School admission arrangements 2028/29

Overview

Leicester City Council is responsible for setting the admission arrangements for its community and voluntary controlled schools. Where changes to admission arrangements are proposed, the School Admissions Code requires the Council to consult before those arrangements are determined.

We are considering making the following changes to the current arrangements, to take effect from the start of the 2028/29 academic year:

• A reduction of Published Admissions Number (PAN) at Stokes Wood Primary School from 60 to 45 for their reception year
• An increase in the number of school preferences that applicants may express under Leicester's co-ordinated admissions scheme, from four to five preferences

Background information

Proposal 1: A reduction of Published Admissions Number (PAN) at Stokes Wood Primary School from 60 to 45 for their reception year

The Published Admission Number (PAN) is the number of children that a school is expected to admit into Reception each year.

Stokes Wood Primary School is a local authority-maintained school situated in the west of the city. The school comprises seven year groups (ranging from Reception to Year 6) and currently has a published admission number of 60 pupils per year group. The current total capacity of the school is 420 pupils.

It is proposed that this is reduced to 45 from September 2028 for their reception year. The proposal would apply only to future Reception admissions and would not affect children already attending the school.

Recent demand for places

In recent years, the number of Reception places allocated at Stokes Wood Primary School has remained below its current PAN of 60. The school’s First Time Admissions’ allocation figures show 40 places allocated in each year from 2023 to 2025, followed by 37 in 2026. This left 23 places vacant below the current PAN at the 2026 National Offer Day allocation. The school has therefore proposed reducing its PAN from 60 to 45 from September 2028.

The May 2026 census also shows vacant places in the younger year groups. There were 44 pupils in Reception, 54 in Year 1 and 51 in Year 2, compared with the current PAN of 60. This represents 16, 6 and 9 places respectively below that figure. Across the school, 393 pupils were on roll, compared with its stated capacity of 420, leaving 27 places unfilled, or approximately 6% of capacity.

Primary school capacity in Leicester

Birth rates in the city have fallen considerably in recent years and were 19% lower in the 2025/26 academic year compared to the number of births in 2015/16. The impact of this is starting to show in school place applications, with much lower pupil numbers in the early primary year groups than the later years. This trend is forecast to continue in the coming years.

Summary of the proposal

The school considers that a PAN of 45 would better reflect recent and projected demand for Reception places and provide greater certainty when planning future class organisation and budgets.

School funding is largely based on pupil numbers. Where pupil admissions consistently fall below the Published Admission Number (PAN), a school receives less funding while many costs, including staffing and premises costs, remain fixed. Aligning the PAN more closely with expected demand would help the school plan its resources more effectively while maintaining sufficient capacity to meet local demand for places.

Proposal 2: An increase in the number of school preferences that applicants may express under Leicester's co-ordinated admissions scheme, from four to five preferences

Leicester's co-ordinated admissions scheme currently allows applicants to express up to four school preferences.

It is proposed that this is increased to five preferences from the 2028/29 admissions round.

The change would provide parents and carers with greater flexibility to express a wider range of school preferences, including schools located in neighbouring local authority areas.

School places are allocated using an equal preference system. This means that each preference is considered against the school's admission criteria regardless of where it is ranked on the application form. Applicants are then offered the highest-ranked school for which they qualify. 

Allowing a fifth preference could increase the number of children who are offered one of their preferred schools and reduce the number who require an alternative offer at the nearest school with available places because none of their preferred schools could be offered.

The revised procedures are set out in the following documents:

1. Proposed Leicester scheme for the admission arrangements for pupils to schools 2028-29
2. Proposed admissions arrangements for first time admission to infant and primary school 2028-29
3. Proposed admissions arrangements for first time admission to junior school 2028-29
4. Proposed admissions arrangements for first time admission to secondary school 2028-29

Why your views matter

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to consult when proposing changes to admission arrangements.

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to consult with:

a)    parents of children between the ages of two and eighteen;
b)    other persons in the relevant area who in the opinion of the admission authority have an interest in the proposed admissions;
c)    all other admission authorities within the relevant area (except that primary schools need not consult secondary schools);
d)    whichever of the governing body and the local authority is not the admission authority;
e)    any adjoining neighbouring local authorities where the admission authority is the local authority;
f)    in the case of schools designated with a religious character, the body or person representing the religion or religious denomination