of the new government plan.

The two Gravesend Grammars appear to be going down different routes with regards to admissions; the boys' school having expanded to 175 is filling up with ooc boys, offering places to 43. 14 of these live in Thurrock, presumably planning to cross the Thames on the passenger ferry. The school is clearly unhappy with the ooc situation and is reducing its intake to 150 for 2018 entry. For September 2017, all but one grammar qualified boys placing the school in first place were offered places. Mayfield Grammar introduced an additional route to admission via the Mayfield Test in 2015, seeing 16 girls arrive by this route in 2017. The school has expanded its intake by 25 places to admit 170 girls this September, suggesting there will be some 10 available on appeal,  but still turned away 22 first choices. 

Next comes The Skinners School, oversubscribed by 143 first choices, most of its ooc’s coming from East Sussex, followed by 11 from Bromley. The school, on a restricted site, remains at five form entry, but has increased its Planned Admission Number (PAN) by five places to 155. This may have severe implications for appeals, as previously the average number upheld has been five, but with those places already allocated, will the Appeal Panel be willing to raise class sizes above 31?

The Judd School, which changed last year to give priority to Kent children for 90% of its places has increased its PAN for the second time in five years, to 180 boys, in exchange for capital funding from KCC to accommodate this. Even with 30 extra places awarded, 102 grammar qualified fist choices lost out and the school’s cut off score for admission for local children rose slightly to 364 (up from 362), confirming the school’s popularity continues to swell. Meanwhile the bar for the out of area children soared to an aggregate of 400, which will have included just 19 ooc's, 15 from Bromley.

Meanwhile Weald of Kent Grammar at last opened the long delayed and controversial annexe in Sevenoaks. This has admitted 90 girls, but overall the school has only offered places to 30 more girls than last year, when it expanded its intake on the single site in preparation for the annexe. Some forecast it would lose out in popularity but, even with the enlarged intake, the oversubscription level rose from 33 to 44 in 2017. The school offered 13 ooc's, all but one from East Sussex. It is not clear how the school allocated places between the two sites, but there appear to have been no public concerns surfacing, suggesting that families are happy with the way the school has handled this. 

With the additional places offered for girls through the annexe and at Tonbridge, focus naturally turns to the pressure on boys’ places in West Kent. Judd’s decision to give priority to local boys and to expand has clearly helped, and this year Tunbridge Wells Boys’ Grammar has also offered to another 30 boys taking its total up to 210, although 26 first choices were turned away. The school remains very much a Kent provider, with just two ooc's offered places. Tunbridge Wells Girls’ has resisted inducements to enlarge, but has offered an additional five places this year, taking its PAN up to 145. As with Skinners, this may have significant implications for appeals, as the school has previously argued strongly that it is unable to go above this number, seeing some 7/8 only get through.

For some reason, presumably political, Maidstone Grammar has had a £4 million expansion programme to take its intake up 30 places to 205. The school gives priority to boys achieving at least a mark half way between the pass mark and the maximum marks available in the Kent Test, and living in named parishes. It is now no longer oversubscribed with first choices, but the second boys' grammar school in Maidstone, Oakwood Park, has lost 30 boys because of this expansion. It is currently running with 65 spaces before appeals, the highest figure for any Kent grammar. So with so many surplus places in the town, why was this capital expansion given such priority? 

The second highest vacancy figure in Kent is at Maidstone Girls’ Grammar with 42, whilst the controversial Invicta Grammar remains full only by virtue of reducing its intake by 18 girls to 192 from 2016's 210. Of the 16 Medway children offered places at Kent grammar schools, 11 are going to the two Maidstone girls' grammars. 

Between them, the four Maidstone grammars admitted an astonishing 164 children on appeal in 2016, which will have led to considerable churning amongst the non-selective schools.

The four-year programme, to begin in September, will be run by Kieran Mackle, an outstanding practitioner, a MaST (Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher) and author of “Tackling Misconceptions in Primary Mathematics”, published by Routledge, earlier this year.  As one of the 50 Specialist Leaders of Education selected to attend the 2014 Department for Education Shanghai project, Kieran has already observed the ‘mastery’ approach first hand and has identified transferable practices to be used in the UK.

Chris Jackson, Head of School at King’s Farm Primary School and Collaboration Lead, said: “Our ultimate commitment is to increase pupils’ enjoyment of maths and develop life-long passion for the subject.  Longer term, we’ll use our knowledge and experience to share best practice enabling delivery of the programme within other schools in Gravesham.”

Nick Harland, Deputy Clerk at The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, said: “Lord Sutherland and the Trustees of the Goldsmiths’ Charity are delighted to support this innovative approach and look forward to seeing it become a reality in September 2017.”

 Pam Jones OBE, Executive Head of The Cedar Federation, said: “We are thrilled that the three schools have been awarded this exciting opportunity which will see pupils’ aspirations and attainment raised.  We look forward to sharing our progress and learning with other schools in Gravesham”. As a Governor of the Cedar Federation, incorporating Kings Farm Primary (according to Ofsted, a school that 'serves a community with above-average levels of deprivation' and Ifield Special School (Ofsted Outstanding with a national reputation) I am delighted and proud of this recognition of the potential at Kings Farm to take on this challenge.    

The highly respected NFER research centre describes VR  Tests as 'generally designed to provide an overall measure of scholastic ability without having a specific curriculum content, principally assessing inferential and deductive skills. The tests have high reliability and are relatively good predictors of subsequent academic attainment (good predictive validity). These tests consist of a variety of item types, typically including similes, antonyms, analogies, codes and anagrams’. 

