Shiplake Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School Admissions arrangements for September 2012-August 2013
Shiplake School serves a catchment area agreed with the Local Authority and including the civil parishes of Shiplake, Binfield Heath, Eye and Dunsden and Harpsden, including Mays Green and Crowsley. (A map is available in the school office).
Information regarding Home to School transport can be found in the booklet entitled Starting School in September 2011.
The Governing Body of the school, not Oxfordshire Local Authority (the LA), is responsible for deciding admissions to the school. The school’s admissions arrangements comply with all relevant legislation, including that on infant class sizes and equal opportunities. Details of the LA arrangements are in the Oxfordshire booklet, available from Oxfordshire County Council (01865 815175). This also explains how parents can express a preference for a school and give reasons for that preference. Applications for entry to Shiplake C.E. School in September 2012 must be made using the Common Application Primary Form (CAPF) found in the “Starting School” brochure from OCC. All applications must be accompanied by evidence that you live at the address given on the CAPF, for example, a recent utilities or Council Tax bill. Should you wish your application to be considered under criteria v or vi you will, in addition, need to complete a Supplementary Information Form available from the school office. The Supplementary Information Form is required for applicants under criteria v or vi only. All applications must be received at the school by 16 January 2012. Decisions on which children are to be offered a place will be made by the Admissions Committee of the Governing Body. Offers of a place will be sent by the LA via second class post on 20 April 2012. Applications received after the deadline for receipt will only be considered after all those received by the deadline. This means that, if no places are left after considering all the applications received by the deadline, even if you fulfill a higher criterion than that under which offers have been made to other applicants, you will be unsuccessful.
At Shiplake C.E. School, pupils are admitted at the beginning of the academic year in which they reach their fifth birthday, without reference to ability or aptitude. An academic year consists of 6 Terms. The school's policy is to admit children to their National Curriculum year group, except in very exceptional circumstances. Children born between 1st September and 31st March inclusive join the Reception class at the start of the academic year in which they are five, on a full-time basis. Children born between 1st April and 31st August inclusive join the Reception class at the start of the academic year in which they are five, on a morning only basis for Terms 1 and 2 only, and then full time thereafter.
Parents may request that a child’s entry is deferred to later in the school year 2012/2013, where the child is not of compulsory school age (the term after the child’s fifth birthday). Under such circumstances, the school will hold the place for that child although, in the majority of cases, the school believes that children benefit from starting at the beginning of the school year rather than part way through it. However, if by deferment the child does not start school until the subsequent academic year (2013/2014), a place cannot be held and you will be required to reapply for admission to the Year One class for September 2013 after 11 June 2012.
In the academic year beginning in September 2012 the number of places in the Reception Year is 28. This number is set having regard to the net capacity of the school as defined by the LA.
Children with statements of special educational needs naming Shiplake C.E. School will always be admitted and will be offered the first places.
In the event of there being a greater demand for admission than there are places available, the Admissions Panel will rank applications using the information provided in the Supplementary Information Form, if included, which must be sent directly to the school by the closing date for applications. The following criteria will be applied in the order set out below:
i. Looked-after children.
ii Children with a normal home address (see Note 2) within the agreed catchment area, and with a sibling (see Note 3) already in attendance at Shiplake C.E. School at the time of entry to the school (September 2011).
iii Children with a normal home address (see Note 2) within the agreed catchment area at the time of entry to the school (September 2012).
iv Children with a normal home address (see Note 2) outside the agreed catchment area and with a sibling (see Note 3) already in attendance at Shiplake C.E School at the time of entry to the school (September 2012).
v Children at least one of whose parents is a regular worshipper (at least once per month on average for the twelve months prior to receipt of the application) in the Parish of Shiplake with Dunsden, at Shiplake Church, Dunsden Church or St Margaret’s Church, Harpsden cum Bolney (see Note 4).
vi Children at least one of whose parents is a regular worshipper (at least once per month on average for the twelve months prior to receipt of the application) at any church that is a member of Churches Together in Britain (see Note 4).
vii Children with exceptional medical needs, supported by written evidence, normally given by an independent medical officer or other appropriate person (see Note 5).
viii Children with exceptional social needs, supported by written evidence, normally given by a social worker, Education Welfare Officer or other appropriate person (see note 5)
ix Proximity of the child’s home to the school, as measured by the nearest designated public route as defined using the Directorate for Learning and Culture Geographic Information System, with those living nearer being accorded the higher priority.
