Admissions
WARD JACKSON CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
ADMISSIONS POLICY FOR 2024/2025
Admissions
Ward Jackson Church of England VA Primary School Admissions Criteria 2024-2025
The Governing Body of Ward Jackson Church of England VA Primary School is the Admissions Authority for this school.
The Governing Body intends to admit up to 25 pupils to the Reception year group in September 2024 by applying following admissions criteria:
In the first instance, places will be awarded to those pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education, Health and Care (ONE) Plan where the school is named as the most appropriate educational setting for the child. The remaining places will be awarded in the following priority order:
- “Looked-after children and children who were previously looked after, but ceased to be so because, immediately after being looked after, they became subject to an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order. (see Note 2) including children previously in state care outside of England who have ceased to be in that state care as a result of being adopted (See Note 3)
- Those children who have brothers or sisters who will be attending the school in September 2023;
- Those children who live in the school’s admission zone;
- Those children who are distinguished from the great majority of other applicants whether on medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances and who would suffer significant hardship if they were unable to attend the school;
- Those children who live closest to the school as determined by a straight line distance measurement; from the (ordnance survey) address point for the child’s home to the (ordnance survey) address point of the school.
Tie-breaker
If more children qualify under a particular criterion than there are places available, priority will be given to those children who live closest to the school (as described under criteria 5).
Right of Appeal
If you are not successful in obtaining a place for your child at Ward Jackson Church of England VA School you have a statutory right of appeal. Full information on the appeals procedure is available from the Local Authority’s School Admission Team.
Definitions
Looked After Children – A ‘looked after child’ is a child who is in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school.
Sibling - Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/guardian’s partner, and in every case, the child should be living in the same family unit at the same address. In all cases the responsible parent will hold the child benefit for those children permanently living at that address. A brother or sister living at the same address must be attending the preferred school at the same time as the child who is applying. Please note – this criteria only applies to siblings who are of compulsory school age, not younger siblings who attend a nursery setting attached to a school.
Twins or multiple birth children - If you have more than one child who are twins or part of a multiple birth going through the application process this year, you must make a separate application for each child and indicate on each online or paper form that your child has a sibling also going through the process. For community and voluntary controlled schools, we will offer a place to the other child(ren) if one of your twins/multiple birth children is offered the last place available and you have applied to the same school for the other child(ren).
Medical Grounds/Exceptional Circumstances
A panel of specialist officers will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficiently compelling to meet the requirements for this criterion. If you think your child has a particular medical or social need to go to a certain school, you must provide supporting evidence from a doctor, psychologist or other professional involved with your child. The supporting evidence must relate specifically to the school you are claiming medical grounds/ exceptional circumstances for, and clearly demonstrate why it is only that school that can meet your child’s needs in a way that no other school can. If you are applying online for a place under this criterion, please send your supporting evidence to the Admissions Team by the closing date, which should include your child’s name and date of birth. NB: Exceptional social reasons do not, in the view of the Authority, include domestic inconvenience arising from parents’ work patterns, child-minding problems, separation from particular nursery/primary school friends. Problems of this kind are widespread and cannot be classed as exceptional. Medical reasons do not include temporary conditions. They are permanent medical conditions which require special treatment available at the preferred school only. Medical evidence must be provided and the Authority’s officers must be satisfied that the child would suffer to a significant degree if he/she went to any other school.
Distance
Distance will be measured by a straight line distance measurement from the (ordnance survey) address point of the child’s home address to the (ordnance survey) address point of the school, using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system, with those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority.
Criteria 1 Applications
Applications from children who are looked after must be accompanied by a letter from the Social Worker confirming the legal status of the child and the reasons for the school preferences. Any change of legal status and/or placement arrangements must be notified to the Admissions Team. Applications for previously looked after children must be accompanied by a copy of any Special Guardianship Order, Adoption Order or Child Arrangements Order.
Criteria 2 Applications
To obtain a school place under the sibling criteria the sibling must still attend the school at the time when the child for whom the place is sought joins the school. This criterion only applies to siblings who are of compulsory school age, not younger siblings who attend a nursery setting attached to a school.
Criteria 4 Applications
A panel of officers will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficiently compelling to meet the requirements for this rule. The evidence must relate specifically to the school applied for under Criteria 4 and must clearly demonstrate why it is the only school that can meet the child’s needs. Criteria 4 applications will only be considered at the time of the initial application, unless there has been a significant and exceptional change of circumstances within the family since the initial application was submitted.
Evidence should make clear why only one school is appropriate.
How to apply under Criteria 4
Please ensure that you submit all relevant information including professional evidence, with your application. If you apply online, written information should be received before the closing date for applications and include your child’s name and date of birth. Information provided after the closing date will only be considered when there are significant changes of circumstances.
We can only consider applications under Criteria 4 which are supported by a letter from a professional involved with your child or family, for example, a doctor, psychologist or police officer. We suggest you provide the relevant professional with a full copy of the guidance provided on these pages. Please ensure that the supporting evidence demonstrates why only one named school can meet the social/medical needs of your child or family.
Admission Zones
Your child is not guaranteed a place at an admission zone school. If you are unsure which admission zone you live in please refer to letter contained within the application pack issued to you, or alternatively contact the Admissions Team.
Linked Notes
Note 2 By a “looked-after child” we mean one in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of its social services function. An adoption order is one made under the Adoption Act 1976 (Section 12) or the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Section 46). A ‘child arrangements order is one settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live (Children Act 1989, Section 8, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014, Section 14). A ‘special guardianship order’ is one appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian/s (Children Act 1989, Section 14A). Applications under this criterion must be accompanied by evidence to show that the child is looked after or was previously looked after (e.g. a copy of the adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order).
Note 3 Children previously in state care outside of England means children who have been looked after outside of England by a public authority, a religious organisation or another provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. The care may have been provided in orphanages or other settings. In the case of children adopted from state care overseas, the admissions authority will require evidence that a child is eligible by asking the child’s parents or carers for appropriate evidence of their previously looked-after status.