Introduction
The Governing Body and Academy Trust of Race Leys Junior School, being the admissions authority for the school, propose the following arrangements for entry to the school in September 2017.
Comments on the proposed arrangements should be sent to The Chair of Governors.
The academy’s admission arrangements are part of the Warwickshire County Council co-ordinated scheme.
The academy’s Published Admission Number is 64.
Details of the academy’s priority area can be found on the Warwickshire County Council website:
http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions
In the event that there are more applications than places available the following oversubscription criteria will be used:Please note that children with a statement of Special Educational Needs that names a school must be admitted and this may reduce the number of places available.
- Children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority and children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).
- Children living in the priority area who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of admission.
- Children living in the priority area who have a brother or sister at the partner infant school at the time of admission
- Other children living in the priority area.
- Children from outside the priority area who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of admission.
- Children from outside the priority area who attended the partner infant school immediately prior to transfer
- Children living outside the priority area who have a brother or sister at the partner infant school at the time of admission.
- Other children from outside the priority area.
Within each criterion priority is given in order of distance between the child’s home and school. (shortest distance = highest priority)
Distance will be calculated by straight line measurement from the address point location coordinate of the applicant’s home address (as set by Ordnance Survey) to the centre point (‘centroid’) of the preferred school. (All measurements are subject to repositional accuracy changes).
Appeals
Parents/carers will be informed by their home authority of their statutory right of appeal when they receive the outcome of their applications. Parents can appeal for any preference expressed, but not allocated, even if it was a lower preference than the one offered.
Appeal forms are available from the Local Authority.
Waiting Lists
Waiting lists will be held by the Local Authority.
Waiting lists are compiled in strict priority order against the published oversubscription criteria. Offers will be made from the waiting lists as vacancies arise. A child’s position can move both up and down the waiting list as other students are added to the list. Late applicants are not penalised when added to waiting lists, and the amount of time a child has been on a school’s waiting list is irrelevant.
Waiting lists will be held until the end of the Autumn term. The parents / carers of all children on the list will then be contacted and asked if they wish their child to remain on the list. Parents / carers must respond within the relevant timescale. If they do not register their continued interest their child will be removed from the relevant list.
In-Year Admissions
Parents should apply directly to Warwickshire County Council.
In-Year Fair Access Protocol
The Academy adopts Warwickshire County Council’s protocol.
The following definitions / arrangements are taken from the Warwickshire County Council consultation on Admissions and apply to Race Leys Junior School.
Looked After Children
Children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by a local authority (under Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) and children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).
Sibling, i.e. brother or sister, attending the school at the time of admission
Sibling is defined in these arrangements as; a brother or sister, a half brother or sister, an adopted brother or sister, a step-brother or sister or the child of the parents’ partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit and at the same address as that sibling.
Definition of Home Address
Where the child normally resides / sleeps when they attend school. Addresses involved in child minding arrangements, whether with professional childminders, friends or relatives, are excluded.
Where a school place is allocated on the basis of an address which is subsequently found to be different from the child’s home address that place can be withdrawn.
Postal Address File (PAF)
The address point location coordinate of the applicant’s home address as set by Ordnance Survey.
Applications made from the same multiple dwelling sharing a single Postal Address File (PAF) / Other applications where the distance from home to school is identical.
Where required, individual priority for such applicants within a particular criterion will be set by random allocation (lottery). The draw will be carried out by two officers of the Admissions Service in the presence of a Local Authority Solicitor from Law & Governance Division. The order of draw will be recorded and countersigned at the time.
Separated Parents
Where a child lives with each of their parents at separate addresses, the qualifying address will be the one where the child spends (i.e. sleeps) the majority of the school week. If the child spends exactly equal amounts of time in the two addresses the parents themselves will be asked to nominate which address they wish to be the child’s main address for school admission purposes. Should they fail to do so by the published closing date the Council has the right to nominate the address that it considers appropriate.
In the case of disputes between parents, there is an expectation that parents will resolve these amongst themselves and make a single application which both are in agreement with.
Twins, Triplets or other multiple-births
Where the final place in a year group is offered to one of twins, triplets or another multiple-birth child, the Council will normally offer a place to the other multiple-birth child(ren) even if this means going above the school’s Published Admission Number (also see Infant Class Size).
Infant Class Size
Infant classes (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher. Additional children may be admitted under very limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain an ‘excepted pupil’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. The excepted children are:
a) children with Statements of Special Educational Needs admitted outside the normal admission round;
b) looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admission round;
c) children admitted, after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process;
d) children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal;
e) children who move into the area outside the normal admission round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance;
f) children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admission round;
g) twins and children from multiple births when one of the siblings is the 30th child admitted;
h) children with SEN who are normally taught in an SEN unit48 attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school
Admissions above PAN
Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs that names the school will be admitted. In this event the number of places that remain for allocation will be reduced or result in a school exceeding it’s PAN (also see ‘Infant Class Size’).
If a primary or secondary school is full in the year group another place can be offered provided that:
- no other applicants have been refused places in the same year group – wherever they live
- the child is living or moving into the school’s priority area (proof of address will be required)
- the admission will not breach the infant class size limit (where applicable unless the child falls under one of the ‘excepted’ groups as set out in the infant class size section)
- The Local Authority believe it would be unreasonable not to offer a place and the school’s admission authority (where applicable) are in agreement with the place being offered.
If a school has a waiting list then it will not normally be possible to offer additional places as other applicants will have been refused places in the same year group. However, if the Local Authority and the school’s admission authority (where applicable) agree, then all applicants on the waiting list, or groups of children falling under a particularly high criterion (such as out of area with siblings) may be offered a place.
Admission above PAN for Looked After Children
Except where a child is placed in an emergency, no care placement should be made without the education element being satisfactorily arranged. Where the placement has had to be made in an emergency, and education has not been secured, or where educational provision breaks down, then local authorities must secure an educational placement within 20 school days.
Moves of care placement can occur outside the normal admissions round when many schools are full. To avoid delays resulting from the local appeals procedure, Community and Controlled schools will be asked to admit, without appeal, looked after children resident within their priority area even though their admission limit has already been reached or exceeded.
Where this process would result in a breach to infant class size limits, the local authority would consider the case of the individual child and the reasonableness to refuse admission. Where the local authority deems a school to be the most suitable for the child, an exception to breach the 30 limit will apply (See ‘Infant Class Size’).
Headteachers and governors of aided, foundation, trust schools and academies are invited to formally adopt the above policy.
Under Age and Over Age applications
Warwickshire County Council’s policy is that all children should be educated within their appropriate age group. In rare cases where it might not be appropriate for the child to be educated in the normal year group, there is a detailed process to consider the child’s physical, emotional and social maturity before any decisions are made.
Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces)
For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to their area, a place will be allocated in advance if accompanied by an official government letter which declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address which can be used for the application against the relevant oversubscription criteria. Also see ‘Infant Class Size’.
Late applications (Entry or Transfer Year Groups)
Late applications will only be considered after the applications received by the closing dates (on-time applications).
Late applications because of an impending move:
Offers of places at primary level will take account of a future move involving the child’s address only if it can be confirmed before February 2017 i.e. if the parent can provide independent proof of the move, such as a tenancy agreement that terminates after the start of the autumn term or proof that there has been an exchange of contracts in the purchase of a house.
