ADMISSIONS POLICY

 Admissions Policy 2010 – 2011

1. Introduction

This Admissions Policy applies solely to applications for places at King’s Park Primary School. The school is a non denominational Primary School, offering all pupils access to an inclusive education designed to enable each child to reach their full potential. As the school is a Foundation School, the Governing Body is responsible for determining their own procedures and policies and is the admission authority.

The Governing Body annually reviews and publicises the King’s Park Admissions Policy to confirm the maximum number of children to be admitted to the Reception class roll. The Published Admissions Number (PAN) for King’s Park defines the number of places available for the year of entry and is set at 45. All applications are agreed until the PAN has been reached and this figure will not be exceeded other than in exceptional circumstances.

The following policy explains how places will be allocated. In accordance with government legislation, the Governing Body consults with the Local Authority and other local schools annually, in respect of the admissions policy.

There is a legal entitlement for all three and four year olds to have access to 15 hours of free early education per week – available from the Little Fir Tree Nursery, but also from other nursery schools, day nurseries, registered childminders, Sure Start Centres, pre-schools, and playgroups. This policy does not cover the admission to the Little Fir Tree Nursery, which has its own admission criteria. Registration at the Little Fir Tree Nursery will not be considered as an application for a school place and no priority will be given to such children.

Pupils with a confirmed Statement of Special Needs are required to be admitted to the school named on their Statement. The Local Authority arranges admissions for pupils with a Statement who require access to our Specialist Learning Centres. These pupils may come from the wider area. Pupils on Pre-school Action, Pre-school Action Plus and pupils with a disability, who require a mainstream place, are admitted on the same basis as other pupils. (Please see the School Inclusion Policy.) Each child is assessed under their own needs, therefore we liaise with parents/guardians, pre-school practitioners and other professionals.

2. Aims

The aim of the policy is that it should provide clear guidance on admissions for Parents/Guardians, so that they may take the best decisions on the preferred school for their children. Appropriate choices should contribute to improving standards and providing a suitable learning environment for all children.

3. Shared Responsibility

The school aims to provide a place for all children whose address is within the designated area, defined on a list of streets attached. The address is the place where the child is ordinarily resident with his or her parent, parents, or legal guardians. The address on the Child Benefit notification letter will be taken as evidence of “home address.” Please note that proof will be required. Where two adults have shared responsibility for a child, they should agree the priority for which school(s) to name as their preference(s) before submitting an application. In cases of dispute where two applications are received the Governors will process the application received from the adult who is living with the child. The address on the Child Benefit notification letter will be taken as evidence of residency.

4. Multiple Births

The Governing Body will endeavour to place siblings born at the same time (eg twins, triplets, etc) in the same school. If necessary the school will admit over PAN to accommodate such children. Only where this would create Infant Class Sizes in excess of 30 will this procedure not be followed and in such circumstances, if there are fewer spaces available than the number of children, offers will be made for the elder/est child(ren) up to PAN. Parents/guardians will be advised to seek a place (or places) at an alternative school, to which all/both can be admitted.

5. Starting School

A school place in the Reception class is available for children from September following their 4th birthday. Full time education is available in the term in which they are deemed to turn 5 years of age. (In this paragraph the word “term” refers to the three term year; i.e. term 1 & 2 autumn, term 3 & 4 spring, and term 5 & 6 summer.)

Governors have the discretion to determine whether attendance should be full-time or part-time the term before the children attain the age of 5. The King’s Park Governors have determined that attendance shall be full time after the first week for children who turn 5 between 1 September 2010 and 31 March 2011. At the end of the first week the teachers will discuss with the parents/guardians their individual child’s readiness for attending full time. Where it is considered that it would be in the child’s interest to attend part time for an extended period, this will be the decision. Those children who turn 5 between 1 April 2010 and 31 August will be half time until the beginning of Term 3, when they will be full time. Please see the King’s Park Governors’ admission table below:

Term Date of Birth
From To Start
Terms 1 and 2 - 2010 1 September 2005 31 December 2005 September 2010 -
Full Time
Terms 3 and 4 – 2011 1 January 2006 31 March 2006 September 2011 -
Full Time
Terms 5 and 6 - 2011 1 April 2006 31 August 2006 Part time from Sept. 2010 until December 2010 then Full Time
 

6. Early, deferred or delayed admissions

Admission earlier than the normal entry date may be agreed in exceptional circumstances, such as medical or social factors that have an adverse effect on the child. The request must have the approval of the LA’s professional adviser and there must be no suitable alternative pre-school provision available. Early admission will be agreed for a maximum of one traditional term before the next available normal entry date.
7. Deferred admission

Parent(s) or guardians may prefer to defer their child’s admission to Reception to a later term. The place must be taken up within the same academic year as was originally offered and admission cannot be delayed beyond the statutory start date, i.e. places can be held open until January or April as long as the child joins the school no later than the start of the term following their 5th birthday. Notification of intention to defer a pupil from starting at King’s Park School should be given directly to the school and the Local Authority; as soon as possible once a place has been offered.

