Archived decisions
IHampshire County Council's Admission Policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Primary, Infant and Junior Schools 2006-2007 (DRAFT)
This policy will apply to all admissions from 1 September 2006. It will also be used during 2005-2006 for allocating places for September 2006 as part of the main admission rounds for Year R and Year 3.
The guiding principles of the school admission policy are, first, to enable as many children as possible to attend their parents' preferred school; second, to enable each school to serve its local community; third, to assist parents in planning their children's education; fourth, to ensure that all children are allocated a school place. Therefore, the aims of the admission criteria are -
· to be easy for parents and schools to understand and operate;
· to enable children, as far as possible, to attend their local school and thereby minimise long or difficult journeys to school;
· to enable siblings, as far as possible, to attend the same school (or infant and junior schools on the same site);
· to promote high educational standards through curricular and pastoral continuity between schools serving the same catchment areas;
· to promote school involvement with the local community.
(Version to be published by schools starts here.)
Admission Criteria
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. Governing bodies are responsible for implementing the admission arrangements on behalf of the County Council. Letters to parents offering places will be sent by the County Council.
The governors will consider first all those applications received by the published deadline of midday on Friday 18 November 2005. On-time second preference applications will only be considered after all on-time first preferences have been considered by the governing body. Late applications (i.e. those submitted after 18 November 2005) will be considered after all on-time first and second preference applications have been fully processed unless exceptional circumstances merit earlier consideration.
The published admission number (PAN) for (school name) for 2006-2007 is (PAN agreed with LEA).
If the school is oversubscribed, places will be offered in the following priority order, with first preference applications submitted by the published deadline taking initial priority. Second preferences and late applications will be allocated in the same order.
1. Children whose final statement of special educational needs names the school.
2. 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 Social Services confirming the child's status must be provided.)
3. Children who have a serious medical, physical or psychological condition which makes it essential that they attend the preferred school rather than any other. (Appropriate medical or psychological evidence must be provided in support.)
4. 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 its linked infant or junior school on the same site (school name if applicable) and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling's admission.
4A. (This criterion is used in C of E controlled schools only.) Children living within the catchment area of the school whose parents are active members of the Church of England and who request admission on denominational grounds - certified by an appropriate church authority.
5. Children living within the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on either:
_ the shortest walking route from school to the entrance of the property using public roads and footpaths or
_ measured as a straight line from school to the entrance of the property.
(Governors will specify in the published school admission policy which method of measurement will be used and the point on the school site from which distances will be measured.)
6. 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 its linked infant or junior school on the same site (school name if applicable) and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling's admission.
6A. (This criterion is used in C of E controlled schools only.) Children living outside the catchment area of the school whose parents are active members of the Church of England and who request admission on denominational grounds - certified by an appropriate church authority.
7. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on either:
_ the shortest walking route from school to the entrance of the property using public roads and footpaths or
_ measured as a straight line from school to the entrance of the property.
(Governors will specify in the published school admission policy which method of measurement will be used and the point on the school site from which distances will be measured.)
If the school is oversubscribed from within any of the above categories, the distance criterion (see 5 and 7 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.
(Note: 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, even 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.)
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 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.
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 open until the beginning of the spring term of the 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.
(End of section to be inserted in primary school brochures.)
School specific criteria
Governing bodies may apply to the County Education Officer 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 specific local conditions. The application will cover both the substance of the criterion and its position in the order of priorities. In the event of such applications, the County Education Officer will consult the Admission Forum and the criterion will then be considered by the Education Policy Review Committee and the Executive Member for Education. Any criterion agreed under this category must be published in the school prospectus with its 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 LEA admissions brochure will contain a brief summary of each school criterion.
Legislation
This policy takes account of all relevant legislation including the Education Act 2002, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, legislation on sex discrimination, race relations, and disability, together with all relevant regulations and advice in Codes of Practice.