Your Child Is About to Make the Important Transfer from Primary To
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Southend-on-Sea Borough Council Children & Learning Secondary School Admissions 2009/10 September 2008 You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions This booklet gives information for parents who live in Southend whose children were born between 1st September 1997 and 31st August 1998 and are due to transfer to a secondary school in September 2009. Information is also included about applying online for a secondary school place. If you have any difficulty understanding this information in English or would like any part of this document, or the application form, translated please contact the Borough Council Customer Contact Centre on 01702-215000. Punjabi Bengali Hindi Urdu Gujerati Polish Cantonese You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions Contents Page number Applying for school places on-line Foreword by the Director of Children & Learning Introduction and contact arrangements Admissions legislation Co-ordinated admissions scheme Schools Transition Support Officer Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Different types of secondary schools in the Borough Information meetings for parents & checking of Single Application Forms Important dates in the transfer process School open evenings and open days Statistical information about secondary schools in the Borough Secondary school catchment area map Frequently asked questions about secondary school admissions Completion of the Single Application Form Information about individual schools Applying for a school place outside the normal round of admissions Schools in Essex or elsewhere Contact points within Southend Council Glossary of abbreviations and terms You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions Applying for school places on-line It is hoped that as many parents as possible will apply on-line for secondary school places for September 2009. For the September 2008 round of admissions over 50% of parents applied on line and found it easier and quicker to complete the Single Application Form electronically using the on-line facility. The website address is www.southend.gov.uk/admissions The advantages of applying on-line are: the system is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week from Monday 8th September 2008 until midnight on the closing date of Monday 3rd November 2008; links to school websites so you can find more information about the school before deciding on your preferences. you will get an e-mail confirmation that your application has been received; we will let you know by e-mail at which school your child has been offered a place during the late afternoon of 2nd March 2009, in advance of when you are notified by post; you can accept the offer of a school place on-line. Where can I access the website to apply on line? It is possible to access the website from anywhere with internet access. Free internet access is available at any Library in the Borough and at the Borough Council Contact Centre on the ground floor of the Civic Centre. You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions Your child is about to make the important transfer from primary to secondary school and we hope that this will be a genuine opportunity for you to make decisions that will be in your child’s best interest. We obviously all want children to be happy throughout their secondary school life in Southend and hope that you will include your child in your discussions and decision making. Each secondary school produces a prospectus which includes details of the school’s admission criteria and holds open evenings and open days where you can view the facilities and talk to members of the school staff. Detailed information about each school in Southend and details of the arrangements for visiting schools in the Borough are shown later in this booklet. Southend Borough Council is keen to ensure that the transfer of pupils from primary to secondary schools will be as straightforward as possible. To ensure this smooth transition we are working closely with local headteachers, the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex and Essex County Council. In addition it has been agreed with Essex County Council that there will be a fully co-ordinated admissions scheme between the two authorities which will enable all Southend residents to apply for schools in both Southend and Essex on one application form (the Single Application Form). Furthermore you will be able to identify in priority order up to 5 secondary schools that you would wish your child to attend and every effort will be made to meet your highest preference. As shown on the previous page of this booklet we are recommending that parents apply on- line for a secondary school place. Over 50% of parents used the on-line facility very successfully during the 2008 round of admissions. The Pupil Access team within the Department of Children & Learning will be pleased to answer any questions you may have regarding catchment areas, completion of the Single Application Form, the allocation of places and the appeals process. Details of all of the relevant contact points and telephone numbers are shown later in this booklet. Finally if you feel there is any way that we can improve our service to support parents / carers and the community, please let us know by writing to: Pupil Access Team Southend on Sea Borough Council Department of Children & Learning 5th Floor, Civic Centre Victoria Avenue Southend on Sea SS2 6ER Paul Greenhalgh Director of Children & Learning You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions Introduction: The information in this booklet details the transfer process between primary and secondary and is relevant to your child’s first year in secondary education, but we hope that it will also be a valuable source of reference in future years (although we obviously cannot guarantee that the information will remain unchanged) Starting secondary school is a major event for all children and we hope that this booklet will answer most of your questions. If, however, there is anything further you need to know or if you are unsure what to do at any stage please contact us: Telephone: 01702-215000 Borough Council Contact Centre 01702-215914 Pupil Access Team 01702-215942 Pupil Access Team Fax: 01702 – 432273 E-mail: C&[email protected] You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions What legislation and guidance covers school admission arrangements? The School Standards & Framework Act 1998 and the School Admissions Code of Practice make it clear that admission authorities should aim to ensure that: the arrangements enable parents’ preferences for the schools of their choice to be met to the maximum extent possible; admission criteria are clear, fair and objective, for the benefit of all children including those with special educational needs, disabilities or in public care; local admission arrangements contribute to improving standards for all pupils; local admission authorities consult each other and co-ordinate their arrangements, including over the rapid re-integration wherever sensible, of children who have been excluded from other schools; parents / carers have easy access to helpful admissions information; local admission arrangements achieve full compliance with all relevant legislation and guidance - including equal opportunities - and take full account of the guidance in the code of practice. In addition, it is intended that parents / carers have an effective right of appeal if dissatisfied. You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions What are the aims and key aspects of the co-ordinated admissions scheme that will operate in Southend? There will be a co-ordinated scheme with Essex County Council to ensure the offer of one and only one secondary school place is made to each pupil on national offer date (2nd March 2009). Southend on Sea Borough Council will co-ordinate admissions to all state funded secondary schools for all potential year 7 pupils living in Southend. This includes foundation and voluntary aided schools. To simplify the admissions process to secondary schools through the use of a Single Application Form on which a maximum of 5 schools may be indicated in priority order. These may include schools in Southend, Essex or elsewhere. To provide the opportunity for applications to be made on-line. To provide the opportunity for school places to be accepted on-line. Only Southend Council will know the ranking of parental preferences. Where schools in Essex County Council or elsewhere are indicated, the ranking order will be shared with the other authorities in so far as it relates to their schools. Essex or any other local authority will not share the ranking with their schools. Both Southend and Essex will communicate directly with the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex in relation to the selection test procedure (the 11+). Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools will continue to be their own admission authorities. They will use their own criteria to decide which pupils should be offered places and will be responsible for the organisation of admission appeals. Nevertheless all applications and offers must be made through Southend Council. How does the co-ordinated system work? The Southend scheme operates according to the order in which you select your preferences. However, you are not disadvantaged by the order in which you put your preferences. Clearly your order of preferences should reflect the order you wish to be offered a place, but if for example you are unsuccessful in gaining a place at your first preference school you are not disadvantaged in obtaining your second preference. Schools do not receive details of the preference and have to put pupils in order of their admission criteria without knowing the preference, You can apply online for a school place at www.southend.gov.uk/admissions Schools Transition Support Officer The Education and Inspections Act 2006 confirms that Local Authorities are required to provide independent assistance to parents whose children are transferring from primary to secondary school.