8. Delayed admission

Where a parent or guardian chooses to delay their child’s admission beyond the current school year, the place originally offered cannot be held over and a fresh application is required. Children whose entry is delayed are generally expected to join their chronological peer group, i.e. Year 1. Any request for a Reception place must have the approval of the Authority’s professional adviser. (See below section 14.9 Over Subscription Criteria, Exceptional circumstances.)

9. Deadline for Applications

Kings Park Policy admission deadlines comply with the Wiltshire Education Authority admission timelines, as outlined in the determined co-ordinated admissions scheme. Where it is not possible to offer a place, and the applicant lives in Wiltshire, the LA will offer a place at an alternative school.

Applications for Reception Year entry for the academic year starting September 2010, need to be formally registered with the Local Authority by the date specified on the admissions forms. The closing date for the normal round of applications is 12 noon on 20th November 2009. All applications after 12 noon on 20th November 2009 will be considered as additional application and after all those received by the deadline have been determined, in accordance with the additional admissions policy as follows.

Parents/guardians should state any specific reasons for their preference for this school on the application form. Parents/guardians who wish a place at King’s Park should put the school as their first choice; however this does not guarantee a place if the school is oversubscribed. (Please see the section on Over Subscription below.)

An application form can be acquired from the school, directly from the Education Authority or online at www.wiltshire.gov.uk. The forms should be returned to the Education Authority by the date specified on the form. Parents/guardians should receive written notification of the outcome of their application by 18th February 2010. All applications received after 12 noon on 20th November 2009 will be considered as additional applications and after all those received by the deadline have been determined, in accordance with the additional admissions policy.

10. Policy

Within any constraints placed upon the school by the Local Authority, the admissions policy of King’s Park School is to offer an available place to all applicants irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity or country of origin, disability or academic ability. Please note that places for the Specialist Learning Centres are determined by the Local Authority.

Where the school is named in a child’s Statement of Special Needs, the Governing Body recognises a duty to admit the child to the school. Once a statement reaches the formal proposed stage, the administration of the admission of the young person becomes the responsibility of Central SEN Services and at this point this policy ceases to apply.
An application for the school which would exceed the admission number will be agreed if the child has particular learning needs identified by Central SEN Services which cannot be met at an alternative school.

Applications for a child’s designated school, which would exceed the admission number, will generally be agreed in cases where a reasonable alternative is not available, unless this would result in infant classes having over 30 pupils. “Reasonable” in this circumstance is defined as a school within the statutory safe walking distance from the applicant’s home address of two miles for children up to 8 years old and three miles for children over 8.

Applications will generally be agreed until the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the Year Group in question has been reached, or until the net capacity of the school has been reached.

11. Accepting a place

At the time of a place being offered for their child, parents/guardians should confirm in writing to the school and also notify the Local Authority by the specified date, their wish to accept or decline the place. If places are not taken up and spaces are available, then parents/guardians on the mailing list will be informed and invited to apply for a place for their child. Names will only be removed from agreed lists if an offer of a place has been declined, so parents/guardians are asked to let us know if they wish their child’s name to be removed from the list.

12. Waiting List

Waiting lists will be maintained for at least one term for all intake year groups. Children will automatically be added to the list if a preference higher than the school place offered has been refused.
All applicants have the right of appeal against any refusal of place. The existence of a waiting list does not remove this right of appeal from any unsuccessful applicant.

The position on a list will be determined by applying the over-subscription criteria and not by date order of receipt. This will mean that a position will change if a later application is received from someone with higher priority according to the over-subscription criteria.

Waiting Lists will close on Friday 2nd July 2010
At that time parents of pupils on existing lists must confirm in writing their wish to be placed on a newly constructed waiting (or continued interest) list. The freshly created list will close on Friday 1st July 2011. Places that become available will not be offered to pupils not on the waiting list.

Notes:
Names will only be removed from the lists if a written request is received, or if the offer of a place that becomes available is declined.
Registration of interest on a school’s pre-admission list will not be considered as an application for a school place.
Parents must contact King’s Park School to obtain information on the existence of a waiting list.

13. Additional or in year Applications

An additional application is one received after the deadline date given above or for any year group which is not the normal intake group for the school. Applicants applying for a school place must complete an application form, which should be returned to the Local Authority and not the school. The applicant may or may not live in Wiltshire.

Other than in exceptional circumstances and in agreement with the two schools involved, a transfer will, if the applicant is not moving address, only be considered as being for the start of the next traditional term.
Any additional applications will be considered together with any applications already on a school’s waiting list.

Applications received at least one traditional term before the term in which admission is being sought are considered together and are ranked using the listed oversubscription criteria.

Applications received requesting more immediate admission are considered in the order that the Governors receive them. If more than one additional application for a particular school is received on the same date, places are allocated to children in order of the ranked criteria as listed.

Requests for places in year groups other than the one relating to the child’s chronological age will only be agreed, if supported by the Authority’s relevant professional adviser and the school.

Exceptionally, a challenging child may be refused admission, either if the school has a particularly high concentration of pupils with challenging behaviour or if the child is particularly challenging, and in a case where the school had one of the following situations:
• an additional pupil would breach the infant class size limit.
• required Special Measures or has come out of them within the last two years; or
• had been identified by Ofsted as having serious weaknesses or requiring significant improvement and therefore had been given a ‘notice to improve’; or
• is subject to a formal warning notice; or
• is a Fresh Start school open for less than two years .

