Faith schools in the borough have been requesting thousands of pounds in voluntary contributions each year, it emerged yesterday.

Seven faith schools in Barnet were named by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) as breaking the law by referring to financial contributions on application forms, which in one case came to £895 per child per term. Another school requested £670 per term while others asked parents to indicate their willingness to support the school on the application forms.

The information came to light yesterday afternoon when the DCSF published the findings of an investigation into breaches of the admissions code exposed in a study of three sample authority areas, including Barnet, which revealed a "significant minority" of schools were falling foul of the law.

However, a council spokesman said the authority was aware of the content of the application forms and wrote to the schools in November to tell them to change the forms in time for the next applications in 2009.

"This is an issue we had already identified, dealt with and resolved and stand by the fact that this has been sensationalised," he said. Twenty-nine more Barnet schools were also in breach of the code in other ways, according to the DCSF.

But following its own investigation, Barnet Council slammed the department for its handling of the issue.

Speaking before the full details of the financial requests emerged yesterday, Councillor Fiona Bulmer, cabinet member for children's services, said: "Our investigations have shown the Govern-ment's allegations against Barnet schools were completely sensationalised.

"It is disgraceful that the DCSF caused so much unnecessary stress and alarm among teachers and parents when these issues could have been dealt with much more effectively by constructive discussion with the council and the schools involved."

A council spokesman said the issue first came to light in November last year and the council subsequently worked with the schools to change their admissions forms to ensure they comply with the code.

He said the majority of breaches related to "technical issues regarding the wording of admissions forms" and voluntary contributions played no role in the application process.

The money is apparently used to meet the higher costs of security in Jewish schools, religious teaching and "maintenance costs". A DCSF spokesman said any breach of the code was "unacceptable".

"The law is crystal-clear on financial contributions, whether voluntary or not," he said. "Requests for contributions should not be part of any school's admission process. "We have made clear that all schools must comply with the law immediately.

"That's not being sensationalist - it's making sure this practice has no place in the education system." Six of the schools that asked for voluntary contributions responded to the DCSF's request for information to verify its findings.

The seventh, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Infant School, in Watford Way, Hendon, did not, and has been referred to the schools adjudicator.