Elson Infant School Admissions Policy
ADMISSIONS POLICY 2008-2009
This policy will apply to all admissions from 1 September 2008, including casual admissions. It will be used during 2007-2008 for allocating places for September 2008 as part of the main admissions rounds for Year R and Year 3.
Hampshire County Council is the admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools. The admission arrangements are determined by the County Council, after statutory consultations.
The County Council will consider fir all those applications received by the published deadline of midday on Friday 16 November 2007. Late applications (i.e. those submitted after midday 16 November 2007) will be considered after all on-time applications have been fully processed unless exceptional circumstances merit earlier consideration. Letters to parents offering a primary school place will be sent by the County Council on 25 January 2008.
The published admission number (PAN) for
For the main admission round, all preferences will be considered simultaneously and ranked in accordance with the admission criteria. If more than one school can offer a place, the parent’s highest stated preference will be allocated.
If the school is over subscribed, places will be offered in the following priority order. Places for late applications will be allocated using the same criteria:
1. Children who are in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by that authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989. (A letter from the Children’s Services Department confirming the child’s status must be provided).
2. Children or families who have a serious medical, physical or psychological condition which makes it essential that the child attends the preferred school rather than any other. (Appropriate medical or psychological evidence must be provided in support).
3. Children living within the catchment area of the school who at the time of application have a brother or sister (including children living as siblings in the same family unit) on the roll of the preferred school or
4. Children living within the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on a straight line measurement from home to the playground entrance of the school building.
5. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who, at the time of application have a brother or sister (including children living as siblings in the same family unit) on the roll of the preferred school or
6. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on a straight line measurement from home to the playground entrance of the school building.
N.B. School Closures statement.
In the event of a school closure, pupils from the closing school may be given a higher priority (for example this might include the child being treated as in-Catchment) within the admission criteria for any school nominated as the receiving school. Specific arrangements will be determined by the Local Authority in accordance with School Admissions Code and will be published at the time for the specific schools affected by a particular closure.
Distance measurement
If the school is oversubscribed from within any of the above categories, the distance criterion (see 4 and 6 above) will be used to prioritise applications. This method of prioritising admissions will also apply to any “school specific” criterion unless otherwise stated in the school brochure. Schools will specify in their brochure the point(s) at the school from which measurements will be taken. Distances to multiple dwellings will give priority to the ground floor over the first floor and so on. On individual floors, distances will be measured to the stairs leading to the communal entrances.
Multiple births
If the last pupil to be offered a place within the school’s published admission number (PAN) is a multiple birth or same cohort sibling, any further sibling will be admitted, if the parents so wish, event though this may raise the intake number above the school’s PAN. The PAN will remain unchanged so that no other pupil will be admitted until a place becomes available within the PAN.
Pupils with statements of special educational needs
The governors will admit any pupil whose final statement of special educational needs names the school.
In-Year Fair Access placements by the local authority
The local authority must ensure that all pupils are placed in schools quickly as possible. It may therefore sometimes be necessary for a pupil to be placed by the local authority, or a local placement panel acting on behalf of the authority, in a particular school even If there is a waiting list for admission. Such placements will be made in accordance with provisions of any protocol approved by the Admission Forum, based on government guidance. If an admission raises the number on roll above the PAN, no further pupil will be admitted from the waiting list until a place becomes available within the PAN.
Waiting list
When all available places have been allocated, schools will operate a waiting list. Parents who wish their child to be included on the waiting list must inform the school in writing. Any places that become that become available will be allocated according to the criteria of the admission policy with no account being taken of the length of time on the waiting list or any priority order expressed as part of the main admission round. In-year fair access and school closure arrangements will take priority over the waiting list.
The waiting list will be reviewed and revised-
· Each time a child is added to, or removed from, the waiting list;
· When a child’s changed circumstances will affect their priority;
· At the end of each school year, when parents with a child on the waiting list will be contacted and asked if they wish to remain on the list for the following school year.
Parents may keep their child’s name on the waiting list of as many schools as they wish and for as long as they wish.
Deferred entry to Year R
Pupils reach statutory school age at the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday, but, in Hampshire, most pupils are admitted as rising fives. Places for pupils whose parents wish to defer entry to Year R may be held until the beginning of spring term of the academic year of the child’s fifth birthday. Places will not be reserved beyond this date. If parents of summer born rising fives wish to defer their admission until they reach statutory school age, admission will be considered for Year 1, their appropriate year group.
School specific criteria
Governing bodies may apply to the Director of Children’s services to include in their school policy a criterion which they regard as essential if children are to be treated fairly in relation to clearly defined local conditions. The application will cover both the substance of the criterion and its position in order of priorities. In the event of such applications, the Director of Children’s Service’s will consult the Admission Forum and the criterion will then be determined by the Executive Member with special responsibility for Education. Any changes after such determination will be authorised by the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Executive Member. Any criterion agreed under this category must be published in the school prospectus with is position within the admission priorities clearly stated both for children living within and outside the catchment area (if appropriate) and with the words “ School Specific Criterion” inserted after the criterion. The LA admissions brochure will contain a brief summary of each school specific criterion.
Legislation
This policy takes account of all relevant legislation including Education Act 2002, the school Standards and Framework Act 1998, legislation on sex discrimination, race relations and disability, together with all relevant regulations and the School Admission Code (DfES 2007).