I am fairly familiar with the situation in Buckinghamshire, where parents don't appear to have noticed the above strictures, and the tutoring industry thrives and operates extensively. Indeed, the admission that CEM ‘aims to reduce any disadvantage’ surely acknowledges the reality that there is one, and parents  would be wise to ignore the foolish ‘belief’.

Whereas GL publishes examples of the type of questions they set in their 11 plus tests, CEM does not, in the forlorn hope there will be no leakage. Hence their unsubstantiated claim that they are less tutorable! However, there are a number of commercial companies that publish CEM type materials who will no doubt have a boom in the Medway towns. From my experience of both systems I strongly recommend that children are made familiar with the new testing process, although state schools are banned from explicit teaching in class time.

My own position remains unchanged. I dislike the principle of tutoring intensely, but given that selection by Test exists, so will tutoring by individuals, agencies and in private schools. I therefore still recommend a certain amount of familiarisation, perhaps by tutoring or alternative family support for all children, to ensure all candidates are comfortable with the main types of question examples and any unfairness is minimised. I also recommend a decent preparation run in time from around Easter of Year Five, although many tutoring agencies will and private schools have been in full operation since before the start of Year Four.

By its very nature, the Extended Writing Test is an unreliable assessment of ability. Children are set one lengthy task from one of the Key Stage Two Writing Genres, which is awarded two fifths of the aggregate marks in the Medway Test. Outcomes show the assessment highly favours girls and older children, although it is claimed to be age standardised. As the pass standard requires an aggregate score only, a candidate with ability in English who is fortunate with the choice of subject or genre can score exceptionally highly and have no need to show ability in either maths or verbal reasoning. Conversely, I have seen too many candidates who have misunderstood the assessment, fail badly in spite of respectable scores on the other two papers and lose their chance of the grammar school of their choice. We now have an even higher proportion of marks being awarded for literacy. 

None of this is the fault of the highly experienced question setter, a retired headteacher who was also the trainer and leader of an experienced team of markers, although their services appear to have been suddenly dispensed with, but without explanation or thanks. It will be interesting to see how new high quality replacement markers are recruited, but what a waste of expertise from an organisation that is sadly very deficient in it! 

To close an active and presumably financially sound school (otherwise why buy it?), after running up debts of nearly a million pounds, in nine months, must be somewhat of a record.

Neither the staff, who were unpaid at Christmas and possibly not since, nor the children turfed out of their school at short notice bear any responsibility for the debacle, but for both groups this is of course far more difficult than for Mr Averre-Beeson. He has probably not suffered any personal loss again, except for his reputation.

Companies House tells us that the Trust is still operating and has six officers, who are presumably responsible for producing the well overdue 2016 accounts. These should provide some answers to how the previous year’s deficit of nearly £2 million was managed, but any  report of the Investigation into the Trust's affairs looks doomed to be another well kept secret.  One of the Trustees is Angela Barry, Executive Head of the Academy Trust that now runs Knockhall Academy, taken over from Lilac Sky in January.

Key details of the accounts, with examples of malpractice, show funds passing between companies associated with Lilac Sky, or else straight out of the system. AnarticleI published earlier this week shows a successor company to Lilac Sky taking over a small but apparently successful private school in London, then taking the company running the school into voluntary liquidation. The school closed within nine months, owing debts of nearly a million pounds, mainly in staff salaries and rental costs, but as so often, where did the money go?  

One of the most shocking examples of malpractice came after government ordered LSSAT to stop using associated companies to provide services at what are claimed to be exorbitant rates. The Trust defied this instruction and continued using Corporate Bespoke Services, Lilac Sky Outstanding Education Services, and Lilac Sky Schools, until June 2016, when the new Trustees took over. Corporate Bespoke Services is highlighted, majority shareholder Mr Averre-Beeson, founder of the Lilac Sky chain. The company provided services totalling £217,500 to LSSAT, although there was no competitive tendering. In addition, the company invoiced the Trust in advance  for  services  to be performed from May to August 2016, (i.e. after the new Trustees took responsibility) at an increased rate and the Trust made payments to Corporate  Bespoke Services Limited in advance as well.

Lilac Sky Schools appointed Trustees and Directors, against Governance guidance, as they were not formally connected with the Trust.

Four of the LSSAT academies were new build, and funding for these was inappropriately used, so that the DfE had to provide emergency funds to enable classrooms to open with necessary basic equipment and furniture. 

The accounts identify multiple inappropriate business relationships between former Trustees, some senior staff and the Founder, whose names recur regularly through previous articles I have penned, including five relatives of the founder. The Trust Finance Manager was also Finance Manager of several of the above companies. Several of these names received severance payments during the year and were immediately rehired next day as consultants, fees not available. These included A Donaldson who retained her position as Director of Learning after becoming a consultant and so should have remained on the payroll. There is no evidence that Trustees approved these payments.  Another Trustee was Christopher Bowler, who had seen a rotating range of responsibilities, like so many members of the inner circle. He resigned in August 2016 as Director of Schools and Academies, on a salary of  £135,000. 

Thistle Hill Academy  carried a net deficit of £16,688 because the Academy was overstaffed in 2015/16 and the Principal in post at that time was paid a salary of £72,686 p.a., above expectations  for  the pupil roll of 231 for that academic year. She is the step-daughter of the Founder's wife, and school documentation shows she did not appear to attend the school full-time, having other responsibilities in the Lilac Sky portfolio.  

