Admissions policy for community and voluntary controlled schools for the academic year 2013/2014

All governing bodies are required by section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to admit to the school a child with a statement of special needs that names the school. This is not an oversubscription criterion. This relates only to children who have undergone statutory assessment and for whom a final statement of special educational needs (SEN) has been issued.

If the number of applications exceeds the published admission number (PAN), after the admission of children where the school is named in the statement of special educational needs (SEN) the following oversubscription criteria will apply:

Order of priority	Notes
Priority group 1 Children and young people in public care for whom the school has been expressed as a preference and previously looked after children, that is children who were adopted (or subject to residence orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after.	This applies to all looked-after children, including those who are in the care of another local authority. In the case of previously looked after children, a copy of the relevant documentation will be required in support of the application.
Priority group 2 Children the authority believes have special social or medical reasons for admission.	We will only consider applications on social or medical grounds if they are supported by a professional recommendation from a doctor, social worker, or other appropriate professional. The supporting evidence should set out the particular social or medical reason(s) why the school in question is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. Panels of professionally qualified people will consider all applications made under priority group 2.
Priority group 3 Children living within the normal area of the school.

Priority group 4 Children living outside the normal area of the school.

Children in higher numbered priority groups will be offered places ahead of those in lower numbered priority groups. All applications within each priority group will be considered equally (i.e. all applications, regardless of order of preference).

Tie break

If there are not enough places for all the children in one of these priority groups, we will give priority first to those with a sibling at the school in September 2013 (in all cases sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer's partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling) and then to those living nearest the school.

If within a priority group there are not enough places for all those with a sibling at the school in September 2013, we will give priority to those children with a sibling living nearest the school.

All distance measurements are based on the nearest route recognised by the County Council's electronic mapping system from a child's home address to school. The measurement is made from a fixed point within the dwelling, as identified by Ordnance Survey, to the nearest school entrance using footpaths and roads.

The routes measured to determine the allocation of school places will be those recognised by the electronic mapping system used by the school admissions team.

We may be able to meet your preference for a place at a school that does not serve the local area you live in. In this case, you will normally be responsible for travel arrangements and the costs of your child's travel to and from school.

Admissions policies for other schools

To access admissions policies for voluntary aided, foundation and trust schools, see this page.