Change of Admissions Arrangements for September 2026
PUBLIC CONSULTATION:
OASIS ACADEMY BRISLINGTON - CHANGE OF ADMISSIONS ARRANGEMENTS BY REMOVING MEDICAL GROUNDS FOR SEPTEMBER 2026 ADMISSIONS
Oasis Academy Brislington is an all-inclusive academy driven by a powerful ethos aspiring to treat everyone equally whilst delivering a holistic education. Our academy is part of a large family of primary, secondary and all-through academies across England.
The Schools Admissions Code 2021 sets out a requirement for all Admission Authorities to undertake statutory consultation where they propose a variation to the admissions arrangements of an academy.
The purpose of consultation is to ensure transparency and openness on the contents of a proposal and allow parents, carers and other interested stakeholders to make a representation that will be considered as part of the determination of the proposal.
Oasis Community Learning has been working with Bristol City Council and the Department for Education on the proposed changes to change admissions criteria for oversubscription by removing medical grounds for September 2026 admissions.
Currently, the oversubscription criteria for admissions is as follows:
When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of students with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the specific criteria including:
· Looked after children and previously looked after children
· Children whose sibling currently attends the school
· Children for whom a particular school is appropriate on genuine medical grounds
· Distance measured in direct line from home to the school
Brislington seeks to remove the third point of medical grounds from the oversubscription criteria.
Proposal
Our proposal is for the Oasis Academy Brislington to change its admissions criteria to remove medical grounds.
This is due to the need to align all five Oasis secondary academies in the Bristol area with the same admissions criteria. As children with a genuine medical reason would already have an Education Health Care Plan in place, there should be no disadvantage by removing the medical grounds from the oversubscription criteria, as they would already be given priority in admissions as per the admissions criteria. Furthermore, Brislington has a dedicated SEND provision that is committed to ensuring students with specific needs are given the best care and education possible.
The main benefits of this proposal are:
· By removing medical criteria, the academy will create a more equitable admissions process as all applicants will be considered on non-medical factors reducing potential discrimination.
· An easier to manage admissions process by allowing focus on essential factors like proximity, capacity, and sibling priority.
· Reduced administrative burden as the academy will not need to verify medical evidence or assess individual cases allowing staff to allocate time and resources more efficiently.
Oasis Community Learning will be working closely with staff and families to ensure they are kept informed and supported throughout the project to change the admissions criteria.
Your feedback is important to us, and we welcome your views on the proposed changes. Please click on the link below to complete our survey.
Who are we consulting with?
• the local authority
• parents of children who attend the academy
• parents in the area
• primary, secondary, AP and special schools and sixth form and FE colleges in the area (as relevant)
• the Admissions Forum for the academy’s area, where one exists (if admissions are to be affected)
• Local members of parliament and councillors
Consultation
This consultation will run from 18 November 2024 to 13 January 2025. You are invited to submit responses to OCL using this online form, which will be live on 18 November 2024. Responses will be shared with the DfE.
We will be holding an information event session virtually on Wednesday 11th December, 5pm-5.30pm. We kindly invite you to attend should you wish to share your thoughts with us.