Knockhall Academy carried forward a net deficit of £106,887 because the Academy was overstaffed in 2015/16, there was unexpected costs due to building works, a deficit  loan repayment to the Local Authority  and central Trustrecharges.

The accounts provide a number of perhaps minor examples of malpractice: a credit card used by a non-employee; purchasing of IT equipment and a mobile phone contract for non-employed Consultants.

The accounts make clear there is no proper monitoring of expenditure, and indeed the founder also undertook internal audits for a period, although there appear to be no records of these and such an appointment appears contrary to the Academies Financial Handbook.  The new Interim Accounting Officer of The Lilac Sky Schools Trust was 'very concerned at the apparent lack of compliance in several areas of the Trust's financial management which did give rise to multiple breaches of the Academies Financial Handbook 2015'.

Included within incoming resources are emergency grants received from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) totalling £345,440 (presumably to support the rebrokerage of the academies to new Trusts). The EFA reserve the right to request repayment of the  emergency  cash advances at a later date.

The Trust has run up a Pension Fund Deficit of £3,073,000 which will be passed on to successor institutions to be recovered through increased employer contributions, effectively a tax on the schools, along with the fixed assets (premises etc.). 

'The Trustees'  indemnity  'provides cover for the Academy  Trust's costs incurred as a result of allegations of negligence following a wrongful action  resulting in a subsequent  financial  loss.  This is against  both the entity andindividuals'. So that's all right then, except there is a difference between negligence and wrong doing!

You will find the equivalent article and data for 2016 here; a preliminary article here; and the parallel Kent article here - which also records a fall in pupil numbers.

I would encourage parents to apply to go on the waiting list for any of their preferences that have not been offered, as there will be movement over the next four months. This is your best chance of getting a school of your choice, as chances at appeal are generally very low because of Infant Class Legislation. For 2016 entry, of 69 registered Primary appeals organised by Medway Council where Infant Class Legislation applied (the overwhelming majority), just one was upheld.

Note: the abbreviation LAAC refers to a child placed by Medway Council at a school they have not applied to, as all their own choices are full.

(C) -Chatham; (G) -Gillingham; (R) - Rochester

Overall there are 9% empty places in Chatham primary schools (up from 7% in 2016): St John’s Infants, with 16 of its 30 places vacant (full last year); Lordswood; Luton Infants; Oaklands and St Michael’s RC, all having more than ten places vacant.

As last year, there are seven schools with vacancies, although the proportion of empty places overall has trebled from 4% to 12% of the total available. Whilst Twydall Primary again has the most with 35 of its 90 places unfilled, two of the other schools with vacancies, Byron and Oasis Skinner Street both have 11 LAACs placed with them. Hempsted Infants which was heavily oversubscribed two years ago, now has 27 vacancies, probably still suffering from its link with Hempsted Juniors, which recently went through a difficult time (now resolved). The most recent OFSTED Report for both Byron and Twydall (now academies) placed them in Special Measures, and Featherby Infants probably suffer

Just three schools oversubscribed, two significantly. These were The Pilgrim School, 29 disappointed first choices, and second most oversubscribed school in Medway; and St Margaret’s at Troy Town CofE, last year’s most popular school, with 13.

I don't have exact figures for the appeal numbers at these schools, but have good informal information (and am happy to receive official figures) and will collect full data after they have concluded, in September. 

The highest number of appeals for places at a Kent grammar school in 2016 was at Chatham and Clarendon Grammar in Ramsgate, with 113 cases heard out of 118 appeals lodged, (47 successful), as explained in my Report on last year’s Appeals. However, this figure came about for exceptional reasons, and the four Dartford grammars all had the next highest numbers of appeals and, by some margin, the lowest success rates across the county (the next two most difficult schools to win an appeal having a 27% success rate). 

Many families living in London will apply to and, if unsuccessful, appeal for up to six grammar schools along the Thames and its estuary, their children taking Bexley, Kent and Medway 11 plus tests. As a result, the number of first choices only provides a partial picture of the enormous scale of this activity. London families whose children were Kent grammar qualified through the Test, who have six choices against the four of Kent families, made up to 336 fifth and sixth choices for the four Dartford schools (some will be from Essex), many of whom will now be appealing for places.

I have explained in previous articles how the two Dartford grammar schools encourage high scoring applicants from London at the expense of local children, whilst the two Wilmington grammars give priority to Kent families. Whilst these factors clearly have a bearing on the overall number of applicants making the schools their first choice, it does not appear to affect the total number of appeals.

All four schools regularly argue with considerable success in the appeals, that they are unable to create additional classes, leaving the appeal panels little flexibility in numbers. The rules give do not Panels guidance on how to prioritise cases, so each group of three panellists must decide for themselves whether to take any notice of admission priorities and what marks out the exceptional appeal that will win the day.

The financial cost of managing this vast number of out of Kent applications is itself substantial. Additional test centres have to be set up and marking to be paid for by Kent County Council, although only 11% of the 3947 out of county children tested in 2016 were allocated Kent grammar school places in March. The cost of each appeal is likely to be around £200 to the school, including considerable input from school staff.

This is an expansion of my previous article on allocations, published at the beginning of March here. You will find an article describing the grammar school situation below, with Medway to follow. You will find 2016 non-selective data here.

Kent has seen an extra 576 net places put into its non-selective schools since 2016, to meet rising rolls in several areas, although it is clearly becoming increasingly difficult to provide places in schools that families want their children to attend.

The number of pupils offered their first choice rose by 87, but the number being offered none of their four choices also increased, by 188 children to 616.

There will be considerable churning between now and September, as children drop out of the system, and through waiting lists and successful appeals (126 out of 357 non-selective appeals in 2016) which all create spaces to be filled.

The District sections describe the picture on allocation day March 1^st. Between now and September, many more places will become available after successful grammar school appeals. 

You will find further information on Individual Secondary Schools here, currently being updated.

Notes for details below:  (a) PAN is Planned Admission Number, the figure which determines how many places a school can offer before it is technically full; (b) OOC refers to Out Of County children seeking or being offered places in Kent schools (c) LAAC is a Local Authority Allocated Child, one placed by KCC in a school they did not apply for, as they received none of their application preferences.    

Herne Bay High School is as usual heavily oversubscribed, turning away 52 first choices, its popularity underlined by having 95% of its offers going to first choices, the highest percentage in Kent.

Astor College, Duke of York’s and SchoolsCompany Goodwin Academy  in Walmer, all appear disaster areas, the first two being closely linked and having been run by the same Executive Principal until last summer. The SchoolsCompany Goodwin Academy which fell from Outstanding to Special Measures a few years ago, has now scrambled out of it but  clearly still inspires little confidence in families. It has 43% of Year 7 allocation places empty, the second highest percentage in Kent. This figure will increase as other more popular schools see vacancies arise. Astor College, which was issued with a government Warning Notice eighteen months ago for persistently low standards and failure to address them has also lost public confidence with 40% of its places empty.

However, the school with the highest percentage of empty desks in Kent by far is the Duke of York’s Royal Military School, a boarding Academy in Dover sponsored by The Army. The school has recently completed a £25 million building project built for an Admission Number of 104. The problem is surely related to the highly controversial reputation it carries which has now risen to the surface again. This has seen its intake sink to 12 Year 7 pupils on allocation at this stage, half the previous lowest figure, although historically this number increases considerably up to three times the original figure, with children transferring in at older age groups. This would still leave it two thirds empty. The school is able to reject pupils if it considers them unsuitable for boarding, and has refused places for 14 applicants by this process, although it identifies as a priority ‘Children at risk or with an unstable home environment’. No doubt its annual grant for 'Ministry of Defence Military Ethos', totalling £891,858 in 2016, assists any financial pressures but amounts to a lot of ethos.

 GRAVESHAM

The third Sevenoaks District school is the much underrated Orchards Academy, which had the fourth highest Progress 8 GCSE performance of any non-selective school in Kent. In spite of this, it still had 25 vacancies for its 120 places, losing many children to Knole.

SHEPWAY

Given the pressure on places at Brockhill it is no surprise to see the third Shepway school, Marsh Academy at New Romney, filled for the first time, and even be 20 places oversubscribed.

A new four form entry Free school, described as ‘fully comprehensive’  is proposed by Turner Schools, for the site of the closed Pent Valley school planned to start in 2019, although government bureaucracy appears to be delaying all progress on opening new schools, which is producing a number of critical situations.

Hadlow Rural Community School, another new Free School in its fourth year of operation, has now established itself and is oversubscribed for the first time, turning away 20 first choices. This is clearly having an effect on the Tonbridge Schools, with Hayesbrook, a consistently high performing boys’ school at GCSE with 35 vacancies, 23% of its PAN. In addition, Hayesbrook has been given 36 LAACs, the sixth highest figure in Kent. This must all be very worrying for the Brook Learning Trust, the multi-academy trust that runs Hayesbrook, Ebbsfleet Academy (see Dartford above) and High Weald Academy (see Tunbridge Wells below), all three of which have difficulty attracting pupils.

Hillview School for Girls has just filled as usual, but Hugh Christie, the town’s mixed school filled with 82% of its offers going to first choices, but was then allocated an additional 30 LAAC children, taking its total intake up to 191. I am unclear why the town has so many LAACS, 66 between them, more than nearly every whole District in Kent. Where were they all trying to go, especially when there does not appear a poor school in the town? But see Tunbridge Wells below.

High Weald Academy in Cranbrook is still struggling badly for numbers, having made just 57 offers for its 180 places, including 20 LAACs, over a third of the total. This is another sharp fall from 2016, when there were 75 offers with just 7 LAACs, and it is difficult to see how the school will survive.

The final school in the area, Mascalls in Paddock Wood, remains popular and as usual filled this year mainly with first choice applications, confirming parental confidence in the school.

OUT OF COUNTY

Both Medway requests were submitted on 25^th April, but apart from acknowledgements of receipt, I heard nothing within the 20 working day limit. On 1st June, I issued a reminder and received a prompt response saying the relevant Department had been asked to respond urgently. This again produced nothing at all so, on 14^th June I asked for an Internal Review to take place but also requesting once again the information. I now have an acknowledgement that the Internal Reviews will take place, the final stage before I can go to the Information Commissioner to force the data out, but no reference to my third request for the data. I still don’t have the data – what is the Council trying to hide, or is it simply that they do not care?

And what a total waste of Council officers' time and resources which could have been saved at any stage in the past two months by production of the data!

It is my intention to look more closely at Medway’s Permanent Exclusion and Elective Home Education data, when I receive it as a result of my Complaint to the ICO.

When I submitted my request for an Internal Review, I put in a third request for the information which was again ignored until I was sent the outcomes of the Review, including the two FOIs below. 

