Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy – Admissions Policy Consultation

Background As part of the process of opening Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy for a September 2019 intake, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation held a public consultation regarding the proposed admissions arrangements for the new school. The consultation ran at the same time as a consultation under Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010 regarding Funding Agreements with the Secretary of State for Education. The consultations ran for 6 weeks from 7th June to 19th July 2018.

Details of the consultation were posted on the Federation’s website (www.haaf.org.uk/Consultation- June-2018) where respondents could reply electronically or download a form to do so by post or by email. Leaflets were produced detailing the consultation and advising people to visit the web page to view the policy and provide responses. These were distributed either by email or hard copy to local authorities ( and surrounding Boroughs); all schools within the Southwark Borough; schools within a 30 minute travel commute to Borough Academy; interested parties locally including councillors and MPs, and hard copies were provided to local primary schools. A full list of who was written to regarding the consultation can be found in Appendix A.

The proposed admissions arrangements were described as follows on the website, including a link to the full admissions policy.

We intend to have a simple, fair, and easy to understand admissions policy that will use home to school distance as the main criterion for allocating places. If the school is oversubscribed, first priority will be given to children with an Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement of Special Education Needs naming the school followed by children who meet the following criteria, in priority order:

1. Looked after children 2. Children with exceptional medical or social needs 3. Siblings of pupils attending the school at the time the application is received (this will not apply for the first year of admissions as there will be no older siblings in the school) 4. Pupils who live nearest to the secondary school on the basis of a straight line home to Academy distance.

Responses 77 responses were received to the consultation (including the Section 10 consultation). Of these, 70 were received via the electronic form, 2 by paper and 5 by other means such as direct emails to the Borough Academy email address.

72 of the respondents identified as ‘local parents with primary school aged children’, 6 as ‘other resident’, 1 as local authority, 3 as ‘local community group’ and 5 as ‘local school’. It should be noted

that respondents were able to tick more than one box for this question and of those who selected local school, all also selected local parents. It is therefore likely that parents ticked this box as their children attend local schools rather than as a result of representing the views of local school organisations. Responses relating to admissions Respondents were asked ‘Do you have any comments regarding the proposed admissions arrangements for Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy?’ 52 responses were received and 25 respondents left the comment section blank. All responses, with individual names removed, are included in Appendix B.

 24 of the responses directly expressed support of the proposed admissions arrangements or to distance as the main admissions criteria. 4 of these responses directly referred to the proposed admissions arrangements as fair or clear.  8 of the responses made clear that they felt the school should be for local children or the local community.  2 responses disagreed with the proposed admissions arrangements: o ‘I think simple distance to the site is an unfair criteria as housing that near to central London is expensive. Perhaps some places could be awarded on more of a lottery basis to residents living in Southwark given that the shortage of decent secondary schools is borough wide’ o ‘Not sure if the sibling policy is fair. We have seen it many times in the primary setting where families get one child into school and move away from the area knowing their other children will benefit from the policy. While I also understand having 3 children myself that juggling multiple school calendars is a nightmare.

31 of the responses listed areas that they felt should be included in admissions arrangements.

o 22 of these expressed a desire for feeder primary schools and priority for the children that attended them. Of these, 8 referred to the educational and social benefit to children of progressing from primary school to secondary school as one cohort. For example one respondent said, ‘I think priority should be given to feeder schools rather than places awarded on proximity to the new school. Currently children in the local primary schools ‘graduate’ to a worryingly high number of different secondary schools. This is troubling from a friendship point of view but also there is good evidence that when children progress to secondary school with their existing primary peer groups this has a very positive impact on performance and results for the school (and vice versa if they do not). It seems to me that it is beneficial to all to keep year 6 cohorts together’. o 3 responses opposed the idea of feeder schools. o 10 of the responses listed other areas of focus such as lottery allocation, scholarships, SEND or becoming a faith school.  Southwark Local Authority responded to the consultation and provided its view on the proposed admissions arrangements. It was supportive and said that they were ‘clear, fair and transparent and do not cause any undue prejudice to the community. The full response, including suggestions for clarity regarding waiting lists are included in Appendix C.

Conclusion The following issues were raised in the consultation. Distance and siblings as unfair criteria Whilst we understand the desire to ensure that all children within the Borough have access to the school we disagree with this point as we feel that distance is the simplest and fairest way to allocate places. The siblings criteria will not apply for the first year of applications. Feeder schools Whilst the Federation has feeder school arrangements with its existing primary schools we have not proposed any feeder arrangements with local schools for Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy. We do not have feeder arrangements with any non-Haberdashers’ Aske’s primary schools at any of our existing secondary schools. We feel that it would not be fair to include feeder arrangements for any local primary schools within the admissions criteria for Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy for the following reasons:

 The four schools mentioned most as possible feeder schools were Charles Dickens Primary School, The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overie and Friars Primary Foundation School. These schools are located within less than 1km of the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy site. There are 10 other schools within this distance (data gathered from the Mayor of London’s School Atlas) and their catchment areas most likely overlap in a number of places. If the Federation were to give feeder school preference to these closest schools it could disadvantage children who may live closer to the site but attend a school a bit further away, but still less than 1km away.  It is likely that the overwhelming majority of the children who currently attend the primary schools closest to Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy live close to their schools and as such will be within the likely catchment area for Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy as well.

 The Office of the School Adjudicator, which regulates schools admissions, has reported in its most recent annual report, cases of adjudicators finding that the use of named but not related feeder schools (i.e. not part of an existing Multi Academy Trust) to be unfair on the grounds that children who did not attend them would be unfairly disadvantaged and in some cases face significantly longer and more difficult journeys to school. A number of the responses given within our consultation made reference to children travelling long distances to school within the existing school provision and as such we would not wish to add to this disadvantage by introducing feeder schools arrangements.

Benefits of a cohort moving together A number of responses referred to the benefits of cohorts of children staying together and progression from primary to secondary together. In some cases this was used as an argument for having feeder school arrangements. We recognise and share the view that there is a benefit in children staying together when they move to secondary school, and we also feel that there is a benefit from a continuous strong ethos throughout primary and secondary schools. This is why as a Federation we support all-through schools – all of our existing Academies (Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Knights Academy and Haberdashers’ Aske’s Crayford Academy) are all-through from 3-18 years. If Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy were to have its own primary phase then it would have feeder priority as our other primary schools do. Comments from Southwark Council In Southwark Council’s response they recommended a number of changes that regarding the proposed admissions arrangements. These are listed below as well as our response to these:

 ‘Admission of children outside their normal age group: For safeguarding purposes Southwark Council’s school admissions team is co-ordinating the process for requesting admission of children outside of their normal age group. However, the decision as to whether to agree or refuse such requests would still remain with the Academy. You may wish to include that any such requests from Southwark residents must be made using Southwark Council’s request form which is available on the website at www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions. Further information can also be found within the LA’s policy on ‘Admission outside of a child’s normal age group’ which is also available to view online at www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions.’

We accept this change and will update the admissions policy to say that any requests for admission of children outside of their normal age group should be made using Southwark’s request form and that the decision as to whether to accept or refuse would lie with the Academy.

 Waiting lists: Please note that families who are unsuccessful in being offered a place at the Academy will automatically be put on your waiting list if the Academy was named as a higher preference on their application as per Southwark’s co-ordinated admissions scheme. Currently the Academy’s waiting list paragraph states that parents may request for their child’s name to be added to the waiting list following an unsuccessful application – as this is incorrect please amend this sentence.

We accept this change and will amend the policy accordingly.

 Please also note that looked after children, previously looked after children and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those on a waiting list. It would support clarity if this is also stated within the Academy’s admission arrangements.

