Admission

Further Guidelines

A. GENERAL COMMENTS

  1. Changes in your school's admission policy which clarify the Governing Body's intentions can be agreed at a full Governing Body meeting and be implemented for Admissions in September 2009. [By agreement with the Kent Local Authority]
  2. A child with a Statement of Special Educational which names the school must be admitted and the Published Admissions Number [PAN] reduced accordingly prior to the application of oversubscription criteria.
  3. Admissions arrangements must clearly state the PAN and the name of the school. They should also state whether a Supplementary Information Form [SIF] is used by the school.
  4. Looked After Children [i.e. A child under the age of 18 years for whom the Local Authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers [Section 20 of the Children Act 1989] or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act.

B. CHURCH AFFILIATION

  1. Children whose families attend a church which is part of Churches Together in England or the Evangelical Alliance. [Where the policy refers to specific parishes, details of the parish boundaries should be defined by a map.] School Governors can, if they wish, prioritise Church of England children over other denominations.
  2. If priority within [1] above is given to church attendance then that must be clearly defined. [If the Church attendance criterion is defined as Regular attendance - weekly, occasional attendance - fortnightly and infrequent attendance [once a month or less], then the Supplementary Information Form must reflect the policy].
  3. Children in Local Authority Care must be given the highest priority in Oversubscription Criteria. Where church affiliation is used, children in Local Authority care who meet the faith criterion must be given the highest priority within the faith related criterion. It is then permissible to give priority to other children of faith ahead of children in Local Authority care [not of faith], but children in Local Authority care must then be the highest criterion for non faith related criteria.
  4. Admission Policies must make clear whether both parents' church attendance is required to meet the criteria or whether one will suffice.

B. DEFINITIONS

  1. Sibling
    The priority given to siblings in schools' admission policies varies considerably in this diocese. However all schools should define what is meant by "sibling" and I suggest the following: "Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, of the child of the parent/carer's partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling."

    *Note: if you wish to ensure your school caters mainly for its local community you may choose to include a caveat along the lines of the following:

    For the sibling to apply the family must live at the same address as when the first child was offered a place, or, have moved nearer to the school, or have moved to an address that is less than two miles from the school as defined by the Ordnance Survey address point data as used by the Local Authority.

  2. Parents/Family Members
    'A parent is any person who has parental responsibility for or is the legal guardian of the child 'Family members' include only parents, as defined above, and siblings.'

  3. Distance
    Distance means the distance between the child's permanent address and the school, measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a defined point within the child's home to a defined point within the school as specified by Ordnance Survey, with those living closer to the school receiving a higher priority. Children living in the same block of flats will be regarded as living the same distance from the school. In the unlikely event that two or more children live in the same block and in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place in the school, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.

  4. Non-Denominational places
    Where a school wishes to specify that a percentage of places will be reserved for non-denominational children who have no church affiliation, it should be made clear that the percentage [whatever it is] will include children who fulfil categories higher up the priority ranking.

  5. Tiebreaker
    If any category is oversubscribed it is recommended that applicants will be ranked by straight line distance [as defined above] and those closest given priority.

  6. Reasons of health and social need
    If the criteria on health of social need is used to apply for a place at a particular school, the reasons must be strong and supported by an appropriate professional - doctor, specialist, social worker or similar.

C. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FORM [SIF]

  1. The SIF can only ask for information relevant to the oversubscription criteria. It cannot ask for:

    i] Details of previous schools or nurseries [unless specified in the oversubscription criteria]
    ii] Work or home telephone numbers [but contact numbers for Day/Evening are permissible.
    iii] Details about siblings, family composition etc., although if siblings are one of the criteria, you can ask if a sibling already attends the school.B iv] Information on languages spoken at home

    Schools cannot state or imply that completion and return of the SIF is compulsory, but can say that failure to complete and return it may affect the priority rating of the application.

    The link below will take you to the determined admission arrangements for other schools In Kent which may assist you in your endeavours:

    www/kent/gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools-and-sixth-form/schoo,-admissions/admission-arrangements.htm

    PG/Reference Documents
    Admission Guidelines Sept. 08