Have you applied for your child’s school place? Applying for September 2018 Secondary School A step-by-step guide for parents of children moving on from primary to secondary school in September 2018 This booklet is for parents of children born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007 who will be moving on to secondary school. The application process starts in September when your child is in year 6. This booklet provides a summary of how to apply for a secondary school place for September 2018. Full details of the admission arrangements for all our schools and academies can be found on the Bradford Council website www.bradford.gov.uk Application checklist 4 Only apply through Bradford Council if you live in the Bradford district. Save time – apply online! 4 Visit schools before you apply. www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions 4 List five schools, within or outside the Bradford district. Do not include private schools. 4 Fill in and return supplementary information and….. forms to schools that require them (see l page 2 for details). Its quick You will receive an email confirming 4 If applying for medical or social reasons, register your details and receipt of your ensure you do so at the time of application make your application application when and provide supporting evidence from you apply online relevant professionals. l You can log back on 4 Have you moved recently or are about at any time to make to move? If so, you will need to provide changes up to the evidence (see page 4). It’s available closing date 4 Apply by the closing date, 31 October 2017. seven days a week from l You will get an 4 4 September 2017 until the email on 1 March Do you need more information? Contact closing date on 2018 to tell you details for the Admissions Team are shown below. 31 October 2017 which school your child has been 4 Have you checked the latest school offered travel policy? For further details go to www.bradford.gov.uk/education- and-skills/travel-assistance/assistance- with-travel-to-home-school-and-college Contacts and further information about applying for a secondary school Admissions Team: Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, Bradford BD1 1NN 01274 439200 [email protected] Department of Children’s Services Apply online by 31 October 2017 www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions 1 Have you applied for your child’s school place? Different types of schools = different admission rules Academies and free schools: The majority of Secondary Foundation and trust schools: The local authority provides schools in the Bradford district are academies or free the funding and school governors make decisions. schools. These schools are funded directly by the Voluntary-aided schools: The local authority provides Department for Education and governors make decisions. the funding and school governors make decisions. All Many academies have a priority admission area which VA schools (except Bingley Grammar) are Catholic or can be viewed on the Council website, at the schools or at Church of England schools and parents must complete Margaret McMillan Tower. a supplementary form if applying on faith grounds. Community schools: The local authority provides Random Allocation: Some schools use this as part the funding and also makes decisions. All community of their admission policy (see step 3, page 4) schools have priority admission areas. Some schools may have changed or will be changing their status in the future. If this is a concern parents should check the ‘Guide for Parents’ or the school. Supplementary Information Forms (SIF) and Assessment Dates The following schools require a Supplementary Information The following schools require a Supplementary Information Form Form to be filled in and returned to them directly with any to be filled in and returned to them by the closing date, in order for supporting evidence required, if you are applying on the your child to be registered for a ‘Fair Banding’ assessment. basis of Faith:- l Bradford Girls Grammar l Feversham College Closing Date for SIF: Tuesday 31 October 2017 at 4pm l Bradford Academy Assessment Date: Saturday 11 November 2017 l l Bradford Forster Academy Dixons Allerton l l St Bede’s & St Joseph’s Catholic College Dixons City l l Immanuel College Dixons Kings l l The Holy Family Catholic School Dixons McMillan l Dixons Trinity If you are applying for a school located in another local Closing Date for SIF for all Dixons Academies authority, please read the admissions policy for the school Friday 22 September 2017 at 3.30pm to see if they require a SIF filling in. Some schools located Assessment Date: Saturday 14 October 2017 on other local authorities require children to be registered for assessments. These include the following: The schools above have an admissions policy that must ensure their l Skipton Girls’ High School pupils come from a wide ability range. All applicants must take an Registration closes on 13 September 2017. assessment to divide them into different ability bands. The schools then admit the required number from each band based on the spread l North Halifax Grammar School of ability of those applying. If your child does not sit the assessment, Registration closed on 1 September 2017. l your application will not be considered until all others who sat the Crossley Heath Grammar School assessment have been. Registration closed on 1 September 2017. l Ermysted’s Grammar School Registration closed on 23 July 2017. Step 1 How do I decide which schools to apply for? You should collect as much information as possible about the l going to secondary school open evenings in September schools in your area, especially their admission procedures. and October and talking to your child about how they You can do this by: feel about each school; l visiting the Bradford Council website, l viewing the school websites or their prospectus for www.bradford.gov.uk where you can find: information on what each school can offer; – full details of all schools’ admission l contacting the Admissions Team for advice; arrangements in the ‘Guide for Parents’; l visit the Ofsted website www.ofsted.gov.uk where you – last year’s allocation figures for each secondary can read the latest Ofsted reports. school; – ‘School Finder’ - a map giving the details of schools in the Bradford Authority near to your postcode. 2 www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions Apply online by 31 October 2017 Continued on next page Have you applied for your child’s school place? Step 2 How do I apply? Be realistic send it recorded delivery. You should request a receipt Many schools are oversubscribed and receive more if you hand your form in personally. applications than they have places to offer. Even if you l You can apply for any school in the Bradford district live within a Priority Area, you may not qualify for a place or outside the district except fee-paying schools. You if ‘distance criteria’ is part of the admissions policy. The should find out about the admission arrangements for number of secondary students competing for places is each school. increasing every year and the fact that a neighbour was l Where the child lives with separated parents who both offered a place before does not mean you can rely on a have shared responsibility you must both agree which place being allocated this year. We strongly advise you use address to use before you make the application and all five preferences and preference all the schools whose agree on the preferences, otherwise the Local Authority Priority Area you may be in to maximise your chances of will decide which address should be used and allocate being offered a locally accessible school a school with a place, after all other allocations. l Make your preferences count You must confirm that you have parental responsibility and that the information you have given is accurate. If If you only apply for one school your child will only be you give deliberately false or misleading information considered for that one school. If you do not qualify for or withhold important information that could affect a place, you will be allocated a school with an available your application, it may result in the place offered space after all allocations have been made, this may not be being withdrawn. You would then need to apply again, local and could involve several bus journeys. You will only possibly after all allocations have been made, and legal be able to appeal for the school you have applied for and action may be taken. you will only be able to add your child’s name to the waiting l list of the school you chose or other undersubscribed Looked after children or those who were previously schools. Last year, 93.26% of children were offered one of looked after but ceased to be because they were their preferred schools. adopted or became subject to a residency order or special guardianship order are given priority in every Application forms admissions policy. You will need to provide evidence of l this to the Admissions Team by the closing date, if you You need to apply to the local authority where your are applying for this priority. child lives (your home council). If your child lives in l the Bradford District, you should apply online on the Some schools give priority to children who have Council’s website, www.bradford.gov.uk/admissions significant medical or social needs which can only l be met by a specific school. If you are applying on Applying online is the best way to apply.