This is why more Yorkshire children are being offered primary school places 'out of area'

More than 1,000 children in the region have received offers at primary schools not in their local authority area in each of the last two years, compared with just 770 in 2014/15, analysis by The Yorkshire Post reveals.

Nearly all of Yorkshire's education authorities have seen similar rises in the same period, with the number of out-of-area placements rising in North Yorkshire from 66 to 91 over six years.

The increase has been attributed to factors including falling birth rates making more places available and a rise in online applications making it easier for people to choose the school they want.

Thousands of parents around the region have been considering their options over Christmas ahead of the deadline for submitting primary school preferences on January 15.

The announcement in the spring of where children have been offered places can be hugely controversial, with a protest group set up in north Leeds because of the well-publicised 'black hole' on primary school places.

But government figures show that overall, children in Yorkshire are more likely to get their first choice of primary school than they were six years ago.

The proportion of children getting their first preference has risen from 90.1 per cent to 92.2 per cent since 2014/15 across the region, mirroring the slight increase seen nationally. Some 97.6 of parents in the region get one of their top three preferences.

The number of admission places available has risen from 69,955 to 72,228 at the same time as the number of applications has fallen from 62,270 to 60,614.

And during the same period the number of children offered 'out of area' placements has risen from 1.2 per cent of the total to 1.7 per cent.

In Sheffield, where the number of such offers rose from 49 to 80 since 2014, there has been a fall in the birth rate in recent years leading to a drop in the numbers of children applying for reception places.

Abtisam Mohamed, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Sheffield City Council said: "This means there have been extra places available, so parents are more likely to get their preferred choice of school.

"Our neighbouring authorities Rotherham, Barnsley, Derbyshire are also experiencing similar demographic trends ,which means they have more capacity to offer Sheffield children places and may explain the small rise in children being offered places outside of Sheffield.”

Local authorities closely monitor the application data as it comes in to try and make enough places available at popular schools or in areas where there is likely to be an increase in demand as a result of new housing or a good Ofsted rating.

Amanda Newbold, Assistant Director of Education and Skills at North Yorkshire County Council, said: "We're trying to do that in a timely way so we're ahead of the game. It's just making sure the capacity is available where it's needed, and it's all about parental preference."

She said parents might choose a school out of their local area because it is near where they work and before and after-school provision, or if a sibling has previously attended there.

And she said parents who applied before the deadline and used all five preference options were more likely to get one, whether that was in or out of the local area. But they were more likely to have success if they chose at least one school in their catchment area rather than choosing oversubscribed schools further away, where children who live nearby are more likely to be offered a place.

She said: "So it's applying on time and online, making use of all five and within that five, try and put one of your local schools, one of your catchment area schools, even if it isn't your first choice try and put one of them.

"If you don't, and you put schools that are unrealistic because of how popular they are and actually the criteria means that only the very closest children get them then actually you might be ruling yourself out of those by not using a school that is nearby where you would benefit from that distance criteria."

Leeds was one of the exceptions to the region-wide trend, with the number of out of area offers remaining steady. And while the first preference rate has risen slightly it is below the national average.

A spokesman for Leeds City Council said: "In Leeds we have always encouraged parents to ask for the school they most want as their first preference, and ensure that they use their five preferences as the safety net to securing a local place.

"Parents choose schools for many different reasons, often with childcare arrangements for before and after school being foremost amongst them.

"Our priority is to make sure parents are well informed about how likely they are to be offered a place at a preferred school, publicising historic allocation information for them to review, and we seek to understand their reasons for wanting particular schools.

"The Admissions Team then work with schools to ensure that parents are able to see the good work that goes on inside their school and to describe the school’s wrap around childcare offer. We have also been working to make enough local places available to parents in areas where there has been population growth."