Admissions Policy- September 2017/18
Introduction:
We are a Christian Foundation, based on a historical Trust Deed and our
Foundation Governors and local clergy are actively involved in the life of our
school.
Lady Elizabeth Hastings Church of England Primary School is proud of the
quality of love and care extended to all its members.
Collective worship is at the heart of daily life and pupils are taught and
encouraged to have a knowledge, understanding and respect for their own faith
and faiths of others. We seek to create a positive, happy atmosphere in which
all children and staff can value and take pride in their achievements and in doing
so develop their full potential.
We attach a high priority to having strong links between the school, home,
Parish and Diocese of York.
The Governing Body of Lady Elizabeth Hastings Voluntary Aided School is the
admission authority.
Date of admission to the school:
It is the normal policy of the school to admit children into school in the
September of the academic year in which they reach the age of 5 years. (Please
see below for information on deferred admission and requests for admission
outside a child’s normal age group)
Admission number:
Published admission number for admission to Reception in September 2017 is
20.
All governing bodies are required by section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to
admit to the school a child with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC),
(- previously known as a statement of Special Educational Needs), that names
the school. This is not an over subscription criterion. This relates to children
who have undergone statutory assessment and for whom an EHC Plan has been
issued. (i)
If the number of applications exceeds the Published Admission Number (PAN)
after the admission of children where the school is named in the EHC Plan, the
following oversubscription criteria will apply;Oversubscription:
Where there are more applications for places than the admission number stated
above, the admissions committee of the governing body will apply the following
criteria in the order set out below to decide which children to admit:
1. Looked after children and previously looked after childrenii.
2. Children living in the area of benefitiii whose familiesiv regularly attend
a Church of England place of worshipv.
3. Siblingsvi of pupils on roll at the school at the proposed date of
admission.
4. Other children living in the area of benefitiii.
5. Children living outside the area of benefitiii, whose familiesiv regularly
attend a Church of England place of worship.
6. Children living outside the area of benefitiii, whose familiesiv regularly
attend another Christian place of worship, which belongs to Churches
Together in Englandvii.
7. Children living outside the area of benefitiii, whose familiesiv regularly
attend a place of worship according to any other major faith viii.
8. The Governing Body will give priority in their oversubscription criteria
to children of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:
a) where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two
or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the
school is made, and/or
b) the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which
there is a demonstrable skill shortage”
9. Any other children living outside the area of benefitiii.
(Note: In relation to sections 2, 5, 6, & 7, a letter of recommendation from the
relevant priest, minister or other person responsible will be required. This
should be submitted by the child’s parent or guardian, with the Supplementary
Information Form (SIF), to the school office by the closing date for
applications)
Tie-breaker
If there are more children in any category than there are places remaining at
the school, then places shall be allocated according to the closeness of home to
school. This is measured by the straight line distances from the school to the
home address as determined by the Royal Mail Postcode Address File. If the
distance from home to school does not distinguish between two or more
applicants with equal priority for the final remaining place, random allocation will
be used as the final tie-breaker. This will be supervised by someone independent
of the school.
Nursery:
Attendance at a nursery or children’s centre does not guarantee a place in the
main school and parents must apply for a place in the reception class using the
local authority common preference form or the online system.
Deferred entry to primary schools:
Parents of children who are offered a place at the school before they are of
compulsory school age can defer their child’s entry until later in the school year
or until the child reaches compulsory school age in that school year. Where
entry is deferred, the school will hold a place for that child and not offer it to
another child during the remainder of the school year. Parents cannot defer
entry beyond the beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday, not
beyond the academic year for which the original application was accepted.
Parents can also request that their child attends part-time until the child
reaches compulsory school age. Please see the information below about requests
for admission outside a child’s normal age group.
Late applications:
Any application received after the closing date but before the official offer
day, will be held over to go on the waiting list according to the admissions
criteria.
A vacancy for the new intake occurring after the formal allocation of places will
be filled as soon as the vacancy is confirmed, and any offer made, via the local
authority, will be in accordance with the priority criteria categories, if more
than one applicant is seeking a place.
Appeals:
Appeals against the Governors’ decision not to offer places to applicants must
be made by the parents, in writing, to the Clerk of the Appeals Panel, through
the Headteacher of the school, within 14 days of the parents receiving notice
that a place has not been offered to their child.
A panel will be appointed to hear appeals. The panel will be chaired by an
independent person. Full details of the appeals procedure can be obtained from
the Clerk to the Governors at the school.
Waiting List:
The Governors operate a waiting list for those parents or carers who are not
successful in being allocated a school place. This waiting list is established on
the offer day and will operate until the 31st December 2017. This list is ranked
according to the over-subscription criteria used for admission to the school.