 4) This is the silliest answer of all, as the data is provided in full on a school by school basis in response to my second FOI (below), supplied by Medway Council in the same email reporting back on the Internal Review. It therefore demonstrates conclusively that the vague term ‘data protection’ should not ever be used without justification of the reasons. The consistent practice with those FOI requests turned down by KCC or Government is rightly to provide such justification. 

However, the total figure is certainly alarming, at 377, up from 95 four years ago, the latest figures I have. This is nearly half Kent’s total of 770, a county six times as large.

The serious situation in Medway is illustrated by the comparisons below. There is growing evidence that in some schools, families are encouraged by the school to opt for EHE for their children, which would be unlawful. As a result, questions should be asked by Medway Council about those schools with the highest numbers of EHEs,  as is starting to happen in Kent.  

The comparison is: whereas Medway has 10 Primary schools with five or more children leaving for EHE in 2015-16, headed by Napier Community Primary with 15 children being opted out to EHE, Kent (with six times as many schools) has just three, with none losing more than seven children.

At secondary level Medway has 10 out of its 11 non-selective schools with five or more children leaving for EHE in 2015-16, headed by Hundred of Hoo with 31 children not being schooled, compared with Kent, 41 out of the  69 non-selective schools, headed by Homewood School with 22 pupils.

Hundred of Hoo Academy has also seen 23 children depart for 2016-17 up to Easter, and so is likely to rise significantly higher. It is run by the Williamson Trust, sponsored by Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, the only grammar school in Kent or Medway to make the lists, with the families of four children choosing EHE. 

New converter primary academies in Kent include the three Tenterden schools: Tenterden CofE Junior, Tenterden Infants, and St Michael's CofE Primary. These have formed a MAT with Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, the local secondary comprehensive school, creating a sensible geographical unit. Stone St Mary’s CofE Primary in Greenhithe and Horton Kirby CofE Primary are to become part of the Aletheia Anglican Academy Trust, headed up by St George’s CofE Trust in Gravesend; St Teresa’s Catholic Primary, Ashford and St Augustine's Catholic Primary, Tunbridge  Wells have joined the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership; Charing CofE Primary, converted last week,, no details available yet but likely to become part of the Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust (Aquila); Leybourne St Peter & St Paul CofE, VA, has joined the Tenax Trust; Westcourt Primary in Gravesend has joined the Primary First Trust, which has also been awarded a new Free School in Gravesham.

In Medway: Deanwood Primary and Thames View Primary Schools have joined the Howard Academy Trust;  The Pilgrim School has set up the Pilgrim Multi-Academy Trust and has been joined by the Riverside Primary; Barnsole Primary is currently in a MAT on its own; St Margaret's Infants is in the Westbrook Trust (St Margaret’s Junior CofE is a Sponsored Academy in the Rochester Diocesan Multi-Academy Education Trust); Balfour Junior Academy, the Fort Pitt Thomas Aveling Academy Trust.

There is also the Rowans, a Pupil Referral Unit in Medway, which appears to be the whole of the Inspiring Change Multi-academy Trust (see below).  

The following Kent primary schools have made new applications to become converter academies: Sutton-at-Hone CofE Primary, Dartford (the Aletheia Anglican Academy Trust) and West Hill Primary Dartford (the Galaxy Trust). Also: Minterne Community Junior School, Sittingbourne; The Oaks Community Infant, Sittingbourne.  St Mark's CofE Primary, Eccles; Borden CofE Primary; and Bredgar CofE Primary.   The DofE website does not indicate which, if any, MAT group these will join.

Medway Schools in the pipeline are: Featherby Infant and Nursery; Halling Primary; St Margaret's at Troy Town CofE VC Controlled Primary. Featherby Junior is in the pipeline to be a Sponsored Academy (Sponsor unknown).

• Replacements for the closed Chaucer Technology School, Canterbury, and Pent Valley School, Folkestone
• New secondary schools in Dartford and Medway
• New primary schools in Dartford, Maidstone and Rochester
• A new all through 4 -19 school in Medway
• A new Special School in Maidstone
• A new Pupil Referral Unit in Medway 

 I, like many others, considered there would be a clear Conservative victory in the General Election, in which case extending the new Sevenoaks Annexe to include boys would be a given. Now without new legislation, no obvious sponsor, and other government priorities  it is difficult to see how it can come about, except that the local MP is Sir Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary in the Cabinet. This situation leaves the new premises currently being built for boys potentially vacant, although KCC has a contingency plan to move relocate the Local Adult Education centre here. 

Sadly, Medway Council, in an attempt to hide these figures has refused an FOI request I submitted (although there has been no problem in previous years), and is now the subject of a complaint by me to the Information Commissioner. Two of a number of previous articles on this site looking at Medway data are‘Medway Council, Incompetent Again’ and ‘Will the bad news ever stop coming for Medway: Massive hike in permanent and fixed term exclusions’.

In the past, Medway Council has sought to blame schools and academies completely, washing its hands of responsibility for what is a large social failure being created in the area.  On the other hand Kent, which also had a massive problem with exclusions a few years back, has gone in the other direction thanks primarily to active intervention by the County Council in both maintained schools and academies.

Government guidance makes clear that ‘permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort’, and offers advice on the avoidance of exclusion. The above data shows that in Medway, the strategy of removing pupils is used far more freely than this. 

Unfortunately, I cannot analyse these figures more closely because of Medway Council’s unlawful refusal to provide me with the data. What I am looking for is a school by school basis of these figure, which would pinpoint where the problems are (in 2013-14, Bishop of Rochester Academy permanently excluded 14 children, 20% of the total). Whilst my FOI request for the relevant exclusion data for children with SEND (Special Education Need Disability) has now been ignored for three months, government figures show that no children attending Special Schools have been permanently excluded for two years.

