Warrenroadprimaryschoolacademyadheres to Bromley Local Authority S Fair Access Protocol

ADMISSIONS POLICY

Updated February 2013

Warren Road is committed to safeguarding all children

Admissions Procedures

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WarrenRoadPrimarySchoolAcademyadheres to Bromley Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol on Admissions. (See Appendix 1)

“WarrenRoadPrimary School, in common with all other schools in Bromley, will admit pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol. A ‘Hard to Place’ pupil will be given priority for admission over any others who are seeking or applying for a school place and the school can admit over their published admission number. The other criteria detailed in this document do not apply to pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol.”

The requirements of Annex B of the Funding Agreement will be followed.

Admission to Early Years

Most of the children who enter our school have attended a local pre-school playgroup that helps to prepare them for starting school. We keep in contact with these playgroups and the leaders of these groups have always been welcomed when they bring their children on morning visits to the school. The Head and members of the Early Years staff try to make reciprocal visits to the playgroups so that the children may get to know them.

During the preceding term before school entry, parents are invited to attend an evening meeting when entrance procedures and teaching methods are explained. This gives the parents an opportunity to talk with the teacher and quietly discuss any problems or worries they might have. On given dates, parents are requested to bring their child to school on two afternoons. The first occasion is when the child may meet their teacher, sit and play in its future classroom and become familiar with the surroundings. On the second afternoon the parents bring the children to attend story-time. New entrants and their parents are invited to lunch in the term prior to starting. In this way, we hope to ensure that the transition to full-time education is made as smoothly and as happily as is possible.

Admission to Primary School

WarrenRoadPrimary School’s policy is to admit children before they reach compulsory school age. Application forms are available from each school; and should be returned to those individual schools. The Admissions Secretary passes the forms to Bromley Co-ordinated Admissions Department as they are responsible for processing the applications made for school places in line with the procedures laid down in this policy.

Parents may choose for a January entrant to start in the previous September. The school will liaise with parents to determine the best starting date and induction for each child.

In response to the requirements of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 and its assessment arrangements, the Bromley policy is to continue to admit two intakes each year (in September and January), as follows: Places are offered by letter to the home address 14 working days after admissions have closed.

Children whose fifth birthdays fall between 1 September and 28/29 February inclusive will be admitted to full-time education at the beginning of the Autumn Term in September.

Children whose fifth birthdays fall between 1 March and 31 August inclusive will be admitted to full-time education at the beginning of the Spring Term in January or the previous September if parents request this.

New entrants are introduced gradually to school life as they initially find a full day very tiring. The length of the school day increases over the first fortnight.

Where schools are oversubscribed, places will be offered in line with the admission criteria outlined below:

(1)Children in Public Care (Looked After Children) (See Note 1)

(2)Siblings – children who have a brother or sister at the preferred school at the beginning of the first term (see Note 2)

(3)Proximity – proximity of the home in relation to the school as measured in a straight line from the front door of the home to the front door of the school (see Note 3)

Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs

Children with a full statement of Special Educational Needs are dealt with under a separate process by the Special Educational Needs team. The policy provides for applications to be considered before the main allocation process so that early and meaningful consultation can take place.

Notes

1.A looked after child is a child who is in care to a local authority or who is provided with accommodation by that authority.

2.A sibling is defined as a full brother or sister or step/half brother or sister living at the same address, a child who is living as part of the family unit by reason of a Court Order or child who has been placed with foster carers as a result of being ‘looked after’ by the Local Authority.

3.‘Home’ being where the child resides as their only or principal residence. Parents may be asked to provide documentary evidence to confirm an address.

Offer of Places

Places will be offered within the two weeks following the closing date.

Late Applications

Late applications will be entered onto the school’s waiting list, in the order of the published admissions criteria, once the first round of offers have been made.

Waiting Lists

When an application is refused the school will place those children whose parents request it onto their waiting list. After the initial offers for reception places have been made, waiting lists will be kept in the order of the published admissions criteria.

Names will be kept on a waiting list until a place becomes available or a parent chooses to remove a child’s name from the list.

Casual Admissions

The process outlined above is that used for dealing with applications to reception classes. Applications are made at other times as pupils transfer between schools for whatever reason (these are known as casual admissions). Parents should apply to the school and, if no place can be offered, the LA will advise where places are available.