We accept this change and will amend the wording within their policy regarding looked after children and waiting lists. Next steps Following review of the responses to the consultation we made recommendations to proceed (once the above changes have been made to wording) with the admissions arrangements as set out in the

policy the Federation consulted on and therefore recommended that the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy Steering Group approve the policy on behalf of the Federation Trust Board. The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy Steering Group approved our recommendations. The amended policy, with the changes from the consultation version shown as tracked changes, is included at Appendix D. The results of the consultation and the approved policy are published on the Federation’s website and have been sent to Southwark Council as finalised.

Appendix A Full list of who consulted

Local Authorities  Southwark  City of Westminster  Lambeth  City of London  Tower Hamlets

Schools and nurseries Details of the consultation were sent to all nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools within the Borough of Southwark as well as any school located within a 30 minute public transport journey to the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy site (according to the Mayor of London School Atlas https://maps.london.gov.uk/schools/). Nurseries  Ann Bernadt Nursery School  Nell Gwynn Nursery School  Dulwich Wood Primary School nursery  The Grove Nursery School  Kintore Way Nursery School

Primary Schools  Albion Primary School  Dulwich Village Church of England  Alfred Salter Primary School School  Angel Oak Academy  Dulwich Wood Primary School  Archbishop Sumner Primary School  English Martyrs Roman Catholic  Primary School  Ashmole Primary School  Friars Primary School Southwark  Bellenden Primary School  Galleywall Primary School  Beormund Primary School  Goodrich Community Primary School  Bessemer Grange Primary School  Goose Green Primary School  Blue Gate Field Infants School  Grange Primary School  Boutcher Church of England Primary  Harris Primary Academy East Dulwich School  Harris Primary Academy Peckham  Brunswick Park Primary School Park  Camelot Primary School  Harris Primary Free School Peckham  Canon Barnett Primary School  Heber Primary School  Charles Dickens Primary School  Henry Fawcett Primary School  Charlotte Sharman Primary School  Hollydale Primary School  Childeric Primary School  Ivydale Primary School  Cobourg Primary School  John Donne Primary School  Comber Grove School  John Keats Primary School  Crampton School  John Ruskin Primary School  Crawford Primary School  Judith Kerr Primary School  Dog Kennel Hill School  Kender Primary School  Dulwich Hamlet Junior School  Keyworth Primary School  Lyndhurst Primary School

 Michael Faraday School  St John the Divine Church of England  Oasis Academy Johanna Primary  Oliver Goldsmith Primary School  St John’s and St Clement’s Primary  Peter Hills with St Mary’s and St Paul’s School  Phoenix Primary School  St John’s Walworth Church of England  Pilgrims Way Primary School Primary School  Prior Weston Primary School  St Joseph’s Camberwell Catholic  Reay Primary School Schools Federation  Redriff Primary School  St Joseph’s Primary,  Riverside Primary School  St Jude’s Church of England Primary  Robert Browning Primary School School  Rotherhithe Primary School  St Luke's Church of England Primary  Rye Oak Primary School School  Saint Joseph’s Catholic Primary School  St Mark's Church of England Primary  Sir John Cass's Foundation Primary School School  St Mary Magdalene C of E Primary  Snowsfields Primary School School  Southwark Park Primary School  St Matthew's Primary School  St Alban's Church of England Primary  St Monica's Roman Catholic Primary School School  St Anne's Catholic Primary  St Paul’s Church of England Primary  St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School School  St Clement Danes Church of England  St Peter’s Church of England Primary Primary School School  St Francesca Cabrini Primary School  Surrey Square Primary School  St Francis Roman Catholic Primary  The Belham Primary School School  The Cathedral School Of St. Saviour  St George’s Cathedral Catholic And St. Mary Overy Primary School  The Mayflower Federation  St James' Church of England Primary  Tower Bridge Primary School School  Townend Primary School  St James the Great Catholic Primary  Vauxhall Primary School School  Victory Primary School  Walnut Tree Walk Primary School Secondary Schools  Al Ashraaf Secondary School  Harris Academy East Dulwich  Archbishop Tenison's School   Harris Girls Academy East Dulwich  Ark Globe Academy  Kingsdale Foundation School   Lillian Baylis Technology School  Bacon’s College  London Nautical School  Central Foundation Boys School  Michael Faraday School  City of London Academy  Notre Dame Roman Catholic  Compass School Southwark Secondary Girls School  Durand Academy  Oasis Academy Southbank  Harris Academy Bermondsey  Platanos College

 Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary  St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School School  St Thomas the Apostle College  Southwark Free School  The Charter School East Dulwich  Southwark Park School  The Charter School, Southwark  Spa School  Tuke School  St Helen's Catholic School  University Academy of Engineering  St John's Walworth Church School South Bank  St Michael’s Catholic College  Westminster School

Other, independent schools within 30 minutes of the site  Bosco Centre College  Octavia House Schools  CATS College London  Jamiatul Ummah School  Charterhouse Square  London Christian School  City of London School for Girls  Phoenix place  City of London School for Girls  St John the Baptist  DLD College London  St Pauls Cathedral School  Haymerle School  Westminster Abbey Choir School  Highshore School

Local Interested Parties  Diocese of Southwark  BOST (Bankside Open Spaces Trust)  Catholic Diocese of Southwark  Coin Street Community Builders  Bankside Residents Forum  JMB Leathermarket

Councillors and MPs  Councillor Jasmine Ali  Councillor David Noakes  Councillor Adele Morris  Neil Coyle MP

Those who had signed up with the Federation’s mailing list Information on the consultation and a link to the website was sent to everyone who has previously signed up to be kept in touch with the Federation’s progress on the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy project.

Schools that agreed to take hard copy consultation documents The following local schools agreed to take copies of the leaflet for distribution to their parents:

 Cathedral Primary School  St Joseph’s Primary School  Charles Dickens Primary School  Charlotte Sharman Primary School  Snowfields Primary School  Friars Primary School

News outlets  Southwark News  London SE1 Community Website (www.london-se1.co.uk)

Appendix B Full list of responses (in order of receipt) Responses were predominantly received from local parents with primary aged children but were also received from other local residents, local community groups (SE1 Parents Group and Mint Street Music Festival) and Southwark LA.

The responses are listed below, by order of receipt and without names of respondents. The response from Southwark LA is shown in Appendix C.

 Siblings and then distance  I feel it should be for local children  I would like to know the catchment areas for the Borough Academy and how this will be weighted. Will there be 11 entrance examinations?  The school would be near Rotherhithe, an area of London conically under-provisioned for secondary schools (the only one in Rotherhithe is currently in special measures and has a ballot system with a wide catchment area, such that when it was going well, local children had little chance at getting into the school on their doorstep).  No that seems in line with the other schools in the area.  I live in SE1 but due to the ridiculous boundaries I am in the borough of Lambeth not Southwark. I think distance to school is a very fair way of allocating places as I actually live closer than say a Southwark resident who lives in Camberwell. My child missed out on a primary school place close to home because of living in North Lambeth despite us being closer to the school! I would therefore oppose any preference to Southwark residents first as people in Waterloo on the Southwark/Lambeth border always lose out in this scenario.  It should be set by distance for the north Southwark area similar to how Charter school and others operate.  "Yes. Living in Bermondsey, it's assumed we will opt for one of the closest schools, none of which have particularly good results. My child has some sensory processing issues and think being in a ""pioneer"" year would benefit him greatly. The school is also much closer to his current school in Waterloo. My concerns are that admission policies regarding distance are balanced with any special needs."  I very much prefer your proposed admissions arrangements to other possibilities. We need a good, secular, non-selective, co-educational secondary school which is specifically for this local community and the simple arrangement of mainly using distance from the school will achieve that.  Like many of the parents in this area that I have spoken to, I believe that one of the principal virtues in having a local secondary school is in improving the academic outcomes of children through having them move fluidly from primary to secondary school in a cohort. There is strong evidence to show this can have a very positive effect on academic results (as it has in other areas of Southwark where this has been the case). This can partly be achieved by having a catchment area policy, but there are many cases in which parents move very slightly outside the catchment area during primary school, or the catchment area shrinks as the school gains in popularity, and children then fail to get into the nearby secondary school with all their friends. It would make more sense to have a feeder school policy, with really local schools such as the four most local being designated. This would also help Haberdashers understand the teaching culture that most of their intake will have come from so as to

