This scheme will apply to all applications from parents/carers, for Reception Year admission in September 2009 for schools with the following Admission Authorities:
- South Gloucestershire Council, as Admissions Authority for its own Infant and Primary schools within South Gloucestershire.
- Admission Authorities for Voluntary Aided primary schools in South Gloucestershire.
Applications
Applications for Reception Year places at an infant/primary school for September 2009, for any of the Admission Authorities listed above, must be made by parents/carers on an application form. This form can also be completed on-line on this website in the 'Do it now' section of this page at (from 3rd September 2008) and is also included in the booklet for parents/carers, available from South Gloucestershire primary schools and South Gloucestershire Student Access & Support Team, from early September 2008. All parents/carers are strongly advised to give three preferences in rank order, stating reasons for their application, which can be for South Gloucestershire Community or Controlled infant/primary schools, or for South Gloucestershire Voluntary Aided primary schools.
Parents/Carers of children who do not live in South Gloucestershire but who wish to apply for a place at a South Gloucestershire infant/primary school must return the completed application form to South Gloucestershire’s Student Access & Support Team.
Applications by parents/carers of children resident in South Gloucestershire for Reception Year places at infant or primary schools outside South Gloucestershire must be to the relevant Local Authority or school Admission Authority where applicable.
Although all applicants must complete the application form, for Voluntary Aided primary schools applicants must provide proof of baptism to the respective school(s). Any applications received directly by a Voluntary Aided primary school Admission Authority will be forwarded immediately to South Gloucestershire Council.
Completed application forms must be returned directly to South Gloucestershire Student Access & Support Team. Applications for a place will only be considered if South Gloucestershire Council has received the completed application form by the closing date of 4.30pm on 24 October 2008. Applications received after the closing date are ‘late applications’ and will not normally be considered for the initial allocation of places.
Consideration of Applications and Allocation of Places
Applications for all schools will be considered under an ‘equal preference’ system. All preferences (1st, 2nd or 3rd) will initially be considered equally regardless of ranking.
South Gloucestershire will pass the applications received on to the relevant Admission Authorities named on the application forms. South Gloucestershire Council will keep a copy of all applications but will send the original application forms or evidence from an on-line application to the relevant Voluntary Aided primary school Admission Authorities.
South Gloucestershire and Voluntary Aided primary school Admission Authorities will consider and rank all applications received, including any supplementary data, with reference to their own over-subscription criteria where necessary. Ranked lists of potential offers will then be returned to South Gloucestershire Council by the Voluntary Aided primary school Admission Authorities, including the reason why each applicant qualified for a place. The list will also include those pupils, for whom a place cannot be offered, in rank order, explaining the reasons for refusal against the over-subscription criteria, and in the order in which additional offers will be made should places become available.
South Gloucestershire Council then considers all potential offers in order to determine the single offer of a Reception Year place to be made to parents/carers. South Gloucestershire will inform all Community and Controlled infant/primary schools and Voluntary Aided primary school Admission Authorities of the offers to be made to parents/carers.
Offers of a School Place
Offers will be posted 2nd class 2 March 2009 and will also be available on-line at www.southglos.gov.uk/admissions from late afternoon on that same day. (South Gloucestershire Council is unable to inform parents/carers of the offer by telephone) - South Gloucestershire Council will make the single offer of a place for Reception Year to parents/carers. Where a child qualifies for a place at more than one school the final offer will be the highest ranked preference.
In the case of parents/carers resident in South Gloucestershire being refused a place at their preferred school(s), an alternative school place will be offered to their child and they will be informed of the options available at that stage including their right of appeal.
Parents/Carers must respond to the offer directly to South Gloucestershire.
Late Applications
Applications received after the closing date are ‘late applications’ and will not normally be considered for the initial allocation of places. However, South Gloucestershire Council will consider the reason why the application is late before deciding whether or not to consider it along with the on-time applications.
For over-subscribed schools, if places become available following the allocation of places for a school, the same criteria will be applied to late applications, formal appeals or applications for children whose parents/carers have indicated in writing that they still wish to be considered for a place.
For under-subscribed schools ‘late-applications’ will be offered as soon as possible after 16 March 2009. If any under-subscribed school becomes over-subscribed owing to the number of late applications, places will be allocated using the published over-subscription criteria.
