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.