Any child refused a place at the school will be placed on the waiting list (which will be kept in order at King’s Park School, using oversubscription criteria not date of receipt of application).

14. Over Subscription Criteria

The Governors will apply the over-subscription criteria to determine a priority order if there are more applicants than places. The following priorities will apply in the ranked order listed below:

1. Children in Care (Looked After Children)
Children within Local Authority care, e.g. children in residential homes or in foster care. (Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989) and who the Local Authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the time of admission to the school.

2. Vulnerable Children
i) Children from families registered with the National Asylum Support Service. Children with a medical condition where written evidence is available from a senior clinical medical officer and the child’s general practitioner or specialist, showing that it would be detrimental to the child’s health not to admit him/her to the school.
ii) Children with particular educational needs where written evidence is available from Central SEN Services to show that it would be detrimental to the child not to be admitted to the school.
3. Siblings living within the designated area of the school.
4. Children living within the designated area of the school.

This section applies to children living outside the school’s designated area as defined above.
5. Siblings children living outside the school’s designated area
A child is considered in this category if an older sibling is attending the school at the deadline date and will continue to do so when the sibling is admitted, and where the child lives outside the designated area at the same address as the elder sibling. Step, half and foster siblings are considered in this category, as well as the children of couples who have registered a civil partnership.

6. Other children living outside the school’s designated area
Children resident outside the designated area, who do not qualify under one of the above criteria.

8. Tie Break
If the school is oversubscribed within any of the criteria above, the straight line distance between the child’s home and the school front gate will be used as the determining factor. Distances will be measured according to Ordinance Survey “eastings and northings” for the child’s home address and the school. Those living closest to the school will be given priority.

If two or more children with the same priority admission live an indistinguishable distance from the preferred school, but cannot all be admitted, then the available places will be decided by means of casting lots (random allocation.)

9. Exceptional Circumstances
Due consideration will be given to parents/guardians who can demonstrate that admission to King’s Park is necessary for medical or social well-being of their child, however any such determining factors should be brought to the attention of the school at the time of the original application. Where necessary the school reserves the right in such cases to seek supporting evidence from a doctor, social worker or education welfare officer as appropriate.

Only in the most exceptional circumstances, will the school agree for children of statutory age to defer entry to the school once an offer of a place has been made, especially if such a deferral might deny a school place to another child.

Once an offer of a place has been made, it may only be lawfully withdrawn in very limited circumstances, such as an offer based on fraudulent or misleading information in an application. Where an application is withdrawn, the application will be considered afresh, and a right of appeal offered, if an offer of a place is refused.

15. Casual or in year admissions

If an application is received for a school place which is not for the intake year group of the school, it will be processed swiftly. If more than one application is received for the same year group on the same day they will be considered according to the admission criteria listed above. In all other circumstances applications will be looked at in date order of receipt. Casual or in year applications will follow the procedures laid down in the
co-ordinated scheme for admissions.

All applications will be acknowledged in writing.

Unless there are material or significant changes no repeat application (for the same child) for a place in the same year group will be considered within the same academic year. (Such significant changes would include the provision of extra accommodation at the school, class reorganisations, a vacancy arising at the school, a worsening medical condition or the change of address of the applicant, such that their position on the oversubscription criteria would change.)

16. Appeals Procedure
In the event of a child not being offered a place, a parent/guardian may appeal by writing to the Clerk to the Governors within the deadline indicated within the notification letter. The Clerk to the Governors must have received the letter within the deadline given in the notification letter.

The appeal shall be registered by the Clerk who shall then call a meeting of the Governing Body’s Admission Appeal Panel, who shall hear all of the registered appeals at the same time. This panel will be an independent panel as outlined in the Code of Practice for School Appeals.

That Panel shall meet within 15 school days after the end of the notification period.

The Panel shall consider each appeal and will act within the framework as laid down in the Code of Practice for School Admission Appeals.

The Clerk to the appeal panel will notify the parents/guardians of the panel’s decision, within 3 working days of the hearing by letter delivered to the address given in the notification letter.

The decision of the Appeal Panel is final and binding on the applicant and the school.
Parents/guardians have a right to apply for a place at the same school in a later academic year, and have a right of appeal if unsuccessful.

Unless there are significant and material changes, as agreed by the Director for Children and Education, in the circumstances of the parent, child or school relevant to a further application, a repeat application during the same academic year will not be considered and no fresh appeal can be made.

Where there have been material changes in circumstances and the repeat application is considered and again refused, the parents have a right to a fresh appeal.

Enquiries about this policy should be addressed to:

Gina Shanahan
Business Manager,
King’s Park Primary School,
Lowbourne,
Melksham,
Wiltshire
SN12 7ED

Telephone 01225 703428
Fax 01225 700340
Email: admin@kingsparkprimary.wilts.sch.uk

 

E.P Admission 09-10 20. 1 .09

Determined by the full Governing Body at their meeting on 12/3/09