Proximity of the child’s home to the school, as explained at ix above, will also serve to differentiate between pupils in criteria i to ix should the need arise. In the event of a case where the measurement of the distance produces an identical measurement for two or more applicants, and they are not twins living at the same address and where there are insufficient places for all these children, the governors will offer places using random allocation as a tie-break. This will be by supervised drawing of lots, carried out by at least two members of Children and Young Person Services.
Where fewer places can be offered at the school applied for than there are children from multiple births living at a single address, the Governors will use random allocation to determine who will be offered a place. This will be by supervised drawing of lots, carried out by at least two members of Children and Young Person Services.
For entry to the Reception year in 2011, the school received 50 applications. 28 offers were made. The criteria applicable to the applications were as follows:
SEN 0 i 1 (now criteria ii as above) ii 18 (now criteria iii as above) iii 11 (now criteria iv as above) iv 0 v 0 vi 0 vii 0 viii 0 ix 20
The School Admissions Code 2008 requires the adoption of strategies that allow all schools to admit a more even share of children with difficulties. Such children will be offered a place as soon as possible, even if the school is full, or will be given top priority on the register of interest. In accordance with this guidance one additional place in each year group may be made available to children in groups judged to be at significant risk of underachievement. These groups are:
Children permanently excluded from another school or at significant risk of permanent exclusion Traveller Children Child refugees/asylum seekers Children released from a custodial sentence and who are not on the roll of any other school
All Other Admissions Admission to other years at the school, or to the Reception Year, once offers of places have been made and accepted, depends on whether or not there are places available. All year groups at the school have 28 places. Information on the availability of places and application forms can be obtained from the Admissions Secretary at the school.
Oxfordshire County Council will be administering the in-year application process on behalf of the Governors of Shiplake CE School. Applications for admissions should be on the LA Common Admissions Preference Form (CAPF) which is available from the school and also online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. The completed form should be returned to the school. If there is a vacancy, and there is no child on the relevant Register of Interest with a higher priority (according to the over- subscription criteria i - ix above), a place will be offered. If a place is unavailable the LA will offer alternative options, including the right to appeal the decision.
Please note that the only way that a place can be offered once the admission number is reached for any year group, except under the Fair Access Protocol, is by appealing to an independent panel.
In-year admissions or admissions at the beginning of school years other than Reception will only be considered by the Governing Body two terms in advance of the desired date for entry. For example for entry in September, i.e Term 1, the application will not be considered until after the start of Term 5 of the previous academic year. For entry in January i.e. Term 3, the application will not be considered until after the start of Term 1. For entry in April, i.e. Term 5, the application will not be considered until after the start of Term 3.
Register of Interest The school maintains a Register of Interest for those children who are not offered a place; the order of priority on the Register is the same as the list of criteria for over-subscription, and does not depend on the date on which an application is received. No account is taken of length of time on a Register of Interest. The school periodically seeks confirmation that parents wish a child to be kept on the Register.
Note 1: By "Parent" we mean any person who has parental responsibility for or is the legal guardian of the child.
If you are in any doubt, please contact the school for advice.