Medway Council will argue that as all but one of its 17 secondary schools and 41/79 primaries are academies, it has no control over events. The Medway SEND and Inclusion Strategy 2016-2020, apparently sets out how Medway will effect change to reduce its exclusion rates. In Paragraph 2.6 entitled ‘Permanent and fixed term exclusions from Medway schools and academy provision’ it records: ‘In the year 2013-14, 70 children and young people were permanently excluded from a Medway school. This exclusion rate, 0.16% of the state-funded school age population, is the highest percentage bar one other authority. During the same period, 2.48% of the Medway state-funded school population received fixed term exclusions, compared with 3.5% nationally . Although below the national average, the average number of days of fixed term exclusion per Medway pupil was 7.37 days: the highest in England’. With the permanent exclusion figures set out in the table above, the 2015-16 figures for fixed term exclusions are almost identical to those of 2013-14, at 2.54% of Medway pupils excluded and average level 7.3 days.  So there can be no doubt the Authority knew, and presumably still knows, it has a massive problem.

The Council bemoans in this strategy the fact that because the two Pupil Referral Units are completely full of excluded pupils (121 last year), and other schools are unhappy about accepting excluded pupils, there is nowhere for them to go. It offers no strategies whatever for reducing numbers, in contrast to Kent (see below). See also my comment about Elective Home Education below, details of which, Medway Council is again refusing to provide. 

A press release by the Leigh Academies Trust, Kent’s largest chain, identifies their three new schools and includes the following:

Barton Court Academy Trust Free School– a new non-selective free school providing 1,050 school places for 11- to 19-year-olds in Canterbury. It is proposed this will open in 2019 as a five form entry mixed school on the site of the now closed and adjacent Chaucer Technology School, much reported on elsewhere on this website, Barton Court winning over an alternative bid from Christ Church University, with its strong record of turning round Dover Christ Church Academy. BC has recently taken over Charles Dickens School in Broadstairs, after it failed its OFSTED.  BC notes: There is considerable demographic pressure on secondary school places from 2017 onward. A new 5 Form entry secondary school will be needed for Canterbury and the local area by 2019’  as explained here. There is not currently a shortage of places in local grammar schools.

It is my intention to look more closely at Medway’s Permanent Exclusion and Elective Home Education data, when I receive it as a result of my Complaint to the ICO.

When I submitted my request for an Internal Review, I put in a third request for the information which was again ignored until I was sent the outcomes of the Review, including the two FOIs below. 

 4) This is the silliest answer of all, as the data is provided in full on a school by school basis in response to my second FOI (below), supplied by Medway Council in the same email reporting back on the Internal Review. It therefore demonstrates conclusively that the vague term ‘data protection’ should not ever be used without justification of the reasons. The consistent practice with those FOI requests turned down by KCC or Government is rightly to provide such justification. 

However, the total figure is certainly alarming, at 377, up from 95 four years ago, the latest figures I have. This is nearly half Kent’s total of 770, a county six times as large.

The serious situation in Medway is illustrated by the comparisons below. There is growing evidence that in some schools, families are encouraged by the school to opt for EHE for their children, which would be unlawful. As a result, questions should be asked by Medway Council about those schools with the highest numbers of EHEs,  as is starting to happen in Kent.  

The comparison is: whereas Medway has 10 Primary schools with five or more children leaving for EHE in 2015-16, headed by Napier Community Primary with 15 children being opted out to EHE, Kent (with six times as many schools) has just three, with none losing more than seven children.

At secondary level Medway has 10 out of its 11 non-selective schools with five or more children leaving for EHE in 2015-16, headed by Hundred of Hoo with 31 children not being schooled, compared with Kent, 41 out of the  69 non-selective schools, headed by Homewood School with 22 pupils.

Hundred of Hoo Academy has also seen 23 children depart for 2016-17 up to Easter, and so is likely to rise significantly higher. It is run by the Williamson Trust, sponsored by Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, the only grammar school in Kent or Medway to make the lists, with the families of four children choosing EHE. 

From Year Seven secondary places offer day in March 2016, to the October Census the same year, the school lost 36 children, or 23% of those offered places, the highest percentage fall in the county. For this September, it has made a total of 100 offers for places, a sharp fall from the 158 of 2016, its 67 vacancies being the fourth highest percentage in the county. 13 places offered were to Local Authority Allocation Children (LAAC) who did not even apply for the school, which was the only one with vacancies in Dartford. Between September 2016 and Easter 2017, 17 children took Elective Home Education, the highest percentage in the county, with three out of every 100 pupils leaving a school education for ?. Six of these were from Year 11, schools with this pattern often having encouraged children to leave in order to boost GCSE results, which is of course unlawful. Another three had been taken off the school roll and registered with a Pupil Referral Unit, an alternative to exclusion for some pupils, although intended to be a short term solution with the pupil remaining on the home school roll (see below). The school had eight permanent exclusions, the highest number in Kent, in 2014-15, although this had fallen to under five for 2015-16. Overall the first Year 7 cohort after the current Principal was appointed, which has now reached Year 11, has lost a net 17 pupils over that time, 13% of the original figure, and one of the highest in the county.

The school is proud of the GCSE results achieved from its remaining pupils, and whilst some found an alternative, at what cost to those who couldn’t cope and left or were forced out.