Appeals

It is the responsibility of WarrenRoadPrimarySchoolAcademy Trust to enable parents to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel, and to ensure the members of the Panel are appropriately trained and suitable for the role in accordance with the current Admissions and Appeals Codes of Practice.

All applicants have a statutory right of appeal in the event that their preferred school is unable to offer them a place. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised of their right of appeal to an independent admission appeals panel, established by the Local Authority, under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Appeals for Reception places will be considered in light of the class size regulations that require infant class sizes to not exceed 30. The legislation will only permit class sizes above 30 in limited, specified, circumstances.

Appeals for children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs are dealt with by an SEN Tribunal.

Approved by Governors………………………………….

Date………………………………..

Due for Revision March 2014

Appendix 1 Admissions Procedures - Primary Fair Access Protocol

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Bromley resident pupils only are included in the protocol which will apply to all Bromley primary schools including AcademySchools,Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools. To ensure fairness and flexibility within the protocol it is intended schools will not be required to admit more than 1 pupil, across year groups R to 6, referred through the Fair Access Panel in each academic year, unless exceptional circumstances occur.

Main Principles

In order for the protocol to be successful:

All mainstream schools will take part

LA to guarantee the support package for each pupil

Schools will receive a percentage of AWPU for each pupil directed via FAP

Schools cannot claim that they are over-subscribed if they are asked to admit a pupil under the scheme

Schools must agree to take over their standard number in a year if they are asked to admit a pupil via FAP

Pupils directed via FAP will be given priority for admission over any others who already have a school place but wish to transfer. However, any genuine concerns expressed by a school regarding an allocation will be taken into account.

The LA will include the following statement in their Admission Policy. All schools must also amend their future admissions policy to state that they will go over number to admit pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol. Such pupils will take precedence over all other pupils (including those on the waiting list). The suggested wording for every schools admissions statement is:

“WarrenRoadPrimary School, in common with all other schools in Bromley, will admit pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol. A ‘Hard to Place’ pupil will be given priority for admission over any others who are seeking or applying for a school place and the school can admit over their published admission number. The other criteria detailed in this document do not apply to pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol.”

Leader of Primary Behaviour and Inclusion Service will contact the allocated school within 3 school days of the meeting to arrange an induction planning meeting to be held within 2 weeks of the FAP meeting. The pupil will be admitted within one week of the induction planning meeting. Except for in exceptional circumstances the pupil must be on roll at the school prior to the next FAP meeting. Pupils directed will be dual-registered with Widmore Centre for 1 term.

It is only in exceptional circumstances that schools may refuse admission.

All schools to agree to this protocol and will agree to admit 1 pupil, across year groups R to 6, referred through the Fair Access Panel in each academic year, unless exceptional circumstances occur.

The Primary Inclusion Group Panel

The Panel will meet on agreed dates

The role of the panel will be to:

-Ensure all pupils covered by the protocol are considered;

-Ensure openness and transparency of the placements process;

-Allocate placements taking into account advice from other agencies and any information known about the young person or specific circumstances known about the proposed receiving school;

-Act as arbiter where the proposed placement is rejected by the receiving school and make recommendations on the placement of the pupils.

Core membership of the Primary Inclusion Panel will include:

-Assistant Director – CYPS

-Manager of Admissions

-Leader – Primary Behaviour and Inclusion Service

-Primary Head teachers, 3 with a minimum of 2.

-Local Authority representatives from Special Educational Needs, Education Welfare Service and other professional representatives as required.

All referrals to FAP to be made via Leader – Primary Behaviour & Inclusion Service

All referrals to FAP must have:

-Copy of letter of exclusion

-Letter of recommendation from H T of excluding school

-Reintegration plan to be effective from start date at PRS

-Teacher report – showing regular reviews

Appeals process

warrenroadPrimary School

APPEAL AGAINST SCHOOL ADMISSION DECISION – INFANT/ Key Stage 1

To be completed by the parent/guardian IN BLACK INK AND BLOCK CAPITALS

CHILD’S SURNAME: ______FORENAME(S): ______

DATE OF BIRTH: ______

ADDRESS: ______

______Post Code ______Tel No. ______

EMAIL ADDRESS (please printclearly)______

Has been refused admission to: ______

(Name School/s)

Alternative School/s suggested by Education Department ______

(Name School/s)

Provisional Place held: ______

(Name School/s)

The School for which you are appealing has declared that the class size has reached 30 pupils and that, therefore, the School cannot admit your child. Please note that there are only two circumstances under which an Appeal Panel can uphold an appeal for this School.

