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Admissions-Policy-2023-24-Portland-1-2

Admissions Policy

Academy: Co-op Academy Portland Approved by: Academy Governing Council Approved date:

Effective Date: Sept 2023 - Aug 2024 Next Review Date: Autumn term 2022

Next Consultation Date: No later than 2028/29 1

Contents

Contents 2 Introduction 3 Consultation 3 Education, Health and Care Plan 3

How to Apply for a Place 3 Nursery Admissions 4 Oversubscription 4 Waiting List 5 Late Applications 5 Reception Admissions 6 Oversubscription 6 Tie Breaker 7 Waiting List 8 In-Year Admissions 8 Waiting List 8

Further Information 9 Which address to use 9 Infant Class Sizes 9 Admission of Children Outside Their Normal Age Group 10 Making an Appeal 11 Challenging behaviour 11 Fair Access Protocol 11

Introduction

Co-op Academy Portland (the academy) is part of The Co-op Academies Trust (the Trust). The Trust is the admissions authority for the Academy, and is therefore responsible for ensuring that these arrangements are compliant with the Admissions Code 2021.

This document aims to provide information on how to apply for a place at the academy, how places are allocated, and how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place.

This document is based on the following documents from the Department for Education:

→ School Admissions Code 2021

→ School Admission Appeals Code

As an academy, the school is required by its funding agreement to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Consultation

These arrangements were consulted on between 17th December 2021 and 31st January 2022. During this consultation, we asked for feedback from governors, parents, staff, the local authority, neighbouring local authorities and other key stakeholders.

In-line with the requirements set out in the Admissions Code, unless any changes are made in the interim, these arrangements will next be consulted on in December 2028.

Education, Health and Care Plan

All children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) names the school must be admitted. These children will be admitted ahead of any oversubscription criteria being applied.

How to Apply for a Place

This section of the document is separated into the following sections:

➔ Nursery admissions

➔ Reception admissions

➔ In-year admissions

Nursery Admissions

Our nursery has 26 full time places available each year for children who are 3-years old on or before 31st August of that year.

Applications to our nursery are processed by the academy directly.

Children aged three years on or before 31 August are able to attend our nursery in September. Attendance at school is not a requirement at this age but is at the discretion of parents.

To apply for a place in our nursery, please visit our website and select “Apply for a Nursery Place” from the admissions page. This will take you to an online application form which will automatically be sent through to the academy.

Applications open in September each year. The deadline for applications to our nursery is 28th February each year. You will be notified by 31st March if your child has been given a place in the nursery.

Oversubscription

If we receive more applications than spaces available, places will be allocated according to the following criteria:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children as defined by the School Admissions Code 2021, including children previously looked after outside England.

2. Children who live ‘in zone’ and already have older brothers or sisters (including half or step siblings living in the same household) at the school when they are due to start school. If there are more children with older brothers or sisters at the school than there are places available, we will give priority to children with the youngest brothers or sisters at the school. Where there is more than one applicant with a sibling in the same year group, priority will be given to those children who live nearest to the school.

3. Children who live ‘in zone’ and have a valid medical reason. You must give details on the preference form and this may be checked by a medical officer of the health authority. A letter in support from a senior health care professional will be required as evidence, which must make clear why only this school is appropriate for your child’s medical needs.

4. Children who live ‘in zone’ and who live nearest to the school.

If children live outside the school’s catchment area and if places are still available, places will be allocated in accordance with the following criteria:

5. Children who already have older brothers or sisters (including half or step siblings living in the same household) at the school when they are due to start school. If there are more children

with older brothers or sisters at the school than there are places available, we will give priority to children with the youngest brothers or sisters at the school. Where there is more than one applicant with a sibling in the same year group, priority will be given to those children who live nearest to the school.

6. Children who have valid medical reasons for going to the school. You must give details on the preference form and this may be checked by a medical officer of the health authority. A letter in support from a senior health care professional will be required as evidence, which must make it clear why only this school is appropriate for your child’s medical needs.

7. Children who live nearest to the school. The Authority measures distances from the child’s home to the nearest school pedestrian gate using a computerised mapping system using the shortest road route, unless it is possible to use a footpath which the Authority considers to be a safe walking route. As a general guide we will treat routes with no pavements and no street lighting as unsafe for children.

Within each of these categories, children will be prioritised according to the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school. Distance will be measured by a straight line between the two properties, with those living closer being given a higher priority for allocation of places.

You can find out whether you live in the school’s catchment area (zone) here.

Waiting List

As nursery education is not compulsory there is no right of appeal against the refusal of a place. However, every effort will be made to accommodate the wishes of parents.

If you are not successful in securing a place for your child, we will ask if you wish to be kept on our waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained until 1st July the following year and children will be offered places in line with the oversubscription criteria outlined above as and when places become available. After the 1st July no further children will be admitted to the nursery.

Late Applications

If an application is received after the deadline (28th February) and a place is available (and there is no waiting list), they will be offered a place. If no places are available, or there is a waiting list in place, the child will be added to the waiting list (unless asked not to be by the parent/carer).

Reception Admissions

Our Published Admissions Number (PAN) is 30. This means that we admit 30 children into reception each year.

Our academy is part of Wirral Council’s coordinated admissions process, and as such, allocation of places for reception is completed by them according to the criteria set out below.

All parents/carers are required to apply to their home Local Authority (LA) regardless of where the academy they are applying for is situated.

For example Wirral residents will apply to Wirral Council, whilst Cheshire West residents will apply to Cheshire West and Chester Council. The LA will liaise with other local authorities where required. Wirral Council will inform parents/carers in writing of the outcome of their application on 16th April or the next working day.

In England, compulsory school age is 5 years old.