enable a smooth transition into KS3 and encourage all these schools to work together over time.  Feeder schools strongly preferred  I think simple distance to the site is an unfair criteria as housing that near to central London is expensive. Perhaps some places could be awarded on more of a lottery basis to residents living in Southwark given that the shortage of decent secondary schools is borough wide.  The policy should be distance from the school. The school should not have feeder schools as this would limit the admissions for people who have stayed in the local area and not make it be a truly local school.  None  "Please offer a wide catchment area or nodes to give more local people a chance of getting a placement Links to feeder schools like Cathedral School and Charles Dickins would be welcome"  I think it should be for local children  Admissions policy sound perfect for local children  "There are three primary schools in the near vicinity and this secondary school should have a feeder system from those three: Cathedral School, Charles Dickens and Friars. Unfortunately for me it is too late and I had to find secondary schools outside the borough for both of my children, but as a parent I feel strongly that the links with the local community that was created and nurtured by these three schools should be continued in a local co-ed secondary school. SE1 is a very special place, although located in the heart of London, where people not living here could not imagine doing anything but work or go out and definitely not bringing up children. We have lived in the area since 2001, brought up my two children (11 16) in a wonderful diverse, culturally and historically rich part of London and have seen the transformation (the good and bad) and it would be lovely that children should have the possibility to continue their secondary education amongst local friends, rather than being forced to move or have a long commute like my children have now."  "Yes we would really like this school to become a feeder school for the children at The Cathedral School se1, along side being a faith school working with Southwark Cathedral and our community. A catchment area put in place to prevent a cross divide between childrens post code wars. Specialized scholarship 10% of intake- Music, Maths, Sports, Arts"  Admissions showed mean from feeder schools local school.  The admissions policy looks fair. There may be some value in listing feeder primary schools as a priority as there are a number of school in the immediate vicinity (Charles Dickens, St Joseph's, Cathedral School, Friary etc) and this would ensure it is truly a community school.  I cannot find a document on the website that outlines what these are so I cannot comment  I would like to know what the catchment area would be. We live on Blackfriars Road and I am concerned this will be to far away?  "In addition to the stated admission criteria, certain local schools could be defined as feeder schools. This is to make sure that the local community and friendships can experience continuity. The local surrounding schools should become feeder schools as part of the admissions criteria. It is vital that all children transfer as a group as we have a very strong local community. For some reason some parents have moved further away, often to cater for secondaries for older siblings and would therefore not be able to get a place for younger siblings at Borough Academy. Loads of local parents disagree with the idea of gender separation. This is a brand new school, so please reconsider this issue. It is absolutely vital for children to learn to function and to behave in the presence of the opposite sex. The #me too

movement should not be necessary in the future! The proposed gender separation would put this school off the list for many local parents."  What is the catchment area likely to be?  I think closest distance to the school is key. I could not get my child into a local primary school so they go outside the borough so I do not agree with any feeder schools as this is unfair. I would however by delighted if my daughter could attend an excellent secondary school within walking distance of our home. As a local resident who has lived in SE1 all of their life, it’s what local people need for their children. I think distance to school, with or without catchment postcodes (SE1, SE11 etc) is fairest and hope this, your usual admission policy, is adopted for Borough.  Suggest it’s done by distance from the school.  There's value in the school being a feeder school - equally, catchment area to allow kids from further afield to come in.  Primary schools in close proximity should be established as feeder schools for Borough Academy with their students given priority in admissions arrangements.  I believe that the admissions process should be a combination of feeder school and proximity. I.e., a very local child that did not attend a local primary school (eg because family recently moved into proximity) should have higher precedence than a very remote child who attends a “feeder” school. But on the other hand, a child who attends a local school should have much higher precedence than a child who lives the same distance, but does not attend a local school.  I think priority should be given to feeder schools rather than places awarded on proximity to the new school. Currently children in the local primary schools ‘graduate’ to a worryingly high number of different secondary schools. This is troubling from a friendship point of view but also there is good evidence that when children progress to secondary school with their existing primary peer groups this has a very positive impact on performance and results for the school (and vice versa if they do not). It seems to me that it is beneficial to all to keep year 6 cohorts together.  I think closest distance to the school is key. I could not get my child into a local primary school so they go outside the borough so I do not agree with any feeder schools as this is unfair. I would however by delighted if my daughter could attend an excellent secondary school within walking distance of our home. As a local resident who has lived in SE1 all of their life, it’s what local people need for their children. I think distance to school, with or without catchment postcodes (SE1, SE11 etc) is fairest and hope this, your usual admission policy, is adopted for Borough.  I hope they will not favour any particular primary school.  THANK YOU for a set of admission criteria which are not based on faith. We all pay taxes, yet somehow schools are allowed to be selective based on criteria which exclude the majority (since only a small minority is actively religious). We do not want to play this hypocritical game and are grateful that, with the Haberdasher's Aske's Academy, it will be possible to have a quality education without compromising one's integrity.  "I think the admissions criteria should also clearly give priority to children who already attend the nearest primary schools, since they are likely to be in most need of a secondary school place and will already make the daily commute into the immediate area. There may be some overlap between this group of families and those in the nearest catchment areas, but equally, there will be some families who live locally but who are excluded by the catchment areas, especially if school places are oversubscribed (which is likely to be the case after

2019). The proposed criteria makes sense but should also factor in parents who are already at local primary schools and who will be looking to move their children up (but also stay in the area). This will help provide a clear progression pathway as an option for those families whose children are already attending local educational primary schools. This will be very welcome since there are currently very limited secondary school options available to local families and so many simply move out of the area when their children get to secondary school age."  I think the school admissions should be location based and non religious.  not sure if the sibling policy is fair. We have seen it many times in the primary setting where families get one child into school and move away from the area knowing their other children will benefit from the policy. While I also understand having 3 children myself that juggling multiple school calendars is a nightmare.  I would like it to be a community school, so for local children. Or maybe include some 'lottery or scholarships if parents are keen.  It will be good for Charles Dickens Primary school pupils (convenient and many will get to stay with friends which will ease the transition).  As educational studies has shown, keeping peer groups together into secondary school has proven educational benefits. The local primaries already have criteria of catchment, can the additional criteria of a ‘feeder’ style admission policy be added alongside your current admissions policy, so school places are offered to children of local schools before being offered to a child who has just moved into the area, and within the catchment. ie. local school above catchment.  I strongly feel that feeder schools should be considered as the admission criteria for the new school. Children in our central London location are drawn from across the borough of Southwark - currently, at Cathedral School, there is no single expected secondary destination for leavers. The benefits of keeping a cohort together are well documented, but from the perspective of ensuring that Years 6 and 7 are productive and purposeful, removing this major element of doubt from the lives of students (and their parents) must be hugely beneficial.  The admission policy should primarily target children already going to local primary schools in the area.  "There are not enough secondary schools in se1 and there are children that are in desperate need for a good local school. Instead of a single zone catchment area which leaves a whole host of children excluded from having a chance at admission because they aren’t lucky enough to live close, the school should link with local primaries as feeder schools, in particular Cathedral School and Charles Dickens. The school should also offer catchment ‘nodes’ placed throughout the borough to give students who live further away an opportunity to have a chance at being admitted to the school."  I think local primary schools, such as Cathedral School of St Savour  I am fine with the admissions policy.  No  It is very straightforward and clear. You could add something just in case child 180 has a twin or an adopted sibling, for example, as I’m sure you would not wish to split the children. Trustees should be able to breach the admission limit in such extraordinary circumstances.  Please clarify the catchment area