If your appeal does not satisfy either of these conditions then it cannot be upheld.

(a)that the child would have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had been properly implemented.

Please note that it is not enough to show that there had been a mistake in implementing the school’s admission arrangements. The Panel must be satisfied that, had the arrangements been carried out properly, the child would have been admitted.

If you wish to appeal on these grounds, please explain how you feel the school has failed to implement the admissions criteria or to follow its procedures correctly. Please give as much information as possible and continue on a separate sheet if necessary.

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( b)that the decision was not one which a reasonable admission authority would make in the circumstances of the case:

Unreasonable in this sense means irrational - a decision which was ‘perverse in the light of the admission arrangements’ and which no reasonable Admission Authority, properly aware of its duties, would make. Unless it is such a decision, the appeal must fail.

The circumstances the Panel must consider are, for example, the published admission arrangements, parental preference, the circumstances of the particular child and family and the practical consequences for the school if any of the appeals were to be successful.

If you wish to appeal on these grounds, please give your reasons, giving as much information as possible to explain your case. Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary.

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I wish to appear in personYes / No

I will not be available to appear on/between the following dates ______

Do you require an interpreter? YES/NO if yes please state which language……………………

FULL NAMES OF PARENTS/GUARDIANS ______

Please state how correspondence should be addressed i.e. Mr & Mrs; Miss, Ms etc

SIGNATURE ______

DATE ______

THIS FORM MUST BE RETURNED BY 31st MAY 2013

Please complete and return to:

Mrs Helen Long, Resources Department, Room W86, West Wing

Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH

Guidance on School Appeal Hearings

(The School Standards and Framework Act 1998)

The School Admissions Appeals Code is available on

The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (Section 84) gives parents the right to appeal against decisions regarding the schools their children should attend.

Although parents have the formal right of appeal, they are advised that if they are not satisfied with any decision of Authority schools about the school at which education for their child is to be provided they should, in the first instance, contact the Bromley Admissions Team, Children and Yong People Services, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley BR1 3UH (Telephone 020 8313 4044) to discuss the situation.

Guidance on School Appeal Hearings

(The School Standards and Framework Act 1998)

The School Admissions Appeals Code is available on

The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (Section 84) gives parents the right to appeal against decisions regarding the schools their children should attend.

Guidance on School Appeal Hearings

(The School Standards and Framework Act 1998)

The School Admissions Appeals Code is available on

The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (Section 84) gives parents the right to appeal against decisions regarding the schools their children should attend.

Appeals in respect of Primary Reception Starts

must be lodged by 30th May2013

Appeals submitted after this date may not be heard during the Summer Term (i.e. before the beginning of the Autumn in September).

The clerk sets up an independent Appeals Committees to consider appeals. The procedure is specified in the Schools Admissions Appeals Code (available at

The receipt of an appeal form will be acknowledged and at least 14 days before the day scheduled for the hearing, a formal notice of the day and time of the Appeal Committee, which will determine the case, will be sent to the parents by first class post or by email if you have given an email on your form.

Seven days before the hearing the Governors will send appellants a Statement setting out the Admissions Policy and the reasons for the decision regarding the child’s education.

The appeals are likely to be heard during the daytime and you are encouraged to attend. It is not considered appropriate to bring any children to the hearing. If it is necessary for you to bring a child with you, you should make arrangements for someone to sit with the child whilst you are in the hearing.

Who may attend the Hearing

Parents/carers can have legal representation at the hearing, but this ought not to be necessary, a hearing is not intended to be a platform for a debate on the law. Members of the local authority (Councillors) must not be invited to attend appeal hearings and unless there are exceptional reasons children should not be invited to attend (but this decision is left to parents).

The Order of the Hearing

The admission governing body present their case
Questions to the admission governing body by the

parent/carers

Parents/carers present their case
Questions to the parents/carers by the admission governing

body

The admission governing body sum up their case
The parents/carers sum up their case

Panel Members may ask questions at any time during the hearing

Panel Members

Panel Members are independent of the school that parent/carers are appealing for and the admission process. Each panel must consist of at least one lay member, who is a person without personal experience in the management or provision of education and at least one person with experience in education who is acquainted with educational conditions in the area, or who is the registered pupil at a school.

Clerk to the Panel

The Clerk is not a member of the Panel and must be independent of the admission authority. The Clerk does not take part in the decision making of the Panel. The role of the Clerk is to:-