Leathersellers’ Prendergast School

Federation of Schools

Prendergast Prendergast Ladywell Vale School School

Admissions Policy 2019-20

Prendergast School

Approved by: Governing Board Date: 24/01/2018

Last consulted on: 24/01/2018

Contents

1. Aims...... 2 2. Legislation and Statutory Requirements ...... 2 3. Definitions ...... 2 4. How to apply ...... 3 5. Requests for Admission Outside the Normal Age Group ...... 3 6. Allocation of Places ...... 3 7. In-Year Admissions ...... 4 8. Appeals ...... 5 9. For Information ...... 5 10. Prendergast Sixth Form College ...... 5 11. Monitoring Arrangements ...... 6

1. Aims This policy aims to: Explain how to apply for a place at the school Set out the school’s arrangements for allocating places to the pupils who apply Explain how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place

2. Legislation and Statutory Requirements This policy is based on the following advice from the (DfE):  School Admissions Code  School Admission Appeals Code

3. Definitions The normal admissions round is the period during which parents can apply for state-funded school places at the school’s normal point of entry, using the common application form provided by their home local authority.

Looked after children are children who, at the time of making an application to a school, are: In the care of a local authority, or Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services functions

Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they: Were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or Became subject to a child arrangements order, or Became subject to a special guardianship order A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.

2 4. How to apply This school participates in the pan Admissions Scheme. For applications in the normal admissions round you should use the online application form which can be found at www.eadmissions.org.uk . For those who do not reside in one of the London boroughs or surrounding county councils which participates in the pan London Scheme an application should be made via the home local authority. You can use the online form to express your preference of a maximum of 6 state funded schools, in rank order.

Applicants who wish to be considered for one of the music places available will be required to sit a test to determine their aptitude. On the basis of the test results a shortlist will be established and, if short-listed, applicants will be required to attend an audition. Should they not be successful they will automatically be considered for a place using any other relevant criteria.

Applicants who wish to demonstrate their aptitude for music should complete the relevant section of the Additional Information Form and return it directly to the school if they are applying for a music place. Additional Information Forms for music applications should be returned directly to the school by 26th September 2018.

You will receive the outcome of your application directly from your local authority.

5. Requests for Admission Outside the Normal Age Group Parents are entitled to request a place for their child outside of their normal age group. If you wish to request a place please contact the Clerk to Governors at [email protected]. Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:  Parents’ views  Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development  Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional  Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group  Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely  The Headteacher’s views One admission authority cannot be required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group. Parents are advised therefore that the governors of the Leathersellers’ Federation of schools will consider each application on its own merits without reference to the outcome relating to a request made to any other admissions authority. Wherever possible, requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group will be processed as part of the main admissions round. They will be considered on the basis of the admission arrangements laid out in this policy, including the oversubscription criteria listed in section 6. Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be admitted outside the normal age group. Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.

6. Allocation of Places 6.1 Admission Number In September 2019 the Governors will admit 120 girls to Year 7 of Prendergast School.

6.2 Oversubscription Criteria All children whose statement of special educational needs (SEN) or education, health and care (EHC) plan names the school will be admitted before any other places are allocated. If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place.

3 In the event that the school receives more applications than the number of places at the normal point of entry (year 7), the Governors will apply the criteria listed below in priority order to determine which applicants qualify for a place:

1. Girls in Public Care as defined by Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989. This includes children who are in care to a local authority in or Wales or who are provided with accommodation by that authority as well as children who were in care, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order.)

2. 10% of the intake will be selected on the basis of aptitude for music as judged by their test result and audition.

3. Those with an exceptional social or medical need. There is discretion to admit children on the grounds of their or their family’s acute medical or social need for the school and who would not otherwise qualify for admission. Parents should check that they have submitted supporting evidence (such as a letter from a hospital consultant, social worker or similar professional) of their child’s social or medical need before the closing date for applications in order that an application may be considered properly. The admission decision will be considered by the Governors’ Admissions Committee on the evidence available at the time.

4. A child whose sibling1 is on roll of the school in years 7-11 on the closing date for applications and is expected to be on roll at the intended date of admission..

5. Children of staff at any Federation School where on the closing date for applications the member of staff has been employed by the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools for two or more years in a role that is at least 0.6 full time equivalent.

6. Those who are permanently living nearest to the school. All distances will be calculated by the local authority using digital mapping software as a straight line distance to a central nodal point in the school premises (North Door Park Site) from a nodal point in the applicant’s permanent home address. The child’s home address will be considered to be where she normally and habitually resides and with a parent with parental responsibility. The applicant’s home local authority will be expected to verify a child’s permanent home address in accordance with its published pan London coordinate admissions scheme.

6.3 Tie Break

Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any one of the sub-categories listed above will lead to over- subscription, the places up to the admission number will be offered to those living nearest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the nodal point in the child’s home address to the central nodal point in the school premises (North Door Park Site). The child’s home address will be considered to be where he/she is resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week.

Where the distance between 2 children’s homes and the school is the same, random allocation will be used to decide between them. This process will be independently verified.

Note

 Where twins, triplets or children from other multiple births qualify for the last school place to be allocated the school will admit all of the qualifying siblings in excess of the published admissions limit and they will be considered as ‘excepted pupils’.

 Waiting lists will be held in the same order as the admission criteria.

7. In-Year Admissions You can apply for a place for your child at any time outside the normal admissions round. As is the case in the normal admissions round, all children whose statement of SEN or EHC plan names the school will be admitted.

1 Siblings include all blood siblings, half-siblings, foster siblings of Looked After Children and step siblings. All siblings must live permanently at the same address as the qualifying sibling on roll. Proof of the sibling relationship may be required.

4 Likewise, if there are spaces available in the year group you are applying for, your child will always be offered a place. If there are no spaces available at the time of your application, your child’s name will be added to a waiting list for the relevant year group. When a space becomes available it will be filled by one of the pupils on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed in section 6.2 of this policy. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest. Applications for in-year admissions should be sent to the following address: [email protected] and also sent to the local authority following the procedure at this webpage: https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/education/schools/school-admission/Pages/transferring-to-a-different- school.aspx

8. Appeals If your child’s application for a place at the school is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about the process for submitting an appeal. Under the Schools Standard and Framework Act the Governing Board of the school has to make appeal arrangements for parents who wish to appeal against their child not receiving an offer of admission to the school. Parents may appeal against the Governor’s decision. If you wish to appeal, you must set out the grounds for your appeal in writing and send it to the following address: [email protected] Appeal forms are available on request from the school office. You can find details of the school’s appeals timetable on the admissions page of the school website. This information is updated from February 28th each year.

9. For Information Parents and children who intend applying for a place are invited to attend at least one of the Open Day sessions held in September/October. A tour of the school will be available, together with the opportunity to meet the teaching staff, and there will be an address by the Headteacher in the school hall. It is on these occasions that the school’s prospectus and current examination results will be available.

10. Prendergast Sixth Form College The admission number for Prendergast Sixth Form College in September 2019 will be 280 students.

The Sixth Form College at Prendergast School provides co-education for students aged 16 to 19. The continuity of this provision has been given extra emphasis by the 2003 White Paper “14-19 Opportunity and Excellence”. Some provision may be shared with other institutions on a reciprocal basis. Prendergast Sixth Form College education is provided primarily for pupils transferring at Year 11 from the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools. However with an exceptionally wide post 16 curriculum, not all subject groups are fully subscribed in any particular year and places not taken up by students from Federation schools will be open to external applicants.

Students for Level 3 courses of study, which includes A Levels and BTEC provision, should have five GCSE passes at Grade 5, including in English and Mathematics. Additionally, individual subjects may request specific grades in specific qualifications to enable them to study a particular course. Applications to Prendergast Sixth Form College should be made using the online application form at this webpage: http://www.prendergast-school.com/210/sixth-form-admissions

In the event that Prendergast Sixth Form College receives applications from more external applicants than than the number of places it has available the following over-subscription criteria will be applied in order of priority:

1. Children in Public Care as defined by Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989. This includes children who are in care to a local authority in England or Wales or who are provided with accommodation by that authority as well as children who were in care, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order.)

2. Home to School Distance. All distances will be measured to a central nodal point in the school premises (North Door Park Site), using digitised mapping software of the area, from a nodal point in the applicant’s permanent home address. The child’s home address will be considered to be where he/she

5 is resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week.

Any objection to these arrangements must be lodged by 15th May 2018 with:

The Office of the Schools Adjudicator Mowden Hall Staindrop Road Darlington DL3 9BG

Telephone 0870 0012468 www.schoolsadjudicator.gov.uk

11. Monitoring Arrangements This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Governing Board Admissions Committee every year. Whenever changes to admission arrangements are proposed (except where the change is an increase to the agreed admission number), the governing board will publicly consult on these changes.

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