Appendix C Response from Southwark Council Dear colleague

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy’s [the “Academy”] consultation 2018. We note that comments/responses were requested via the online form, but feel it is more appropriate for Southwark LA to comment by email – we hope this is ok. For ease of reference we have responded below in the same order as the online form:

DATE OF OPENING Do you think the school should open in 2019 in temporary accommodation? In order to meet anticipated demand for Year 7 places in the borough for September 2019, Southwark LA supports the opening of the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy.

FUNDING AGREEMENT No comment.

ADMISSIONS CONSULTATION Do you have any comments regarding the proposed admissions arrangements for Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy? The Academy Trust may wish to consider the following comments in relation to the Academy’s admission arrangements 2019/20:

1. General We acknowledge that the Academy’s admission arrangements 2019/20 are clear, fair and transparent and do not cause any undue prejudice to the community.

2. Application process We agree and note that Southwark LA will work with the Academy post offer, to manage the withdrawal of duplicate offers and to ensure that the process remains fair.

3. Admission of children outside their normal age group For safeguarding purposes Southwark Council’s school admissions team is co-ordinating the process for requesting admission of children outside of their normal age group. However, the decision as to whether to agree or refuse such requests would still remain with the Academy. You may wish to include that any such requests from Southwark residents must be made using Southwark Council’s request form which is available on the website at www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions . Further information can also be found within the LA’s policy on ‘Admission outside of a child’s normal age group’ which is also available to view online at www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions .

4. Waiting lists Please note that families who are unsuccessful in being offered a place at the Academy will automatically be put on your waiting list if the Academy was named as a higher preference on their application as per Southwark’s co-ordinated admissions scheme. Currently the Academy’s waiting list paragraph states that parents may request for their child’s name to be added to the waiting list following an unsuccessful application – as this is incorrect please amend this sentence.

Please also note that looked after children, previously looked after children and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those on a

waiting list. It would support clarity if this is also stated within the Academy’s admission arrangements.

LINKS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY Please provide your views on how the new school can be an asset for the whole community: Allowing community access to the facilities when the Academy fully opens may be useful in terms of establishing positive, local links.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best regards

Glenn Garcia Head of Education Access 0-25 Children's and Adults' Services Southwark Council

Appendix D – Revised admissions policy

2019/20 admission arrangements Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy

Introductory statement Haberdashers’ Aske’s Borough Academy is a new secondary school opening on Southwark Bridge Road in September 2019. It will be a comprehensive school with 180 places in each year group up to age 16. The first children will be admitted to year 7 in September 2019 and the school will grow by one year group every year thereafter until all the year groups are open. It will have a sixth form with 250 places which will open in September 2024, in order to admit the first children from the school who have completed their GCSEs.

Admission number The school has an admission number of 180 for entry in year 7. The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number for the relevant year group are received, the Academy Trust will offer places at the school to all those who have applied.

Application process The school, for its first year of opening only, will process applications outside the normal local authority process for co-ordinating school offers. This means you will need to complete your LA common application form for your other choices of school in addition to a separate application for this school. Applications for this school should be made using the online application form at http://borough.academy. Alternatively a copy of the form will be available to download and can be sent to sent to BOROUGH ACADEMY ADMISSIONS at the following address C/O HABERDASHERS’ ASKE’S FEDERATION, JERNINGHAM ROAD, SE14 5NY The closing date for applications is 31st October 2018. Offers will be made on 1st March 2019. If we have not entered into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State opening the school by that date, they will be conditional offers and will be confirmed once we have a signed funding agreement. The application form can be obtained from www.haaf.org.uk

Oversubscription criteria When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order: 1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, a child arrangements order, or special guardianship order.

2. Priority will next be given to children based on their exceptional medical or social needs. Each application must include evidence, from a medical specialist or social worker of the child’s need and why they must attend this school rather than any other, based on those needs. If evidence is not submitted to the school with the application, a child’s medical or social needs cannot be considered.

3. Priority will next be given to the siblings of pupils attending the school at the time the application is received. This criterion is only applicable if the older sibling is in years 7-10 and will continue to be on roll when the pupil joins the secondary school.

4. The remaining places will be offered to pupils who live nearest to the secondary school on the basis of straight-line home to Academy distance. Home to Academy distance will be measured to a central point in the Academy’s main site on Southwark Bridge Road in a straight line, using digitised mapping software of the area, from the applicant’s permanent home address. If more than one applicant lives in a multi-occupancy building, such as a block of flats, priority will be given to the applicant whose door number is the lowest numerically and/or alphabetically. Proof of residency will be required if a place is offered.

Tie-break If in categories 2-3 above a tie-break is necessary to determine which child is admitted, the child living closest to the school will be given priority for admission. Distance is measured from the child’s home to a central point in the Academy’s main site on Southwark Bridge Road in a straight line. Random allocation undertaken by the local authority will be used as a tie-break in category 5 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy/free school is equidistant in any two or more cases.’ Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twins and triplets etc.) from the same family tied for the final place. We will admit them all and exceed our PAN.

Late applications All applications received by the school after the deadline will be considered to be late applications. Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants the school is oversubscribed, parents may request that their child is placed on the school’s waiting list.

Admission of children outside their normal age group Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. This process is coordinated by Southwark Council’s school admissions team although the final decision regarding acceptance or refusal of requests lies with the academy trust. When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the head teacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent. To request an admission outside of normal age group parents should complete an application using Southwark Council’s request form which is available on their website at www.southwark.gov.uk/schooladmissions, in addition to applying to the Academy for a place.

Further information can also be found within the council’s policy on ‘Admission outside of a child’s normal age group’ which is also available to view on their website. Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. To do so parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested. When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the head teacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.

Waiting lists The school will operate a waiting list. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the 31st December in the year of admission. This will be maintained by the Academy Trust. As per Southwark Council’s admissions scheme, if the school was listed as a higher preference on their application, children who are unsuccessful in being offered a place at the school will automatically be put on the waiting list.

Looked after children, previously looked after children and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol will be allocated a place as precedence to those on the waiting list. After this, children’s position on the waiting list will be determined in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

The school will operate a waiting list. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the 31st December in the year of admission. This will be maintained by the Academy Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

Appeals All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. Appellants should contact BOROUGH ACADEMY ADMISSIONS, C/O HABERDASHERS’ ASKE’S FEDERATION, JERNINGHAM ROAD, SE14 5NY by Friday 5th April 2019 at 4pmto submit their appeal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process is on our website at www.haaf.org.uk. Any unsuccessful applicants will be provided with information about how to appeal and the appeal deadline in the letter informing them that their application was unsuccessful.

Notes: Home address: The home address is where a child normally lives. Where a child lives with parents with shared parental responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split

equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which residential address should be used for the purpose of admission to school. If no joint declaration is received where the residence is split equally by the closing date for applications, the home address will be taken as the address where the child is registered with the doctor. If the residence is not split equally between both parents then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week. Sibling: Sibling means a natural brother or sister, or a half brother or sister, or a legally adopted brother or sister or half-brother or sister, or step brother or sister who will be living with them at the same address. Pupils will be considered under this criterion if they have a sibling who meets the above definition. Proof of the sibling relationship will be required if a place is offered. Medical and Social Need: ‘Social need’ does not include a parent’s wish that a child attends the school because of a child’s aptitude or ability or because their friends attend the school. ‘Medical need’ does not include mild medical conditions.