Following the offer day, should an application be received for a place at the
school where that pupil has a higher priority, they will be placed above those on
the list with a lower priority. Placing a child’s name on a waiting list does not
affect the parents’ right of appeal against an unsuccessful application.
False Information:
Applicants are strongly urged to complete the application form as accurately
and fully as possible. Where the governing body, via the local authority has
made an offer of a place at the school on the basis of a fraudulent or
intentionally misleading application from a parent or carer, the offer of a place
may be withdrawn.
Application Procedures and Timetable:
Applicants are advised that failure to apply either online or on a Common
Preference Form (CPF) would mean that the application is not valid. Failure to
provide a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) would mean that the governing
body would be unable to apply the school’s faith-based criteria.
The Supplementary Information Form attached to this policy must be submitted
by 15th January 2017 to the school. A standard application form, known as the
Common Preference Form (CPF) can be completed and returned to the Local
Authority, Merrion House, PO Box 837, School Admissions, Leeds, LS1 9PZ by
15th January 2017. DO NOT COMPLETE THE CPF IF YOU HAVE APPLIED
ONLINE. Parents or carers will be advised of the outcome of their applications
on 16th April 2017. Unsuccessful applicants will be given reasons related to the
over-subscription criteria listed above and advised of their right of appeal to an
independent appeal panel.
In-Year applications:
All applications outside the normal admission round should be made using an in
year application form. Please return the form directly to your preferred school.
If the school is full you will be offered a right of appeal.
Where no house move has taken place you will only be offered a place to start
at the beginning of the next term. You can contact the Admissions Team to find
out about vacancies in school on 0113 2224414 or the school.
Admission outside the child’s normal age group
Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for
example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as
ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to
send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and
may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception
rather than year 1.
Parents requesting admission out of the normal age group must put their
request in writing, addressed to the Headteacher at the school, together with
any supporting evidence that the parent wishes to be taken into account. The
governing body will make decisions on requests for admission outside the normal
age group on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best
interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s
views; any information provided about the child’s academic, social and emotional
development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical
professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal
age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if
it were not for being born prematurely. The governing body will also take into
account the views of the Headteacher. When informing a parent of their
decision on the year group the child should be admitted to, the governing body
will set out clearly the reasons for their decision.
Where the governing body agrees to a parent’s request for their child to be
admitted out of their normal age group and, as a consequence of that decision,
the child will be admitted to a relevant age group (i.e. the age group to which
pupils are normally admitted to the school) the local authority and governing
body must process the application as part of the main admissions round, unless
the parental request is made too late for this to be possible, and on the basis of
their determined admission arrangements only, including the application of
oversubscription criteria where applicable. The governing body must not give
the application lower priority on the basis that the child is being admitted out
of their normal age group.
Parents have a statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a
school for which they have applied. This right does not apply if they are offered
a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.”
Footnotes:
i. This relates only to children who have undergone statutory assessment and
for whom a final statement of educational needs or Education, Health and
Care Plan has been issued. (Parents applying under this category will have
had discussion with both the Headteacher and local authority officers
before applying.)
ii. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or
(b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise
of their social services functions at the time of making an application to a
school. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after,
but ceased to be so because they were adopted, or became subject to a
child arrangements order or special guardianship order.
iii. Area of benefit;- villages of Ledston, Ledston Luck, Ledsham and Fairburn
together with surrounding farms and houses which comprise the
ecclesiastical parish of Ledsham with Fairburn. A map of the boundaries of
the area of benefit can be viewed at the school and Ledsham Church.
*The address is the property at which the person with parental
responsibility for the child lives at the closing date for receiving
application for admissions to the school.*
iv. Families- attendance can be by the child in addition to at least one
parent/carer/guardian or by a parent/carer/guardian.
v. Regular attendance is defined as attending worship at a regular public
service at Church on average once a month for a period of twelve months
immediately previous to the application. You will need to obtain a
confirmation of Church attendance form from school and ensure your
minister, Priest etc signs to confirm church attendance.
vi. A sibling is defined as a brother, half-brother, step brother or a sister,
half-sister, step sister or foster child who is permanently resident at the
same address.
vii. The Baptist Union of Great Britain
Methodist Church
Cherubim and Seraphim Council of Churches
Morovian Church
Church of England
New Testament Assembly
Church of Scotland
Religious Society of Friends
Congregational Federation
Roman Catholic Church
Council of African and Afro Caribbean Churches
Russian Orthodox Church
Free Churches Council
Salvation Army
Greek Orthodox Church
United Reformed Church
Independent Methodist Church
Wesleyan Holiness Church
Joint Council for Anglican Caribbean Churches
Ichthus Christian Fellowship
Lutheran Council of Great Britain
International Ministerial Council of GB
viii. Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism.
Reviewed by Governing Body- January 2016
Next Review- January 2017