Note 2: by normal home address we mean your child’s home address. This is your child’s permanent address at the time you make your application for a place. It is where you and your child live. We regard a child’s home address to be where he or she spends the majority of the school week, (Monday to Friday, including nights). We may ask to see official documentation, such as a child benefit book or medical card if there are reasons why a child does not live at his or her parent’s address. For example, if he or she is resident with a grandparent, you need to tell us this on the application form. If you do not declare any arrangements like this or use a relative’s address for your application, we may consider that you have made a false declaration and withdraw the offer of a place. Childcare arrangements are not sufficient reason for listing another address. The school requires each applicant to provide evidence that they live at the home address given. This could be, for example, a Council Tax bill, utility bill, a TV licence, buildings and contents insurance, mortgage statement or rent book which shows the address concerned. Parents who are unable to provide this evidence should contact the school to discuss what evidence might be acceptable. The school reserves the right to check the validity of any address given This evidence will be required for every applicant and should be submitted with your CAPF. If you are not sure whether or not you live in the agreed catchment area for Shiplake C.E, School you can ask the school to check this for you and you will receive a written response. If you are moving into the catchment area, we will ask for evidence of your move before considering any application for a place.
Move on or before 17 February 2012 For the first round of allocation of places, the evidence must be provided no later than 17 February 2012. We will require confirmation that a house purchase is legally binding and that the child will be living in that new home on 20 April 2012, or that there is a formal lease agreement in place proving residence at the address on 17 February 2012, and on 1 September 2012.
We would not accept an address where the address given is that of a second home with the main home being elsewhere. If there are two or more homes, we will check which is the main home, and may refuse to base an allocation of a place on an address which might be considered only temporary. Nor would we accept an address where the child was resident other than with a parent or carer unless this was part of a fostering or formal care arrangement. We would not normally accept an address where only part of a family had moved, unless connected with a divorce or permanent separation arrangement, in which case we would require proof.
Move after 17 February 2012 Applications will be considered in the second or later allocation rounds. Any place offered will depend on clear proof that the child and family are living at the address at the time the application is processed, or that they will be by 1 September 2012. Relevant evidence will be as described above for moves on or before 17 February 2012. We will also ask for evidence that the previous house has been sold or is being sold.
Note 3: by sibling we mean a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.
Note 4: all applications within this category must be accompanied by Supplementary Information Form, duly completed.
Note 5: the Governing Body reserves the right to seek further information on the exceptional medical or social needs from appropriate professionals. Additionally, evidence as to why the school is the most suitable and the difficulties that would be caused by travelling to another school will be required. Any such information or evidence received will only be used to support the application.
There are established arrangements for appeals against non-admission. Details are available from the school. It should be noted that, in the event of an unsuccessful appeal against non-admission, or if you choose not to exercise your right of appeal at the time, the school will not consider any further application in the same school year (1 September - 31 August) unless there has been a material change in your circumstances. The school maintains a list of names on file for those children who are not offered a place; the order of priority on this list is determined by the criteria for over-subscription detailed above. No account is taken of the length of time a child’s name has been kept on file. The school periodically seeks confirmation that parents wish a child’s name to be kept on file.
For further information, please contact the Admissions Secretary at the school. Contact details are as follows:
Address The Admissions Secretary Shiplake C.E. School Memorial Avenue Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire RG9 4DN
Telephone 0118 940 2024 e-mail: [email protected]
OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Headteacher: SHIPLAKE CE SCHOOL Miss Katherine Page Memorial Avenue Shiplake Henley on Thames Chair of Governors: Oxon Miss Rachel Head RG9 4DN
Telephone/fax: 0118 940 2024 e-mail: [email protected]
Supplementary Information Form
This form must be completed for all applications for admission under criteria v and vi.
Name of child………………………………………………. Date of birth ………………………….……….
Have you been, for the last twelve months, a regular worshipper (at least once per month on average) at any church either in the Parish of Shiplake and Dunsden of St Margaret’s Church, Harpsden cum Bolney or at any church that is a member of Churches Together in Britain? (see note 4 of the attached Admissions Policy)
YES/NO
If YES, please give details of the church, your attendance and the name and address of the priest or minister who can confirm your church commitment.
If this form is signed by one parent it is assumed that all those with parental responsibility consent to this application
Name of parent/guardian……………………………………………………………………………………..…
Signed ………………………………………………………………………………….. Date ………………..
For office use:
Date form received: Acknowledged: