On the 24th August 2015, BBC showed a Panorama documentary which focused on the increasingly competitive schools admissions systems and the parents who attempt to cheat them. The tone of the The Schools Scandal: Playing the System from the start focuses on the parents who are “abusing” the system, with an opening shot of two Havering Council investigators trying to get their “teeth into” a case and knocking on the doors of unsuspecting parents. The programme makes it clear that there are reasons behind the unwelcome phenomenon of system cheats with narration carefully balancing between language that in turn villainizes and victimises those who are committing fraud.
Entry criteria for school admission varies between county and between each school. Those schools which are have the highest ratings and the best reputations are those whose places are the highest in demand, and it is in these popular schools where schools admissions officers are seeing the highest rise in fraudulent applications. The central case in the programme is of a family who have applied to a very popular school with one address (a small flat on the same road as a school), yet who are believed to live in a different, much larger, home. The larger home is outside of the catchment area for the school they have applied to, and the family are therefore targeted by the “zero-tolerance approach” of those in charge. It is not until the end of the programme, when the two officers knock on the door of the suspected home (not the small flat) late at night to catch the family off-guard that leads to the rescinding of the parents’ application.
On the other end of the spectrum, the programme also shows a devout Christian family. The mother, Lateya, has applied for her son to attend the same Christian primary school, St. Steven’s, that she attended as a child, and three generations of her family have been members of the Parish with regular attendance. However, as she lived slightly over a mile away from the school (though still within the catchment area) her son missed out on a place and her appeal was also rejection. Prior to the news of her rejected application, the Priest from the area was discussing the rise in parents joining the Parish and attending services for a couple of months (whilst the applications were processing) and then, once their child had been accepted, not returning to the Church; this phenomenon is also known as “pew-jumping”. Faith schools are consistently amongst the highest performing schools, which has lead to the increasingly high application rates. Unfortunately for Lateya, if demand for places exceeds the places available, admission does not depend on the time spent with a Parish but on distance from the school.
Approximately one in six parents do not get their children into the schools they want and there is no sign of competition for school places decreasing. Panorama’s investigation poses one major question: who is really at fault? Is it the parents who succeed in cheating the admissions systems and “steal” places from truly eligible families? Or, is it the systems that are in place that make families feel that bending the rules is their only chance of giving their child the best education? In the programme, both parents on the extreme ends of the spectrum lost out. The family who lied about their normal place of residence and the devout Christian mother who wanted her child to have the same education that she did both failed in gaining a place. As noted by Ms. Kirby and Ms. Stevens, the two council officers in the programme, there is no monetary gain from committing this form of fraud: “the lengths people will go to comes from a different mindset”.
It is this “different mindset” which makes it difficult to view the families who attempt to bend the rules of admissions systems, or indeed those who succeed in doing so, as simple “cheats”. When there is a high risk of not getting into the school of your choice (or even your second or third choice), and there is a risk of your child’s education being compromised as a result, it is not surprising that families feel they have no choice but to lie. Yet, on the other hand, what the families are doing is wrong both legally and (in a way) morally. Whilst their fraud is, in their minds, for the benefit of their child(ren), they are denying a place to a child who could well be legible. Lateya, for example, is a victim of “pew-jumpers”. It seems that far more people are losing out due to the system than are happy with it. But what can be done?
A comment on a BBC article about the programme voices the following opinion:
Why are our councils wasting money snooping on families trying to get their children the best start in life? Why can’t they spend this money on the under achieving schools and bring these up to scratch? Far better way of spending money.
The commenter, from Runcorn, makes a point that many others have made before. The problems with admission reflect the widening gap between schools and achievement levels; so what can be done about reducing this gap and thereby making a second, third, or even fourth choice, school still a welcome one?
Did you see the programme? What are your thoughts about school admissions “cheats”? Let us know at Kings Tutors.
Written by Helena Roots
BBC article reflecting on the programme
Follow this link to watch the programme on iPlayer
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