Transferring School from a Middle, Junior or Primary School Secondary Admissions in September 2014 - A Guide for Parents This booklet provides help and advice for parents whose children are transferring school in September 2014. If you have difficulty understanding this information, or you require help with the application form, please contact Somerset Direct in 0845 456 4038. Further assistance with translation or interpretation can be provided on request. Portuguese 2014. Polish 2014. Bengali This booklet provides help and advice for parents whose children are transferring school in September 2014. If you have difficulty understanding this information, or you require help with the application form, please contact Somerset Direct in 0845 456 4038. Further assistance with translation or interpretation can be provided on request. Malayalam This booklet provides help and advice for parents whose children are transferring school in September 2014. If you have difficulty understanding this information, or you require help with the application form, please contact Somerset Direct in 0845 456 4038. Further assistance with translation or interpretation can be provided on request. To request this document in an alternative format, please contact us. Contents The Transferring School Application process Page Welcome 2 Secondary Admissions – the important dates 3 When can my child transfer school? 4 Who can make an application? 4 Important points to consider before making your application 5 How do I apply for a school? 11 How will places be allocated? 13 What should I do if my child has not been offered a place at one or more of my preferred schools? 14 General information 15 School Transport 18 Local Authority Over-subscription Criteria 20 Voluntary Aided, Foundation, Academy and Free School Over-subscription Criteria 21 School/Academy Information (including statistics table) 26 Open Days and Evenings 30 Free School Meals and Funding for 2 Year Olds 32 Other Useful Contacts 35 Glossary of Terms 36 Make your application online at www.somerset.gov.uk Need more help? Please call 0845 4564038 1 Welcome Welcome to the 2014 edition of the ‘Secondary Admissions – A guide How to contact us: for Parents’ booklet. It has been especially designed to assist parents/ carers whose child/children are due to transfer from a primary to a You can contact your local secondary school or from a middle to an upper school in September 2014. Admissions and Entitlements Team. The number is 0845 It will guide you through the process of applying for a school place 4564038. by ensuring that you have all the information and advice that you need on how and when you can apply for your child/children to attend your Phone lines are open between preferred school(s) and how school places will be allocated. 8.00 am and 6.00 pm from Monday to Friday and 9.00 am Somerset Local Authority (LA) fully co-ordinates the admissions to 4.00 pm on Saturday and all process with own Admission Authority schools and other Local Authorities. calls are charged at local rates. All applicants that apply by the published deadline of 31 October 2013 You can also e-mail at: will receive an outcome on 3 March 2014. [email protected] or write to us at the following You can contact the Admissions and Entitlements Team for further address: advice by calling Somerset Direct on 0845 4564038. Phone lines are open between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm from Monday to Friday and 9.00 am to PO Box 618, Taunton, TA1 3WF 4.00 pm on Saturday and all calls are charged at local rates. You can also e-mail Somerset Direct at [email protected] We hope you find this booklet informative and helpful and would welcome any feedback you may have. Paul Nugent Learning & Achievement Operations Director 2 Secondary Admissions – The Important dates Closing date for school place applications 31st October 2013 Closing date for exceptional circumstance applications and all supplementary information 1st December 2013 Secondary Admission outcome e-mails will be sent to those who applied on-line and outcome letters will be sent out by second class post to those who applied using a paper form on 3rd March 2014* * The National Offer Day for secondary admissions is 1st March. However as this Closing date for receipt of appeal applications falls on a Saturday in 2014, the from parents who were notified of their outcome outcomes will be sent on the next working day which is the on 3rd March 2014. 3rd March 2014. 31st March 2014 Make your application online at www.somerset.gov.uk Need more help? Please call 0845 4564038 3 When does my child transfer school? Children are due to transfer to secondary school at the end of Year 6 of a primary school and to transfer to an upper school at the end of Year 8 of a middle school. Who can make an application? Parents/carers are responsible for making a school place application for any children within their care, due to transfer to a secondary/upper school in September 2014. A legal definition of parent/carer is included in the glossary at the back of this booklet. The administering of school applications may be severely delayed where shared residence arrangements are in place and parents/carers of the child submit two separate applications for different schools. In this situation the LA requires parents to resolve matters between themselves, and inform the LA which application should be processed. The LA will not become involved in private disputes. However, the LA does recognise that there may be situations where parents cannot ultimately reach an agreement between themselves and in the absence of any court order stating who is entitled to make the application it is, therefore, necessary for the LA to take a decision. Where this is the case the LA will try to establish the child’s permanent address and prioritise the application made by the parent living at this address. Each parent will be required to write to the LA and inform them of the number of days each week the child spends with them. Where the child spends equal time with both parents the LA may ask for additional information including evidence of which parent/ carer is in receipt of child benefit, or the name of the GP surgery at which the child is registered. When the LA has received all the necessary information from both parents a decision will be reached based on the evidence provided. Please be aware, if you are applying for a school place for your child and your child does not live with you permanently then information will also be sent to your child’s permanent home address. 4 Important points to consider before making your application How important is my address? Your child’s home address is an important factor. School places are assessed on the basis of the child’s home address. This must be the child’s permanent home address, where he/ she lives with a person of parental responsibility as the main carer (as defined by the Children Act 1989). Where there are shared care arrangements, Admission Authorities (for definition see page 36) will consider the application (with evidence) relating to the address where the child spends the majority of their time. Where the child spends equal time with both parents the LA may ask for additional information including evidence of which parent/carer is in receipt of child benefit, or the name of the GP surgery at which the child is registered. When the LA has received all the necessary information from both parents a decision will be reached based on the evidence provided. The LA acting on behalf of all Somerset Admission Authorities, reserves the right to request independent confirmation of the child’s place of residence. For admission allocation purposes, in most cases the address that will be taken into consideration is the address at which the child is resident at the closing date or an address at which the child will be resident before the start of the new academic year in September 2014, providing the change of address is notified and evidence provided before the exceptional circumstance deadline of 1 December 2013 (see page 11 for details of evidence required). However, own Admission Authority school’s arrangements may vary (see pages 21 to 25 of this booklet). It is very important that you notify the LA of an intended change of address in these circumstances as this will determine the catchment or nearest school for the child concerned. The LA will consider withdrawing the offer of a place at a Community or Voluntary Controlled (VC) school if an address used to support an application is subsequently found to be fraudulent or misleading. Can I choose any school? Parents have a legal right to express a preference for any school(s) they would like their child(ren) to attend. In Somerset you can choose up to 3 preferences in ranked order. Make your application online at www.somerset.gov.uk Need more help? Please call 0845 4564038 5 How can I find out more about my local schools before I apply? The best way to find out more about schools is to visit them. Contact the school(s) direct for further information. You can also n Visit the school website n Attend the open day/evenings (see pages 30 to 31) n Look at the schools profile at www.direct.gov.uk n Obtain a copy of the school’s most recent OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education) inspection report. These are available from the school or can be viewed at your local library or on the internet at the following website: www.ofsted.gov.uk n View the published GCSE examination results for secondary/ upper schools for the summer of 2013.