Parents' hopes over siblings meeting

Parents challenged the admissions policy which meant some children were unable to attend the same school as their sibling Credit: ITV News

By Peter Bearne, Education Correspondent

Families in Nottinghamshire who have been forced to send their children to different schools will find out next week what changes the county council will make to its admissions arrangements.

Last September, the authority controversially decided it would no longer give priority places to children with an older brother or sister at an out-of-catchment school.

It meant a number of families were unable to get a child into the same school as their older sibling.

But parents at one primary school in Mansfield appealed to the Schools Adjudicator, and earlier this month, he ruled that the council's admission rules were "unfair" and should be revised.

On Monday the council will meet to decide what changes it will make for children starting school in September 2018. The Adjudicator said the changes did not have to be applied retrospectively, meaning they may not apply to siblings who have already been split between different schools.

Any changes the county council makes next week may not help siblings who are already split between two schools Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Images

The School Adjudicator's ruling was seen as a victory for families angry at the changes. But parents' campaign group, Fairness4Siblings, is demanding that the council not only changes its future admission arrangements, but also helps families who have already been affected.

Click here to see the report going before county councillors on Monday