2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
Guru Nanak Sikh Academy
Nursery Admissions
September 2016
Admission Criteria and Guidance Notes
If you require a translation of this document into Punjabi and
other languages, please contact the Primary Academy Office on
0208 573 6085, option 1
The term ‘Academy’ in this document refers to the Nursery
section of Guru Nanak Sikh Academy
A copy of this form is available to download from the Academy Website:
www.gurunanaksikhacademy.co.uk
For ‘parent’ read parent, guardian, carer
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
ADMISSION PROCEDURES
Applying for a Place at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy Nursery School
Nursery Start Dates
Child born between
Start Nursery
01 Sept 2012 to 31st Aug 2013
Sept 2016
Child born between
Start Nursery
01 Sept 2013 to 31st Aug 2014
Sept 2017
Child born between
Start Nursery
Sept 2018
01 Sept 2014 to
31st
Aug 2015
Current Nursery hours are:
Morning session:
Afternoon session:
8.15am to 11.15am
8.30am to 11.00am
12.15pm to 3.15pm
12.30pm to 3.00pm
Nursery provision can be flexible and ranges from 12½ hours per week to 15
hours per week. Parents choose one session from the above options.
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
ADMISSION POLICY AND PROCEDURES
How to Apply
There are two parts to the application
1. Complete the Nursery Admission Form and return with a copy of your child’s
Birth Certificate to the Primary section of the Academy.
2. As Guru Nanak Sikh Academy is a faith school you are required to complete
the additional Religious Questionnaire which can be obtained from the Primary
office of the academy.
Please note that the completed Religious Questionnaire needs to be sent
to the address below by 11th December 2015. This should be sent by
recorded delivery (preferably one that guarantees delivery). The
recorded delivery method should indicate the date of postage, name and
address of the sender and the delivery address.
Nanaksar Trust
P O Box 3635
Wokingham
RG40 9LQ
No Religious Questionnaire should be sent to the Academy.
The closing date for Nursery Applications is 11th December 2015. Forms that
are received after the closing date will be considered only after places have been
allocated to applications received on time.
IMPORTANT
Please note that after Nursery parents need to apply for a Primary School
place for intake into a Reception Class. There is no automatic transfer from
the Nursery to Guru Nanak Sikh Academy.
The Admission Panel (on behalf of the Governing Body) makes all the decisions
about admissions. The Principal does not see any parent in respect of a pupil’s
admission and cannot discuss any individual application.
For ‘parent’ read parent, guardian, carer
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
Admissions Policy 2016
The planned Admissions number for Guru Nanak Sikh Nursery is 60
Guru Nanak Sikh Nursery Admission Criteria 2016
The Governing Body of Guru Nanak Sikh Academy determines their Admissions
Criteria. The Local Authority administers the offer of places on its behalf. After
the admission of pupil’s with statements of Special Educational Needs or an
Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), where Guru Nanak Sikh Academy is
the named school on the Statement, remaining school places will be allocated.
Subject to available places, governors will admit 60 pupils to nursery, 30 places
for the Morning Session and 30 places for the Afternoon Session. Where there is
over subscription places will be allocated matched against the criteria below.
1. Children in public care (Looked After Children) and previously looked after
children who ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject
to a residence order or special guardianship order.
2. Sikh Faith. Up to 50 places will be allocated to children living with parents,
who demonstrate a commitment to the Sikh faith. Evidence of this will be
required through the completion of a self-evaluation religious questionnaire.
3. Other Faith. Up to 10 places will be allocated to children living with parents
at least one of whom attends worship at least monthly in the tradition of
any faith other than Sikh. Evidence of this will be required through
completion of a self evaluation Other Faith Form 1.
Any unallocated places remaining from the Other Faith places, under
criterion 3 will revert to criterion 2.
4. Any surplus places not filled by any of the above criteria will be allocated to
those children whose parents have applied to the Nursery and live nearest
the Nursery.
The ranking order for criteria 2 and 3 is ‘Outstanding’ applications with
sibling, ‘Outstanding’ applications no siblings, followed by ‘Good’ applications
with siblings, and finally ‘Good’ applications without sibling.