Admission to primary school is provided for all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Where a child is offered a place at a school, that child is entitled to a full-time place in the September following their fourth birthday; the child’s parents can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made; and where the parents wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.

Information on how to apply can be found here:

Wirral Council

If you live in another area find your local council here

All children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names our academy will automatically be given a place before any other applications are considered.

Oversubscription

If we receive more applications than spaces available, places will be allocated according to the following criteria:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children as defined by the School Admissions Code 2021, including children previously looked after outside England.

4. Children who live ‘in zone’ and who live nearest to the school.

If children live outside the school’s catchment area and if places are still available, places will be allocated in accordance with the following criteria:

5. Children who already have older brothers or sisters (including half or step siblings living in the same household) at the school when they are due to start school. If there are more children with older brothers or sisters at the school than there are places available, we will give priority to children with the youngest brothers or sisters at the school. Where there is more than one applicant with a sibling in the same year group, priority will be given to those children who live nearest to the school.

You can find out whether you live in the school’s catchment area (zone) here.

Tie Breaker

In the case of 2 or more applications that cannot be separated by the oversubscription criteria outlined above, the school will use the distance between the school and a child’s home as a tie breaker to decide between applicants. Priority will be given to children who live closest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to the school’s front gates on Laird Street. A child’s home address will be considered to be where he/she is resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week.

Where the distance between 2 children’s homes and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them. This process will be independently verified.

Waiting List

A waiting list for reception children is maintained by Wirral local authority as part of their co-ordinated admissions process. If your child is not offered a place in reception at our academy, your child’s name will automatically be added to our waiting list. Your child’s name will remain on the waiting list until a) you are offered a place at a higher preference school, b) you are offered a place at our academy, c) the waiting list closes (usually on 31st December).

After the 31st December, you may re-apply for an in-year admission place - please see below. If no spaces are available at the time of application, you will be added to the in-year admissions waiting list for the appropriate year group.

In-Year Admissions

You can apply for a place in any year group at any time. This might happen because you are moving to the area and your child has already started school elsewhere, or because you feel our academy would be a better fit for your child.

You can contact us to find out if we have spaces in specific year groups before you apply. If we don’t have space in the requested year group, you can still apply. If you apply for a place and there are currently no places available, your child’s name will be added to the waiting list. Your child’s name will be kept on the waiting list until the end of the academic year.

To make an ‘in-year’ application, you should complete an ‘in-year’ application form online via your home local authority - Wirral’s applications process is here.

The local authority will contact us directly regarding your application, and we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know the outcome of your application.

Children with an EHCP that names our academy will be given a place regardless of whether the year group has spaces or whether there is a waiting list. Please see information on infant class sizes below for more details.

Waiting List

A waiting list for each year group is maintained by Wirral local authority as part of their co-ordinated admissions process. If your child is not offered a place at our academy, your child’s name will automatically be added to our waiting list. Your child’s name will remain on the waiting list until a) you are offered a place at a higher preference school, b) you are offered a place at our academy, c) the waiting list closes (end of summer term).

After the end of the academic year, you may re-apply for an in-year admission place. If no spaces are available at the time of application, you will be added to the in-year admissions waiting list for the appropriate year group.

Further Information

Which address to use

When you apply you must use the child's permanent address, where they usually live with their parent(s) or carer(s). You must not use any other address on your application.

Using the address of a childminder, a relative or renting a property for a short period of time in order to secure a school place is considered as a fraudulent application. We will investigate all queries about addresses and we could change the school place offer.

If we find out that an intentionally misleading or false address has been given to get a school place, the school place may be withdrawn even if the child has already started at the school.

Only one address can be used on your application for a school place, and this should be the address where the child lives for the majority of the week. In cases of equal shared care, both parents must agree which address will be used on the application.

Infant Class Sizes

Infant classes (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher.

Additional children may be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain an ‘excepted pupil’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit.

The excepted children are:

a) Children admitted outside the normal admissions round with Education, Health and Care Plans specifying the school;

b) Looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admissions round;

c) Children admitted after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process;

d) Children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal;

e) Children who move into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance;

f) Children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round;

g) Children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is admitted otherwise than as an excepted pupil;

h) Children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a special educational needs unit attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school.

Admission of Children Outside Their 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.

We will make decisions 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; information 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. Our headteacher’s views will also be considered in this decision making process.

If you wish to make an application for your child in these circumstances, please contact the school and arrange a meeting with the headteacher to discuss this further. Following this meeting we will encourage you to apply for a place via the normal application process (via your home local authority) and we will work closely with them to carefully consider your application. Your application, regardless of whether your child is offered a place in their chronological year group or another year group, will be offered based on the criteria used for all applications (e.g. our oversubscription criteria).

Parents/Carers 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.

Making an Appeal

If your child’s application for a place at the school is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about the process for hearing appeals. If you wish to appeal, you must do so through the local authority’s website here.

You can find details of the school’s appeals timetable on the school’s website. Challenging behaviour

We will not refuse to admit a child on behavioural grounds in the normal admissions round or at any point in the normal year of entry. We may refuse admission in certain cases where the specific criteria listed in the School Admissions Code (paragraph 3.8) apply, i.e. where section 87 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 is engaged.

We may refuse admission for an in-year applicant for a year group that isn’t the normal point of entry, only in such a case that we have good reason to believe that the child may display challenging behaviour that may adversely affect the provision we can offer. In this case, we will refer these pupils to the Fair Access Protocol. We will not refuse admission on these grounds to looked after children, previously looked after children and children with EHC plans listing the school.

Fair Access Protocol

All schools have an active role in admitting pupils under the Fair Access Protocol. The protocol operates outside the boundaries of the Admissions policy. It is a statutory requirement. The aim is to make sure the most vulnerable children are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible, and that no school, including those with places, is asked to take a disproportionate number of vulnerable children.

More information can be found here.