The school had previously picked up a large number of pupils after the highly unpopular takeover by Ellington and Hereson School of the disastrous Marlowe Academy now closed, so that its Year 11 cohort has increased by a remarkable 50 pupils over the five years they have been in the school, with the now renamed Royal Harbour Academy having lost 39! The school will also have picked up families moving into the area from other countries and from London replacing others who have left, so the school probably has more challenges than any other in the county.

The new headteacher, appointed September 2016, has completely and controversially changed the ethos of the school, introducing tough love; time will tell if it works in this very difficult climate, although it certainly hasn’t in the other two examples. Eleven year old children, faced with the trauma of going to a secondary school they may not have chosen, on their first day were turned away at the school gate by the Headmaster and fellow staff for minor uniform infringements. What a dreadful impression to make, which may scar that child's view of the school for ever. Will the scene be repeated next month? I hope the school has realised the damage this does to those children, or do they just see it as tough love.     

In summary: By October 2016, the school had lost 17% of the 322 pupils given places in Year 7 the previous March. 53 of the total offers were to LAACS, the second highest figure in the county that year. For September 2017 entry, there were 98 vacancies, a quarter of the total available, the school being the only one in Swale not oversubscribed, as many Sheppey parents struggle to get their children into Sittingbourne schools. The total number of children offered places has fallen by 33 over last year. There were 47 LAACs who had not even applied for place. Most of these will have come from the Isle of Sheppey itself, desperate but failing to avoid the school. Each year I am asked for advice from a number of these families.

An astonishing 33 families had pulled their children out of the school in the seven months to Easter 2017, ‘electing’ for Home Education, some testifying they were given no option, as this became a ‘strong recommendation’ by the school, which is unlawful. This is almost twice as many as any other school, Ebbsfleet Academy having come second (along with Cornwallis Academy, Maidstone) with 17, just ahead of Hartsdown, third with 15. What is most worrying amongst many other factors to consider, is that 18 of the Oasis EHE pupils came from Years 7 & 8, many from families who clearly care about education, some concerned about bullying, which appears less of a serious issue than uniform regulations to the school leadership according to correspondence I have seen.  These families have made a positive decision, that arranging for private tuition (which is a thriving business on the island) for the remainder of their children’s years of education is the better option. What an indictment! I doubt these arrangements offer anything like a full curriculum, for this would make them illegal schools, which would then be closed and the children forced back to Oasis! 

I am awaiting FOIs for the number of children appealing for places at the Sittingbourne schools from Sheppey, which should provide a further indicator. The school also got rid of six pupils for each of 2015-16 school year, and 2016-17 to January (see below), who were permanently moved to the Swale Pupil Referral Unit, intended to be a short term solution for pupils at risk of exclusion. 

My previous articles explain how the school uses the misnamed and humiliating ‘Reflection’ punishment applied to 39% of the whole student body since March which, instead of reflection, has the effect of alienating many pupils and families. This punishment, which sees the pupil withdrawn from lessons for the whole day, losing the day’s schooling, kept in a room allowed refreshment of just a basic lunch, but nothing else to drink, appears to be often applied for minor uniform misdemeanours. For families who think this unfair, parents allege that the school suggests their children leave the school to try and find another or take up home education (including comments below and in previous artciles), although this is denied by central academy staff not based on Sheppey.

However, the centres in Dartford and Sittingbourne operate very differently, with 21 and 27 pupils registered wholly with the PRU respectively in January 2017, without a home school, contrary to the prime purpose for the centres. I have had discussions with parents confirming that in some cases children are threatened with exclusion if they don’t transfer wholly to the PRU, the preferred option of dual registration not being pointed out. One advantage for the school of this is that pupils who are removed from the roll do not count in GCSE statistics.

The biggest users, according to the January 2016 and 2017 censuses were: Sittingbourne Academy (13 in 2016, 7 in 2017); Abbey School Faversham (5,7); Oasis Isle of Sheppey (6,6); and Westlands Academy, Sittingbourne (8,3).

Handily, the Chair of Governors of the Swale PRU is also  a Director of Swale Academies Trust (including Sittingbourne Academy and Westlands School), ex headteacher of Sittingbourne Academy, Chair at Westlands School, also Vice Chair of the North School, Ashford (another SWAT school), and a Consultant who carries out work for the Trust. 

Oasis Isle of Sheppey and Hartsdown both had new headteachers last September, so may argue that the new system is simply bedding down and will begin to work in time. However, there is already plenty of evidence at both that ‘tough love’ is not working, and certainly one could hardly argue that the pioneer of the approach in Kent, Ebbsfleet Academy, is a shining example of success.

What I find most alarming of the many signs of failure of tough love is the high number of families pulling their children out of the three schools, many being forced out to take up what is called Elective Home Education without the tools to do the job properly. Others are simply vanishing from the system. In areas of social deprivation, a high proportion of these will not be provided with an alternative education to prepare them for a decent future, heaping up social problems for years to come. 

I know that many of these children will have presented problems in class, and so schools wish to see the back of them, but those schools have a legal responsibility to work out ways of coping without damage to others. There are examples of other schools in areas of deprivation who do manage for the benefit of all, without going to such extreme measures. 

External Sixth Form applicants for any school, who have been forecast to achieve the laid down academic criteria for admission, should all be considered for places. Then, if numbers exceed the published intake figure places must be offered according to the school’s published oversubscription criteria. The school cannot impose additional rules, such as selecting high performers if these are not specified. 