(Morning Session 25 Sikhs places, 5 Other Faith places)
(Afternoon Session 25 Sikh places, 5 Other Faith places)
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
Within each category, priority will be given to:
a) Children with brothers or sisters in the Academy who were
admitted prior to Year 11. They should have a brother or sister
attending the Academy at the time of the application.
b) Distance from home to Academy is measured in a straight line from the
point set by Ordnance Survey at the child’s home address (including
flats) to a fixed point in the Academy set by Ordnance Survey (coordinates 511224, 180090) using the computerised Geographical
Information System (GIS).
The qualifying relationship is brother or sister; this means children sharing one or
both common parents, step brother or step sister, or legally adopted children,
who live in the same household. Other extended family relationships (e.g.
brother-cousin or sister-cousin) do not qualify for sibling consideration.
For parents who do not submit a Religious Questionnaire in respect of their
child’s place, the application will only be considered under criterion 4.
Criterion 1
The term ‘Looked After Children’ (LAC) refers to children in public care, who
are placed with foster carers, in residential homes or with parents or other
relatives. It also refers to previously looked after children but ceased to be so
because they were adopted (or became subject to an adoption residence, or a
special guardianship order.)
Criterion 2 Assessed by Nanaksar Trust
It is important that Nanaksar Trust make objective decisions when applying the
published criteria. Parents are advised to leave nothing to chance when
attempting to provide evidence of their ‘Commitment to the Sikh Faith.’
The Nanaksar Trust will:


Categorise the Religious Questionnaire and look at the statement from the
Granthi.
Not share any information about religious belief with the school. It only
categorises the information in the Outstanding, Good and Insufficient
Evidence, according to the allocated mark.
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
Criteria 3 Assessed by the Nanaksar Trust
Parents applying who attend worship regularly in the tradition of any faith other
than Sikh, require validation of this by a signed statement Other Faith Form part
2 from the appropriate authority, e.g. A Church of England applicant would have
a statement of attendance signed by their vicar. Other Faiths Form part 1
should be completed by the parent.
Criterion 4
Any surplus places not filled by any of the above criteria will be allocated to those
children whose parents have applied to the school and live nearest to the school.
Children with brothers or sisters in the school, ‘siblings.’
Parents who are seeking a school place for a child because he/she has a brother
or sister who is a pupil at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, admitted prior to year 11,
must claim priority by filling in the correct details as requested on the Nursery
Application Form and Religious Questionnaire.
Failure to bring the details of the sibling relationship to the attention of the
Admissions Panel by this means will remove any entitlement to priority
consideration.
Special Educational Needs
Where Guru Nanak Sikh Nursery is the named school on a child’s statement of
Special Educational Needs or Education Health Care Plan, the school will admit
the child as directed by the Local Authority. Note, the SEN statemented places
are deducted from the 50 Sikh places.
Distance
Where only one place is available and two or more addresses produce identical
distance measurements the names of the applicants will be written on separate
pieces of paper and one of them randomly drawn to allocate the place.
Multiple Births
Where applications are received in respect of twins, triplets or children of other
multiple births and the academy is able to offer one child a place, the academy
will offer a place to the other child (children) admitting above the published
admission number where necessary.
For ‘parent’ read parent, guardian, carer
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2016 Admission Criteria & Guidance Notes
Acceptance of the Offer of a Place
The Admissions Panel of the Governing Body will inform you in writing if your
child has been offered or refused a place in our Nursery.
Right of Appeal
As Nursery education is non-statutory. There is no right of Appeal.
Nursery Waiting list
Applicants not qualifying for a place at the Academy Nursery will remain on a
waiting list if that is the wish of the parent. Subsequent applications received will
be assessed against the Admission Criteria and parents advised of the outcome
of their application.
Although we have your child’s name on the waiting list, the position is subject to
fairly frequent changes because waiting list positions must be determined in line
with the Admissions Criteria. Every time we have a vacancy we will review all
names on the waiting list. If a vacancy occurs the first consideration is whether it
is a Sikh or Other Faith vacancy, then the child with the highest grading and
ranking on the Religious Questionnaire will gain the vacant Nursery place.
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