Commentary Schedule 4: Disposals and changes of use of land Section 42: Support for parental preferences
204.This section applies only to England. It amends section 86 of the 1998 Act to insert a new subsection (1A) to require local education authorities to provide advice and assistance to parents of children living in the area of the authority to help them in the formulation of their preference on a school for their child.
205.Advice and assistance includes providing parents with good, easy to understand information and advice about the schools in their area, and neighbouring areas where applicable, in a form that fits the needs of the parent. This might include how the admission arrangements work and the level of priority their child will have for a place, whether their child will be entitled to school transport and how that will work if the child does not live within walking distance of the school, and whether the school has any special features that may of interest to the parent.
206.Advice and assistance may also include the development of a cadre of Choice Advisers to provide practical support to parents most likely to need extra help to make a fully informed choice of secondary school for their child. The Government is investing £12m to support local authorities to do this by 2008.