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Disadvantaged children would be expected to be given priority in order for schools to get incentive reward
Schools would be expected to give priority to poorer children when admitting new pupils and judged on the extent to which they narrow the gap between disadvantaged youngsters and their better-off classmates under plans submitted to government by an influential charity.
In proposals which are being studied closely by education secretary Michael Gove, the Sutton Trust has advised that only schools which agree to give priority to disadvantaged children should get the full benefit of the pupil premium, a new financial incentive to reward schools for accepting poorer pupils.
This funding should be set at £3,000 a child if it is to have an impact, the Sutton Trust's paper suggests.
Schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted should have poorer children automatically entered into their application process, the paper argues.
Ministers are expected to review the school admissions code in the coming weeks amid concern that schools have skewed intakes which do not reflect their neighbourhoods.
The best secondary schools in England take on average just 5% of pupils entitled to free school meals.
The Sutton Trust's paper also calls on government to ensure that academies and parent-led free schools declare how they will deploy resources from the pupil premium to benefit disadvantaged children.
As increasing numbers of schools opt out of local authority control, councils could find a new role monitoring the use of this funding, the charity suggests.
The Sutton Trust, which campaigns to improve social mobility and funds projects aimed at narrowing the gap between rich and poor in education, draws attention to concerns that the coalition's school reforms, by expanding academies and enabling parents to set up their own schools, "will lead to further social segregation among schools and hinder social mobility."
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "This is a really interesting report that we will study in detail. We agree that the attainment gap in our schools is too wide and we need to ensure that children from poorer backgrounds enjoy far greater opportunities in life.
"That is why we are introducing a pupil premium so that extra funding is targeted at those deprived pupils that most need it, as well as reforming the admissions system to make it simpler and fairer for all."
Britain's biggest children's charity, Barnardo's, warned last week that impenetrable "clusters of privilege" are forming around the best state schools. Poorer families are losing out to better-off neighbours who move house or attend church to get a better education, Barnardo's said.
Proposals to make admissions fairer are being looked at as the government confirmed yesterday that more than 140 schools are expected to convert to academy status in the coming school year.
The schools, which are taking advantage of a new law allowing every school in England to opt out of council control, will take charge of their own admissions.
Some fear this will widen the gap between poorer families and their better-off neighbours. Gove said yesterday the reform would give head teachers more control over how schools are run.
"This will give heads more power to tackle disruptive children, to protect and reward teachers better, and to give children the specialist teaching they need."
Gove wrote to every primary, secondary and special school in England in May inviting them to apply for academy status as the government moved swiftly to pass a new law that enabled schools to convert.
The schools converting this year include the first primaries with academy status. Among them is Britain's biggest primary, Durand, in Brixton, south London.
Greg Martin, Executive Head of Durand Academy, said: "The freedom that academy status brings will allow us to deliver and develop a flexible curriculum to ensure that [our] children reach their full potential."
Meanwhile, business leaders will today call on the government to make it easier for the private sector to help run schools.
In a report published today, the CBI welcomed the expansion in the number of academies and plans to set up free schools.
The employers' group urged ministers to set out a clear strategy for business involvement in education. The CBI wants to see more federations of schools set up, in which good schools support struggling ones. These could be run by a business, the report suggests.
It also urged the government to broaden the range of organisations that can set up a free school. Currently, only parent and teachers' groups or charities are eligible.
Susan Anderson, CBI Director of Education and Skills, said: "Businesses have a key role to play in raising educational outcomes, not just by offering students work experience and career support, or acting as school governors, but also by bringing their vast, largely untapped, reservoir of experience to bear in advising, managing and partnering with schools."
In response to Michael Gove's education reforms, 32 schools will open as academies this month out of 2,000 that have expressed interest since May
Over 140 schools are expected to convert to academy status in the coming school year after the government passed a new law to allow every school in England to opt out of local authority control.
A total of 32 are expected to open as academies this month. It is understood that the majority of those opening are "outstanding" schools, or involved in federations with such schools.
Gove wrote to every primary, secondary and special school in England in May inviting them to apply for academy status while the coalition government moved swiftly to pass a new law to allow schools to take up the offer.
The speed at which the legislation moved through parliament led to accusations that ministers rushed the reforms using a timetable usually reserved for emergency laws, such as anti-terror powers.
Official figures from the Department for Education will today show that six weeks after the legislation became law, only 32 schools have completed the process to open as academies this month, with 142 in total expected to convert over the coming academic year. More than 2,000 schools have expressed an interest in becoming an academy.
Announcing that every school could apply for the freedoms in May, Gove said academies could become "the norm" in England's education system, adding he anticipated a high take-up of his offer. He insisted it was down to individual schools to make the decision.
Schools rated "outstanding" by Ofsted were pre-approved, meaning that those under this category who applied immediately are the most likely to open as academies first.
A spokesman forGove said today: "This is part of Mr Gove's overall vision – that teachers and heads should control schools, not politicians and bureaucrats."
The announcement comes as children across the country prepare to return to school after the summer holidays.
Among the schools which have converted is Durand, Britain's biggest primary, in Brixton, south London. Jim Davies, chair of governors at Durand primary school, said: "For Durand, gaining academy status gives us freedom to develop and structure education tailored to our intake, supporting each and every child to reach their full potential.
"The Durand Academy will provide excellence in education for children from one of the most socially disadvantaged areas of the UK."
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union said there were concerns that schools had not properly consulted with staff, parents and their local community over decisions to convert.
She said: "However, despite the unacceptable tactics to seek to tempt schools into becoming academies and repeated claims by the secretary of state for education of widespread interest in academy status, only a handful of schools it seems will convert on 1 September."
The reason for "low take-up" is because the government has "misjudged the situation", Ms Keates said.
"Those promoting academy status are bankrupt of strong, persuasive arguments. Assertions of vast amounts of additional money for academies have proved to be gross exaggerations.
"The fact that on becoming an academy a school becomes a charitable company limited by guarantee sits uneasily with many governors and parents. The unseemly manner and speed with which the Academies Act was bludgeoned through parliament has left important points of detail unaddressed.
"But the killer blow is that there is no evidence to present that academy status is the key to raising standards."
