Haringey Council U-turns on closing loophole allowing families to secure school places after moving away

Haringey Council has U-turned on its plan to close a loophole allowing families to secure places for their children at some of the borough’s most popular schools even after moving miles away from catchment areas.

The cabinet tonight ruled that changing the admissions policy would put too many residents at a disadvantage, at the expense of preventing fraudulent claims for places.

In October, the Ham&High Broadway reported on its front page the council’s plan to stop parents automatically getting the siblings of their first child into the same school if they had subsequently moved outside the school’s catchment area following complaints from parents and carers.

The proposal was widely welcomed.

But now the council has cancelled the plans after deliberating the decision.

Council leader Cllr Claire Kober told the meeting: “This time it feels like the right decision to be taken. We risk disadvantaging lots of people if we solve this particular issue in the borough.”

The cabinet is due to agree a 2 per cent council tax rise to raise more revenue for adult social care as part of its 2016/2017 budget on February 22. But it ruled out being able to save its autism and dementia day centres with the extra money.

For an in-depth report and reaction to the decision on admissions, read this Thursday’s Broadway.