Choice Advice Service

Are you a mum, dad or carer of a child and do you have difficulty working through the secondary school admissions process? Choice Advice can help families like yours to understand the admissions process in order to make an informed and realistic choice of which secondary school to send your child to.

The short address for this page is: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/choiceadvice

What is Choice Advice?

The revised School Admissions Code and School Admissions Appeals Code (published on 10 February 2009), together with the Education and Skills Act 2008, strengthen the admissions system to ensure that children and families are at its centre, that it is as straightforward as possible for parents, and that all schools have fair and lawful admission arrangements.

However, there will still be parents who find the system difficult to navigate or who are reluctant to engage with it. Such parents require more intensive support from professionals who act independently from the local authority and work proactively to identify and reach them. Choice Advice aims to make fair access a reality for these parents, empowering them to make informed and realistic choices about which schools to apply for.

The School Admissions Code requires that Choice Advice must be independent and must include impartial advice on all relevant schools.

A Choice Advice service must:

• be independent
• be focused on the transfer from primary to secondary school
• be targeted at the families who would normally find the admissions process difficult to negotiate

(Guidance for local authorities and Choice Advice Services February 2009 and School Admissions Code 2010) 

We have started to provide advice and guidance for primary school admissions as an additional service to parents.

What is the purpose of the Choice Advice service?

The purpose of a Choice Advice service is to support those parents who would otherwise struggle with the school admissions process to express informed and realistic preferences about which schools to apply for. Getting advice from the Choice Adviser will not guarantee your child a place at your preferred school, but the Choice Adviser can help you to assess the options so that you can make the best decision for your child.

Our priorities are for those who:

• have not completed an application form
• find it difficult to engage with their child's current primary school
• experience problems with their own reading and writing
• have English as an additional language
• are new arrivals to this country
• move frequently e.g. MoD service personnel and Travellers
• live in areas of deprivation or are homeless
• are suffering from domestic violence or abuse
• are affected by bereavement
• are disabled or have medical or mental health problems

Parents and carers who do not come under the above priorities, or whose queries may be relating to issues other than the secondary schools admissions process (such as appeals or primary school admissions) are still welcome to contact the service for impartial and confidential advice and we will try our best to answer your questions over the telephone. You may, however, find that your queries can be answered by the Access to Education Team

If you are concerned that the admission arrangements (such as catchment areas) are not fair, please contact the Access to Education Team, as this does not come within the remit of the Choice Advice service.

What can a Choice Adviser do for you?

A Choice Adviser will aim to make sure you have an understanding of the information on secondary school admissions. This could include:

• advice on all aspects of the secondary school admissions process
• help with completing the secondary school admissions forms for Gloucestershire and neighbouring authorities, including where possible online applications
• impartial information about secondary schools, such as facilities, after-school clubs, number of pupils, performance, curriculum and specialisms
• information and signposting about provision for children with special educational needs
• help with details of the admissions policies for different schools
• help with information on travel to school and any financial assistance available
• information on possible free uniform and school meal entitlements

Is the Choice Adviser impartial and confidential?

The School Admissions Code requires that Choice Advice must be independent and must include impartial advice on all relevant schools. This advice is offered in complete confidence.

Choice Advice is about offering advice that is independent i.e. in the best interests of the child and supporting families including mothers, fathers, adults with care responsibility and children to make the best and most realistic choices of secondary school. Choice Advisers will advise parents, but not decide for them. A Choice Adviser cannot recommend a particular school or offer places at a school.

How do I contact the Choice Advice Service?

You can :

• Call Freephone 0800 9888 042 (you will be charged if you are calling by mobile)
• Call Direct number 01452 426843
• Email choiceadvice@gloucestershire.gov.uk

We have an answer phone which we monitor regularly.  If we miss your call we will get back to you as soon as we can.

If your child has a statement of special educational needs, you can obtain specialist confidential and impartial support from the Parent Partnership Service.