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STATUTORY CONSULTATION ON VARIATION OF ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2017 INTAKE In addition to making changes which are a mandatory requirement of the School Admissions Code 2014 (for example, to make them clearer for parents, and to include statutory information required under the School Admissions Code 2014), the School proposes to make the following substantive changes: Proposal 1: Proposed reduction in Published Admission Number (“PAN”) Proposal 2: Proposed changes to Oversubscription Criteria Timeframe for Consultation 9th December 2015: Opening date of the consultation period 31st January 2016: Closing date of the consultation period 28th February 2016: Formal determination of admission arrangements by the Governing Body 15th March 2016: Deadline for providing determined admission arrangements to London Borough of Hillingdon 15th May 2016: Deadline for objections about the admission arrangements to be submitted to the Schools Adjudicator 8th August 2016: Deadline for providing all necessary information to London Borough of Hillingdon for inclusion in their prospectus 1st September 2017: Effective date of admission arrangements What Happens Next - How to Respond Harlington School is inviting views on its proposed admission arrangements for the 2017 intake and, in particular, the two changes outlined above. Please send any comments you have (preferably by email) to: Sandra Scott (Clerk to Governors) Harlington School Pinkwell Lane Hayes Middlesex UB3 1PB Email: [email protected] Please note that the deadline for comments to be submitted is Midday, 31st January 2016 The following pages explain the proposed changes in further detail and the reasons for them. 1 Harlington School Proposed Changes in Admission Arrangements – Consultation Document Change 1 - REDUCTION IN PUBLISHED ADMISSION NUMBERS Introduction & Proposal Harlington School is a Foundation School sited in the southern part of London Borough of Hillingdon. It currently has a Published Admissions Number (“PAN”) of 224 for Year 7, and this is the number of students in each year group. Harlington School has a net capacity calculation which confirms that the net capacity for each year group is, in fact, 197. The School is therefore seeking to reduce its PAN for Year 7 from 224 to 195 from September 2017 onwards in accordance with this net capacity figure (it should be noted that the 7 places available in the Specialist Resource Provision are in addition to the PAN). In addition, the School is proposing to reduce its PAN for external applicants in Year 12 (sixth form) from 100 to 20. Although this may appear to be a vast reduction in the number of young people admitted to Year 12, in reality the numbers will largely remain the same, as the School will exercise its discretion to admit over the PAN once the number of students transferring from Year 11 is known. Reason for Proposal In recent years, the School’s net capacity has not been tested, due to falling student numbers. However, with a recent ‘Good’ judgement from OfSTED and increasing numbers of in-year admissions, the School is now approaching capacity. If the School was to admit its current PAN of 224 in every year group, the School would exceed its net capacity limit; this would prejudice the efficient and safe provision of education for students on the School’s site. It should be noted that the School does not have the space to construct additional buildings on its site to accommodate more students. Resources such as the dining area, toilets and the playground provision are already operationally constrained, which has resulted in split time timetabling/provision being necessary. The School is sited adjacent to Pinkwell Primary School, a very large primary school, and the local infrastructure cannot accommodate a further increase of students without creating additional congestion and potential health and safety risks in Pinkwell Lane and the Pinkwell Ward area. The School is in the top quintile nationally for deprivation, pupil mobility, pupil premium and students whose first language is not English. Such a cohort requires significantly smaller class sizes than those required nationally, in order to give students the opportunity to reach and exceed the national standards. The School currently has a validated Value Added Score of 1034.4 (RAISEOnline 2014) and was placed in the top 10% of schools nationally for pupil progress (SSAT 2014). The School believes that the model of education currently employed enables students from a disadvantaged background to thrive. The School must ensure that, as student numbers increase, standards do not reduce as a direct result of that increase, in the absence of additional physical resources to support the curriculum model that the School delivers to good effect. The School’s ethos is that of a family – orientated 2 Harlington School Proposed Changes in Admission Arrangements – Consultation Document environment, creating effective opportunities and learning experiences for every child to thrive and progress. Published data about the School supports its rationale, educational model and successful impact for the school community. The School is mindful of the fact that the London Borough of Hillingdon is experiencing unprecedented numbers of students requiring school places and is required to find a significant number of places for secondary aged students from 2017 onwards. However, in Hillingdon last year two schools within a three mile radius of Harlington were undersubscribed; these were Rosedale College and Hewens College. Two further schools within a reasonable commuting distance – Uxbridge High School and Abbotsfield School for Boys, were also undersubscribed. (Starting Secondary School 2016 doc, London Borough Hillingdon). In addition, two studio schools within a two mile radius (Parkside and De Salis) have opened in recent years, and Global Academy UTC, which is located within a mile from Harlington School, is due to open in September 2016. Abbotsfield School for Boys, which will be a co-educational school when it is rebuilt, will have a substantially higher published admission number than previously, and it has recently been announced that a new secondary school is planned which will be located within the West Drayton area (http://gatesacademy.org/ ). This will place additional pressure on Harlington School, particularly in Year 10, and have the potential to destabilise the School’s roll. The School wishes to reduce the mobility of its student population and believe that reducing its PAN will help us to achieve this aim. Although the School’s original intention was to reduce its PAN to 180, the School is now proposing a reduction in PAN of 195, to mitigate the impact on the London Borough of Hillingdon in its School Place Planning. In relation to the reduction in the PAN for Year 12 from 100 to 20, the School recently sought legal advice in relation to its admissions and were advised to reduce this number due to the uncertainty which inevitably surrounds available places in Year 12 due to the fact that it cannot be known at the time that the admission arrangements are formally determined for an academic year how many Year 11 students will transfer to Year 12. It is clearly very important that any student already on the roll in Year 11 who wants to transfer to Year 12 and achieve the academic entry requirements, is able to do so. The School has a finite amount of capacity for sixth form students and, if the PAN for Year 12 was to remain at 100, the School would be legally required to admit up to this number even where the uptake from Year 11 is exceptionally high in a particular academic year. In reality, despite the reduction in the PAN for the admission of external students to Year 12, the School will continue to admit as many external applicants who achieve the academic entry requirements as it can, over and above the PAN, once the uptake from Year 11 is known. 3 Harlington School Proposed Changes in Admission Arrangements – Consultation Document PROPOSAL 2: PROPOSED CHANGES TO OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA Introduction & Proposal The School’s current oversubscription criteria gives priority to: 1. Looked after and previously looked after children; 2. Children with siblings at the School; 3. All other children. The School proposes to change its oversubscription criteria to: 1. Looked after and previously looked after children; 2. Children of members of the School’s staff; 2. Children with siblings at the School; 3. All other children. In addition, the definition of a “sibling” will be varied to make it clearer which children are included within the definition, to include children from previous relationships who are being brought up as siblings in the same core family unit with one parent each who are cohabiting but not married to each other, and to make it clearer that the children of extended family members are excluded even where they live in the same house as the applicant child. Reasons for the Proposal It is proposed to give the children of members of the School’s staff priority within the admission arrangements to assist the School in recruiting and retaining staff, as well as supporting members of staff by making it easier for them to balance their home/work lives when making practical arrangements for their children to attend School. This is a priority commonly found in admission arrangements, and is permitted under the School Admissions Code 2014. It is proposed to include children from previous relationships who are being brought up by their respective cohabiting but unmarried parents as siblings in a core family unit so that they are given the same priority as similar core family units where their respective parents have chosen to marry. The School is of the view that these core family units should not suffer disadvantage simply because they have chosen not to marry. The children of extended family members (for example, cousins) living in the same house have always been excluded from the definition, and the changes made to the wording simply make this clearer for parents to understand.

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