Guide for Parents Applying for a school place for September 2018 City of York Council | School Services West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA 01904 551 554 | [email protected] www.york.gov.uk/schools | @School_Services Dear Parent/Carer, and those with siblings already at a school, inevitably there are times when Every year the Local Authority provides parental preferences do not equate to places in schools for children in the City the number of available local places. of York. This guide has been put together to explain how we can help you through Please take the time to read this guide the school admissions process and to let carefully and in particular, take note of you know what we do when you apply the key information and the for a school place for your child and what oversubscription criteria for the schools we ask you to do. that you are interested in. It contains details of admissions policies and Deciding on your preferred schools for procedures and the rules that admissions your child is one of the most important authorities must follow. Reading this decisions that you will make as a guide before making an application may parent/carer. This guide contains some prevent misunderstanding later. If after information about our schools and our considering the information available services. We recommend that you visit here you need more information, please schools on open evenings or make an contact the School Services team who will appointment at a school prior to making be happy to assist you further. an application. I hope you find the information in this As the numbers of children in York is guide useful. higher than in many previous years, we are working hard to ensure the Jon Stonehouse availability of places meets local need. Director of Children, Education and However, we can not guarantee a place Communities simply by living in the catchment area or already having a sibling in the school. Although we do prioritise applications from children living in the catchment area the key information you need to know before making an a application including how we use your preferences, and 1 information on catchment areas, siblings, and your home address how to apply for a place including key dates and open evenings b as well as information on in-year applications for a school place 11 admissions policies detail how places are allocated where there c are more applications than places available, and schools’ 26 oversubscription criteria answers to the most frequently asked questions such as ‘How d many places are available?’ and ‘Do you have waiting lists for 65 schools?’ admissions data and information including school contacts, e published admission numbers, and data on how places were 78 allocated in previous years information on other support and services such as appeals, free f school meals, home to school transport, early years and special 100 educational needs a map showing the location of all York schools 114 key information This guide has been put together to explain how we can help you through the Contact School Services school admissions process and lets you call 01904 551 554 know what we do when you apply for a email [email protected] school place for your child and what we tweet @School_Services ask you to do. West Offices, Station Rise, visit York YO1 6GA This first section contains some key online www.york.gov.uk/schoolservices information that we recommend all applicants consider prior to making an application. Reading and understanding Most of the information below is relevant the basics in this section will often avoid to all applications, whether starting disappointment later. primary or infant school for the first time, transferring to junior or secondary Later in this guide you will find similar key school, or making an in-year application points alongside this icon: . to change school, for example when If you would like more information on moving into or across the York area. anything raised here please contact us If the information below is specific to a prior to making an application - we are certain type of application, it will be happy to help. clearly marked below. Parental Responsibility You can only submit an application for a school place if you have parental responsibility. If you share parental responsibility, you must be in agreement with others that also have parental responsibility about the preferences and We do not share the rank of your information submitted. Please ensure all preferences with schools so they will not parents have discussed and agreed know, either before or after places have preferences before making an been allocated, who listed them as a first, application. second, third, fourth or fifth preference. If we receive conflicting instructions for When we come to allocate places, if we the same child we will not process the could allocate you more than one of your application any further at that point until preferences, the school allocated will be we are provided with further evidence as the school that you ranked highest. Any to which parent’s wishes should be lower preferences we could have offered accepted, for example a family court will be released and offered to other order. If a school has been allocated, the applicants. process for your child may be frozen. Please note we will not come back to you to ask for further preferences, or to check the order of your preferences after you Your have submitted them. Preferences When you apply you can express up to For example, if School A has 30 places five preferences, and rank them in the and 55 preferences (first, second, third, order you prefer. We strongly fourth and fifth), all preferences for recommend that you use all five School A will be ordered on a list from 1 preferences and that you name your to 55 according to School A’s catchment school as one of these oversubscription criteria. preferences. Should you not express a First, those in positions 1-30 on this list preference for your catchment school, a are allocated places and those from 31- place will not be held there in reserve for 55 placed on a waiting list. your child. This process is then repeated for Schools We operate an equal preference system, B, C and D. Some of those previously which means that if you submit allocated School A have now been preferences for five schools, we consider allocated places at School B as they each of these preferences separately on named School B as a higher preference. it’s own merits according to the Some of those on the waiting list for oversubscription criteria for that school. School A have been been allocated Schools C and D and so are removed your home address. It may not be your from the waiting list. catchment school if that school has filled up with preferences. School A now only has 23 places allocated, with 7 spaces. The waiting list For example, if you submitted a first and has also fallen from 25 to just 11. Those only preference for School E, but you live in positions 1-7 on this new shorter in the catchment area of School F, you waiting list are allocated School A with may not be allocated a place at either those in positions 8-11 placed on a new school if there are more applications than waiting list for School A. places available at both schools. You could be allocated School G which is Once this process has been repeated some distance from your address. several times for all schools, allocations have been finalised. It is then that we We advise that you consider your confirm allocations in writing to preferences very carefully and rank all applicants, on National Offer Day. For in- considered schools in your preferred year applications the process is similar order. Failure to name sufficient although the numbers of places available preferences in the hope of being is vastly reduced. allocated your first and only preference often leads to disappointment. Expressing less than five preferences, or putting a school as your first and only preference does not give you a higher priority in being Change of allocated a place at your preferred school. Preference If you decide after submitting your application that you would like to change If following this process we are unable to the order of your preferences please offer your child a place at any of your contact us. If we can we will take these preferred schools, your child will be into account before allocations are made. allocated a school that was not of your Preferences for schools that are preference. This will usually be a place at voluntary aided, academies, or outside the nearest alternative school with places the York area, we may not be able to available, though if this school in turn accept changes after the closing date for becomes full through allocating children applications. in a similar position, the final school allocated may be some distance from We cannot accept any changes for a CE Academy do not have catchment primary or junior application after 15 areas. Details of all catchment areas are March or a secondary application after 31 contained in the Guide to School January. Catchment Areas. Any changes received after we are able When you express a preference for a to process changes will be put aside and school that is not your catchment school, actioned after National Offer Day. your preference is considered under a lower priority than those who live in the catchment area (see Section C of this Catchment guide for more information on how Areas preferences are prioritised).