Please refer to section 8 of the admissions booklet of how to change a preference after the closing date may affect the processing of your application.
Admission During the School Year (outside the normal time for application)
All applications for places at South Gloucestershire Community and Controlled primary schools during the year are dealt with by South Gloucestershire Council. The Student Access & Support Team can advise parents/carers on the procedure for applying for a school place and their right of appeal against any decision not to offer a place at the preferred school(s). All applications will be considered in accordance with the same principles and rights of preference and appeal as stated for admissions made at the normal time of application.
In-Year Admission applications for a place at a Voluntary Aided Primary School must be made directly to the school.
Parents/Carers who wish to apply for a place for their child at a Community or Controlled School in South Gloucestershire at any time during the academic year should contact the Children & Young People Information Service (details below) or the individual school for an application form. Completed forms must be returned to:
South Gloucestershire Council’s Department for Children and Young People
Children & Young People Information Service
Riverside Court
Bowling Hill
Chipping Sodbury
South Gloucestershire BS37 6JX
Tel: 01454 868008
Fax: 01454 863330
Email: cis@southglos.gov.uk
Parents/Carers may express a preference for a particular school or schools and this application will be considered by South Gloucestershire Council. If a school has places South Gloucestershire Council will normally allocate a place at that preferred school. If, however, the school is full in the relevant year group and South Gloucestershire Council is unable to offer a place, the parent/carer will have the right of appeal against this decision. It is South Gloucestershire Council’s policy not to consider repeat applications in the same academic year unless there has been a change of circumstances relevant to the application.
Where the child does not have a Statement of Special Educational Needs this appeal will be to an Independent Appeal Panel. Where the child does have a Statement of Special Educational Needs the appeal is to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
Where a parent/carer is moving into the area South Gloucestershire Council will not normally proceed with the application for a place until written evidence of the move is provided by the applicant, for example, proof of exchange of contracts, a letting agreement, or a letter from an employer or service person’s Commanding Officer, confirming details of relocation. Once a place is allocated it should be taken up straightaway.
Parental Preference
Parents/Carers have the right to express a preference for the school they wish their child to attend. This preference can be for:
- Community or Controlled schools;
- a Voluntary Aided school maintained by South Gloucestershire Council.
- a school maintained by another Local Authority (in this case parents/carers must make their own arrangements with the relevant Admissions Authority);
Where parents/carers prefer an independent school or a school maintained by another Local Authority, they are asked to inform the Student Access & Support Team. If a place is not required at a school maintained by South Gloucestershire Council the Student Access & Support Team will not offer a place. However, parents/carers are advised that if they have any preference for another school in South Gloucestershire, then they should also indicate it on the form included with this booklet, in case their highest ranking preference is unsuccessful.
The information parents/carers provide on the preference form may be shared with other Local Authorities and schools in the area, including Voluntary Aided schools, as far as is necessary.
An Admission Authority must comply with parental/carer preference regarding parents’/ carers’ preference for school except:
- when to do so would prejudice the provision of efficient? education or the efficient use of resources; or
- where to do so would result in exceeding the limit on infant class sizes, as imposed by Section 1(6) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998; or
- where a child has been permanently excluded from two or more schools and the most recent exclusion has taken place within 2 years.
Parents/carers are advised to list three schools in order of preference. There is no advantage in listing fewer than three schools or including the same school more than once. Parents/carers are also advised to indicate a preference for a school that normally serves the home address to increase the chances of being offered a place at a local school.
Local Authorities and Governing Bodies of Voluntary Aided schools are required to set admission levels that reflect fully the accommodation capacity of the school. No child should be refused admission to the school preferred by parents/carers unless it is genuinely full. The admission level is called the Admission Number; it takes account of a school’s capacity to accommodate pupils and applies to each year group as it proceeds through the school.
In the list of schools (section 5 of the admissions booklet)the Admission Number of each school for 2009/2010 admissions is clearly indicated for the Reception Year intake for infant, junior and primary schools. When the number of applications for places at a particular school exceeds the Admission Number, allocations will be made in accordance with the published over¬subscription criteria.