Hampshire County Council's Admission Policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Primary, Infant and Junior Schools 2007-2008

This policy will apply to all admissions from 1 September 2007. It will also be used during 2006-2007 for allocating places for September 2007 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.)

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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.

The governors will consider first all those applications received by the published deadline of midday on Friday 17 November 2006. 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 17 November 2006) will be considered after all on-time first and second preference applications have been fully processed unless exceptional circumstances merit earlier consideration. Letter to parents offering a primary school place will be sent by the County Council on 26 January 2007.

The published admission number (PAN) for (school name) for 2007-2008 is (PAN agreed with LA).

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. Places for second preference and late applications will be allocated using the same criteria:

1. 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 the Children's Services Department confirming the child's status must be provided.)

2. 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.)

3. 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 and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling's admission. (NB - Schools should either omit the underlined section or amend it to relate to specific local circumstances - e.g. ... or Nextdoor Junior School (same site) and who ...)

3A. (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.

4. Children living within the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on a straight line measurement from the school to the entrance of the property.

5. 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 and who will still be on roll at the time of the sibling's admission. (NB - Schools should either omit the underlined section or amend it to relate to specific local circumstances - e.g. ... or Nextdoor Junior School (same site) and who ...).

5A. (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.

6. Children living outside the catchment area of the school who live closest to the school, based on the measurement of a straight line from school to the entrance of the property.

Distance measurement

If the school is oversubscribed from within any of the above categories, the distance criterion (see 4 and 6 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. Schools will specify in their brochure the point(s) at the school from which measurements will taken. Distances to multiple dwellings will give priority to the ground floor over the first floor and so on. On individual floors, distances will be measured to the stairs leading to the communal entrance.

Multiple births

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.

Pupils with statements of special educational needs

The governors will admit any pupil whose final statement of special educational needs names the school.

Placements by the local authority

The local authority must ensure that all pupils are placed in schools as quickly as possible. It may therefore sometimes be necessary for a pupil to be placed by the local authority, or a local placement panel acting on behalf of the authority, in a particular school even if there is a waiting list for admission. Such placements will be made in accordance with the provisions of any protocol approved by the Admission Forum, based on government guidance. If an admission raises the number on roll above the PAN, no further pupil will be admitted from the waiting list 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 or any priority order expressed as part of the main admission round.

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 academic 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.

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(End of section to be inserted in primary school brochures.)

School specific criteria

Governing bodies may apply to the Director of Children's Services 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 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 Director of Children's Services will consult the Admission Forum and the criterion will then be considered by the Children's Services Policy Review Committee and the Executive Member with special responsibility 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 LA admissions brochure will contain a brief summary of each school specific 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 the Code of Practice on admissions (DfES 2002).