Knowsley Secondary Education Admissions Apply online www.knowsley.gov.uk/schooladmissions or use the paper form at the back of the booklet Information for Parents 2015 - 2016 THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS BOOKLET IS IMPORTANT. IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER HELP OR INFORMATION ON APPLYING FOR A SECONDARY CENTRE FOR LEARNING/SCHOOL PLACE PLEASE CONTACT: • The Headteacher of your child’s Knowsley primary school can provide you with a Knowsley booklet and give advice on how to apply. • The Headteacher of each secondary school can assist with information about the school. • Where the term Headteacher has been used, this also applies to Principals. • Where the term Schools has been used, this also applies to Knowsley Secondary Centres for Learning and Academies. • The Admissions Team are happy to help with your enquiries. You can write in, telephone or call into the office. If you would like to make an appointment, please telephone to make arrangements. The Admissions Team, Knowsley Council The Cordingley Building, Scotchbarn Lane, Prescot, Knowsley, L35 7JD Telephone: (0151) 443 5142/5143 Email: [email protected] Privacy notice Knowsley Council is committed to dealing with your information safely and securely. We need to collect and keep information to deliver our service efficiently. We will always treat your information with confidentiality and will not pass it to third parties for commercial use. We take our responsibility to protect your information seriously and we will always ensure it is used fairly, correctly and safely in line with the legal requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. The information you provide to us on your admission application form and in any supporting documents, will be used to process your application. There may be a requirement to share this information with governing bodies of primary and secondary schools and neighbouring local authorities etc. This will only be when necessary and where the law allows it. This will be to: • Ensure the efficient co-ordination and fair allocation of school places • Make sure the information is accurate • Prevent or detect crime • Protect public funds • Meet our key aims and legal duties Information about your child may also be shared with Members of Parliament or Borough Councillors, but only if you have asked them to act on your behalf. We may also use the information you have provided to develop statistics to inform decisions on (for example) the funding of schools, and to assess the performance of schools and set targets for them. We ensure that the statistics are developed in such a way that individual children cannot be identified from them. If you would like to know more about what we do with your information please ask a member of staff or go to www.knowsley.gov.uk and click on our privacy policy. THE INFORMATION PUBLISHED IN THIS BOOKLET IS APPLICABLE TO THE SCHOOL YEAR 2015/16. EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IS CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION. HOWEVER, PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN FOR THE 2015/16 ACADEMIC YEAR OR SUBSEQUENT YEARS. Apply online www.knowsley.gov.uk/schooladmissions or use the paper form at the back of the booklet Welcome Dear Parents and Carers This is an important time for families who are taking decisions about secondary education. During the first half of the autumn term 2014, parents have to decide which preferences to name - up to three schools. Before you decide, we would encourage you to go and see for yourself all the opportunities the Knowsley schools can offer. The Headteachers and staff will be delighted to meet you and show how their pupils are benefiting from the exciting surroundings and the excellent teaching available. The Headteachers and staff are committed to ensuring there are high standards of teaching and learning delivered across the curriculum. All staff at the secondary schools want to work in partnership with you, as parents/carers, to provide your child with the best possible education. Our schools are committed to helping children reach their potential, whatever their race, sex, religion or disability. Our commitment is to make Knowsley the best place to be educated. We want to assist you in making a very important decision for your child’s future - deciding on your preferences for secondary education. We can help in a number of ways: • this booklet gives you information about all the Knowsley secondary schools and contacts for other areas; • the application form for Knowsley residents is included in the booklet. The Knowsley Council website gives you an e-copy of this booklet and an online application form. You can complete this application from home or at a Knowsley Library or other terminal; • the Admissions Team can give you information and guidance in person or by telephone (0151) 443 5142/5143. We would encourage you to read this booklet carefully before filling in the form. Whether you use an online or paper application, please ensure this is completed and returned by the closing date of Friday 31 October 2014. Finally, can I take this opportunity to assure you of the full support of Councillor See, Cabinet Member with lead responsibility for Children and Family Services, and of myself and our staff. We all wish your child every success in their future secondary education. Cllr Gary See Sheena Ramsey Cabinet Member for Chief Executive Children and Family Services www.knowsley.gov.uk/schooladmissions 1 Contents How to apply for a secondary school place for September 2015 3 • Applying online 4 • Completing the paper application form 5 • The Knowsley coordinated admission scheme - Equal preference 6 • Waiting lists 7 • Offer letters 7 • Late applications 7 • Making changes to your application 8 • Applications for schools in more than one borough 9 • Supplementary information and additional forms 9 • Home address 10 • Knowsley secondary school open days/evenings 11 Locations of Knowsley secondary schools 12 Secondary schools details and admission policies 13 • Knowsley community secondary schools/centres for learning and academies 14 • Area partnership primary schools 15 • Secondary community and academy school details 16 • Knowsley voluntary aided schools (Catholic) 17 • Knowsley voluntary aided secondary schools - Admission policies 18 • Details for September 2014 allocation 20 Appeal procedures 21 In-year applications and transfers 23 • Parents thinking of transferring their child to another local school 23 • Families moving into the area 23 • Offer letter 23 • Fair access protocol 24 • Public examinations 24 • Admissions of Year 12 to schools with sixth forms 24 Contact details for education authorities in other boroughs 25 Other information 26 • Children with special educational needs 26 • Special schools details 27 • Knowsley Area Support teams 28 • Education support services 28 • Knowsley School Attendance service 28 • Financial support for secondary age pupils 29 • Home to school transport 29 • Low income families 29 • Free school meals 29 • Financial support for further education and sixth form students 30 • Transport support for students aged 16-19 30 • Getting to a school in Knowsley 30 • Charging for school activities 30 • School achievement and attainment tables 30 Advice on completing the application form 31 The application form Survey for parents/carers to complete Summary timetable Useful contact telephone numbers 2 www.knowsley.gov.uk/schooladmissions How to apply for a secondary school place for September 2015 intake Important! Important! Important! If you want to give your child the best chance of obtaining a place at the school you prefer, please read this booklet very carefully. Please take time to read the whole booklet. General advice - Parents/carers should note that there is no cost associated with applying for a school place. Remember There is no automatic transfer from primary to secondary education. You MUST fill in and return an application form. Parents/carers have a right to say which schools they would prefer, but there is no guarantee that a place can be allocated at one of these. Children born between 1 September 2003 and 31 August 2004 are of age to transfer. Exceptions are made only in special circumstances. You can apply for a place by completing the application at the back of this booklet or by completing the online application on a computer which is linked to the internet. (See pages 4/5 on completing the online application form). Do you live in Knowsley? Yes Then you must apply on the Knowsley application form. No matter which primary school your child goes to and whatever secondary schools you are interested in, you need to complete the Knowsley application form. If you live in Knowsley - that means you pay your council tax to Knowsley and you probably have a maroon coloured wheelie bin! - You can complete the online application at www.knowsley.gov.uk/schooladmissions or alternatively, you can complete the paper application at the back of this booklet. You can name up to three school preferences. Put your schools in a ranked order - your highest preference is number 1 - you can name schools in Knowsley and, if you wish, those in other areas. If naming schools outside Knowsley, we strongly recommend that you obtain the information booklet from the relevant authority (contact details on page 25). You need to find out about their coordinated scheme and the details about the particular school(s) you are interested in. No Then you apply on the application form supplied by the Authority you live in - Halton, Lancashire, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens or any other. You can obtain an application form from your home authority, contact details for neighbouring authorities are given on page 25. You cannot apply online through the Knowsley website neither should you complete the application form in this booklet.