The Sutton Trust fair school admissions

The Sutton Trust champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence; they also advocate for fairer admissions policies in schools across England.

The York Schools and Academies Board (YSAB) have committed to the Fair School Admissions Pledge and Award.

The Sutton Trust Pledge

Commitment to the Fair School Admissions Pledge means York Schools and Academies Board (YSAB) will support schools and academies to:

review existing policies
make relevant changes to help improve the inclusivity of schools

The Sutton Trust Award

Commitment to the Fair School Admissions Award means York Schools and Academies Board (YSAB) will support schools and academies to:

assist with inclusivity and accessibility within schools
provide consistent signposting to support services
change within admission arrangements within some schools

The Bronze, Silver and Gold award categories will recognise the different levels of progress schools have made, from reviewing intakes and policies, to making changes to admissions policies.

York Schools and Academies Board actions

The agreed actions for schools and academies in the YSAB area, arising from work with The Sutton Trust relate to 3 key principles:

Providing information, advice, guidance and support to families in relation to the financial cost of school.
Supporting families with information, advice and guidance relating to support available in York.
Reviewing admissions arrangements and (where determined) increasing access to Secondary Schools for pupils eligible for Pupil Premium and Service Pupil Premium (which specifically supports children with parents in the armed forces).

Financial cost of school

All schools in the YSAB area must comply with DfE statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, with a view to reviewing the cost of school uniforms.

They must also provide information on their website for parent, carers and families to:

advise on uniform suppliers
give details of 'preloved' uniform options
set out any uniform assistance available in schools

Schools must also:

promote user-friendly and accessible information about the Free School Meal (FSM) application process
actively encourage FSM applications from all parent and carers for all children, including those eligible for universal FSM in reception, Year 1 and Year 2
provide details of any costs within the academic year, within the first half term
give at least 2 months’ notice of any monies (not included within the start of term list) required by school such as for an unscheduled trip (this will ordinarily allow families with 2 pay-cycles within which to make a payment)
provide details of school trips for each year group with payment deadline to be shared within the first half term, including information about who parent, carers and families can contact in cases of financial difficulty

Signposts to support in York

A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) must be available at Secondary School open evenings.

All school websites must have (presented as separate pages, or a collated page):

dedicated information about Special Education Needs (SEN)
easily accessible information linking to key support for traveller families
easily accessible information linking all key support for service families

We've provided links to sources of local and national support which align to the 3 key principles; you can also visit:

Live Well York for resources for community support and social care in York
Raise York for resources for children, young people, families, communities and professionals

Money and benefits links:

School uniform links:

School meal and food links

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities links: