Worcestershire County Council Agenda Cabinet Thursday, 30 January 2020, 10.00 am County Hall, Worcester Appendices to Reports Find out more online: www.worcestershire.gov.uk This document can be made available in other formats (large print, audio tape, computer disk and Braille) on request from Democratic Services on telephone number 01905 728713 or by emailing [email protected] Find out more online: www.worcestershire.gov.uk Cabinet Thursday, 30 January 2020, 10.00 am, County Hall, Worcester Membership: Mr S E Geraghty (Chairman), Mr A T Amos, Mr A I Hardman, Mr M J Hart, Mrs L C Hodgson, Ms K J May, Mr A P Miller, Dr K A Pollock, Mr A C Roberts and Mr J H Smith Agenda Item No Subject Page No 7 School Admission Arrangements for Community and Voluntary 197 - 264 Controlled Schools for 2021/22, Co-ordinated Admissions Schemes 2021/22 and Fair Access Protocol for Worcestershire Schools – Appendices 1a-6 8 Responding to Change of Age Range requests from Maintained 265 - 294 Community Schools or Change of Age Range Consultations form other types of Schools – Appendices 1-3 & 5-7 NOTES Webcasting Members of the Cabinet are reminded that meetings of the Cabinet are Webcast on the Internet and will be stored electronically and accessible through the Council's Website. Members of the public are informed that if they attend this meeting their images and speech may be captured by the recording equipment used for the Webcast and may also be stored electronically and accessible through the Council's Website. Agenda produced and published by Simon Mallinson, Head of Legal and Democratic Services, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP To obtain further information or a copy of this agenda contact Nichola Garner, Committee & Appellate Officer on Worcester (01905) 843579 or email: [email protected] All the above reports and supporting information can be accessed via the Council’s website. Date of Issue: Wednesday, 22 January 2020 This page is intentionally left blank Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 Document Details: Status: 0.1 Date: January 2020 Document Location: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20099/school_admissions Contact: Tracey [email protected] Page | 1 www.worcestershire.gov.uk Page 197 Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 Contents Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 ...........1 Contents.....................................................................................................................................2 Admissions Criteria for Community and Voluntary Controlled First/Primary Schools:...............3 Late Applications........................................................................................................................4 Waiting Lists...............................................................................................................................4 Admission of children into Reception.........................................................................................5 Shared Catchment Areas...........................................................................................................5 Fair Access Protocol..................................................................................................................5 ‘In Year’ transfer arrangements .................................................................................................5 The procedure for in-year admissions for Worcestershire residents is as follows;....................5 Admission of Children outside of their normal age group ..........................................................6 Parental Responsibility and what is considered to be the Home Address.................................6 Page | 2 www.worcestershire.gov.uk Page 198 Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 Admissions Criteria for Community and Voluntary Controlled First/Primary Schools: 1. *‘Children Looked after and previously *‘Children Looked after’; 2. **’Children who have previously been in state care outside of England, and have ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted; 3. Siblings (see below for definition) of pupils attending the school and living within the catchment area of the school. In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must already be attending the school at the time of application and still be attending at the time of admission. Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed in schools. To find the catchment school for a postcode visit School Catchment Search In the event of a school catchment area change being approved, pupils who would still have a sibling connection (see below for definition) at the time of admission and who are living at the same address in the previous catchment area for a school, (but not within the revised catchment area), at the time the change was approved will be considered as living within the catchment area. 4. Pupils living within the catchment area of the school. Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed in schools. To find the catchment school for a postcode visit School Catchment Search ; 5. Pupils living outside of the catchment area but who would still have a sibling connection (see below for definition) at school at the time of admission. In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must already be attending the school at the time of application and still be attending at the time of admission; 6. Children of staff at the mainstream school, in either of the following circumstances: a) Where that member of staff has been employed for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission is made, or b) the member of staff is recruited to fill a post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage; 7. Pupils who live nearest to the school by the shortest straight line distance. The measurement will be taken using the GeoCode Points for each property and the GeoCode point for the School. The Local Authority uses a software package called Arcview GIS to determine distance. Ordnance Survey supplies the co-ordinates that are used to plot an address within this system. (In the event of equi-distance applicants, any place will be allocated by random selection (lottery). Someone totally independent of School Admissions will supervise this process). In accordance with legislation, a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan will be offered a place at the school named in the Plan. *’Looked after’ means all those currently in the care of a Local Authority or accommodated by a Local Authority under the terms of the Children Act 1989 and children who were previously in the care of or accommodated by a Local Authority but immediately after being looked after, became subject to an adoption, a child arrangements order or special guardianship order. **’By children previously in state care outside of England’, we mean children who have been looked after outside of England by a public authority, a religious organisation or another provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. The care may have been provided in Page | 3 www.worcestershire.gov.uk Page 199 Community and Controlled Schools First/Primary School Admissions Policy for 2021/22 orphanages or other settings. Independent supporting evidence will be required to be provided with the application. Where there are too many applications from within the catchment area, priority within the catchment area will be decided in the following order, i.e. sibling connection then children of staff then according to distance, each assessed as indicated above. The sibling connection, as well as brother and sister will include half-siblings, adopted children, step-siblings or a child of the parent/carers partner. They must also be living at the same home address. Children who are brought together as a family by a same sex civil partnership and who are living at the same address, are also considered to be siblings. In the event that one or more but not all children from a multiple birth can be allocated a place(s), all of the children from that multiple birth will be admitted even if this takes the school over PAN. These children are exceptions to the Infant Class Size legislation. There are a number of additional limited exceptions to the Infant Class Size legislation, including children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round, children with statements of special educational needs, looked after children, children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a unit attached to the school, where a procedural error has occurred, children admitted following successful appeal and children admitted outside of the normal admissions round where no other place is available. Late Applications The Council has agreed in it’s co-ordinated scheme to accept late applications, for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools within Worcestershire, within the time-frame set out in the scheme, and treat them as being on time, only in the following circumstances; a) where a family have just moved address, (refer to Information for Parents booklet); b) where it is agreed