Unfortunately, with oversubscribed Sixth Forms receiving external applications from students attending a variety of schools, each of these schools may use different methods for forecasting performance,so the procedure is hardly objective. In most cases, it is likely to be in the form of a reference from the current school, but the only factor that can be taken into account is the GCSE forecast. Reports about attendance, behaviour or attitude to work are irrelevant. If you are concerned about the nature of this reference, ask to see it.The statutory government School Admissions Code, Paragraph 2.6, provides the rules for admission to Year 12, allowing the school to set academic entry requirements. Unfortunately it makes no reference to the system of provisional offers, which therefore have no legal standing, but can make practical sense. 

At GCSE publication time, if all available external places are taken up by students who have correctly been offered provisional places and have gained the required grades, that would be an end to it, except you have the right of appeal if unsuccessful. Otherwise the school can fill up with other students who have qualified by virtue of their meeting the GCSE standard. Again, anyone has the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel, although this can take up to 30 school days to organise. If an appeal is upheld, the time lag does mean that the new student will start the A Level course very late, which is a strong disadvantage.

You will find more information about Sixth Form Appeals here.

This is of course part of the drive to deliver on the claim to be ‘The Best School in Maidstone’, as claimed on the school website, with 69% A-B Grades at A Level, compared to 52.9% nationally. In practice, this difference would be fully accounted for by losing the lowest performing 15% of students at the end of Year 12, year on year, coupled with one of the net lowest grammar school staying on rates in the county into the Sixth Form at 92%. In total, a net 40 students left Invicta from this cohort at the end of Year 11 and 12 together, the highest figure for any Kent grammar school and nearly a quarter of those who set out in Invicta at the age of 11.  In addition, and remarkably, a further five girls went missing before GCSE registration in Year 11, the highest figure for any grammar school - see article. With this level of loss of students from each of the senior years, most of whom would probably score lower Grades at A Level, the school could hardly fail to see its remaining students perform highly. 

It will of course be very interesting to see how many current Year 12 students leave ‘voluntarily’ this  summer, although any encouraged to do so, should take comfort in the school’s reassurances provided in my previous article. These include ‘The School does not stipulate to students that they are 'not allowed' to remain in the School for Year 13’. 

At least one national newspaper tried to  get a response from government on this question following my article last year, but failed to do so.  

My advice if you are placed in such a situation is to require that the decision is put in writing. At Invicta, the school appeared reluctant to do so. You should also ask which government ruling allows this to happen (good luck with that one!).

The Government Policy Document: ‘Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England’ makes clear, Section 13, that ‘It is unlawful to exclude for a non-disciplinary reason. For example, it would be unlawful to exclude a pupil simply because ….or for a reason such as: academic attainment/ability’.

It also records that the regulations apply in full to school Sixth Forms.

Quite simply, there is no other regulation by which removal of a student for failure to meet academic targets at the end of Year 12 can be justified.

If this happens to you, you will have the right to complain to the School, using the Complaints procedure, that what has happened is unlawful. If when this has run its course and you are unsuccessful with your complaint, you have the right to complain to the Secretary of State if the school is an academy. This of course takes time, and if you can get the decision overturned then the A Level course may be well underway and it will be impractical to join late.

You also have recourse to the courts, and a decision here could establish case law, and make it easier for others in the future, also providing clear guidance for government (I have no legal background and so am happy to be corrected on this one).  

I hope this is helpful. 

 You will find details of all LGO decisions here, with details at the ‘Show Advanced Search’ at the foot of the page. There is a summary of Kent and Medway decisions for the past two years here. 

Complaints about academies and Free Schools are investigated by the Education Funding Agency which oversees them, so somewhat lacking in objectivity. I am awaiting the results of a Freedom of Information Request for these, but on the pattern of past outcomes I don’t expect to see any greater success rate. Because of the high proportion of schools (especially secondary) that have become academies in recent years, the sharp fall in numbers of Ombudsman complaints is unsurprising. 

For complaints at ten KCC schools, no fault was found in the decision making process by Appeal Panels and so no further enquiries were instituted. In one of these a further complaint about the place allocation process was rejected. Another complaint about the waiting list process was also rejected with no further enquiries.

Seven complaints were closed after further enquiries, without fault being found, or there being insufficient fault to uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman did not investigate a complaint about KCC’s refusal to determine the complainants' child as being of grammar ability (a common concern), as this was the responsibility of an Appeal Panel. 

An important decision was reached about a request for a school place based on KCC’s Special Reasons category. Because supporting documentation was not submitted, KCC did not consider the case, and a decision was made on distance. The Ombudsman found no fault in the KCC process, nor in the decision of a subsequent Appeal Panel which considered all the evidence.

In one case, an error was made by KCC in communicating 11+ results, but no significant injustice was caused so the investigation was closed. In another, an appeal decision letter gave wrong reasons for refusal. In this case, an apology was offered by KCC for any confusion caused.

Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School suffered from a previous bad experience with a KCC Appeal Panel in 2011. This may still influence families into thinking it is worth complaining with little evidence of maladministration, although the school has changed its appeal arrangements as a result and has had no further problems. There were eight complaints in the past two years, none of which were upheld, with several being were dismissed without further enquiries being made.

One complaint was made about each of Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Dover Grammar School for Boys, Maidstone Grammar School and Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. No fault was found at any of these.

The one complaint upheld was because ‘The Council is at fault in failing to implement the agreed remedy on an earlier complaint about failure to make provision of speech and language therapy detailed in Ms X's son's statement of special educational need. The Council will make a payment to recognise this now’.