All governing bodies are required by section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to admit to the school a child with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) 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 Educational Health and Care Plan 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 Education Health and Care Plan the following oversubscription criteria will apply:
| Order of priority | Notes |
|---|---|
Priority group 1Looked after children and all previously looked after children for whom the school has been expressed as a preference. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order. |
This applies to all looked-after children, including those who are in the care of another local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services function at the time of making an application. In the case of previously looked after children, a copy of the relevant documentation will be required in support of the application. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and Children who were adopted under the Adopted & Children Act 2002. Child Arrangement Orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a Child Arrangement Order. |
Priority group 2Children who appear to the Admissions Authority to have been in state care outside of England and cease to be in state care as a result of being adopted. |
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 3Children the Authority considers have special social or medical reasons for admission. |
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Priority group 4Children living within the normal area of the school. |
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Priority group 5Children 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 2020 ( 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 2020, 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 councils 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.
If the distance tie-break is not sufficient to distinguish between applicants in a particular priority group a random allocation will be used.
Random allocation procedure
Random allocations are necessary where there is more than one applicant ranked equally according to the published admission rules and there are insufficient places available to allocate all of the equally ranked applicants. This occurs where applicants are equidistant from a school because the usual method of measuring distance to the school results in two unrelated applicants having the same distance measurement
Each random allocation event only holds for the allocation of the currently available school place. On any waiting list the remaining applicants remain equally ranked and any further place is offered as the result of a further random exercise. In making a random allocation it is important that there is scrutiny from a person who is not involved in the allocation process.
Definition of roles
Independent Scrutineer (IS) – this is a person who ensures the process is carried out in a correct and transparent way. The IS must be independent of the school for which the allocation is to be made and also must be independent of the council’s admissions and transport team.
Admissions Officer (AO) – this is an officer from the council’s admissions and transport team who is responsible for carrying out the administration of the random allocation procedure and recording the results, under the scrutiny of the IS.
Person who makes the draw (P) – this must be a person independent of the school for which the allocation is to be made and must be a person who is not part of the council’s admissions and transport team.
Process to be followed – N.B. This entire process is to be carried out in sight of, and under the scrutiny of, the IS
- The AO allocates each pupil to be included in the draw a number and records it on the ‘random allocation cross reference sheet’. This is placed in a sealed envelope.
- The AO prepares as many equal sized pieces of white paper as are necessary, which are numbered consecutively.
- The AO folds each numbered sheet and seals them in identical envelopes, i.e. envelopes with no visibly identifiable differences.
- The AO shuffles the envelopes and hands them to P who shuffles the envelopes again, picks one envelope and opens it.
- The AO records the first number drawn on the ‘random allocation record sheet’.
- If more than one place can be offered they continue to draw envelopes and record numbers until all of the available places are allocated.
- The AO then opens the previously sealed envelope containing the ‘random allocation cross reference sheet’ and records the numbers drawn on the ‘random allocation cross reference sheet’, marking clearly which children have been allocated a place and which have not.
- Once the process has been completed, the AO, IS and P should sign and date both the ‘random allocation record sheet’ and the ‘random allocation cross reference sheet’ in order to certify that the procedure has been carried out correctly.
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.
Local arrangements
Scarborough area
Graham School - for priority group 5 applications (that is, children living within the normal area covering the school), priority will be given as follows:
a) Children living in the area normally served by East Ayton Community Primary School and the area west of Scalby Road from Lady Edith’s Drive to Scalby Beck.
b) Children who will have an older sibling at the school of their choice.
c) Children who live nearest to the school of their choice.
Scalby School
For priority group 5 applications (that is, children living outside the normal area of the school), priority will be given to children who live in the areas normally served by East Ayton Community Primary School and the area west of Scalby Road from Lady Edith’s Drive to Scalby Beck and who:
a) will have an older sibling at Scalby School at the start of the term when the younger sibling starts school; or
b) would have to make the longest journey to another school without them becoming eligible for help with travel costs from us under the local authority transport policy.
Selby area
Brayton High School and Selby High School – for the purposes of admissions for priority group 4 children a distinction is drawn between those who live in Selby rural area and Selby town area. Each school, Brayton High and Selby High, has its own designated rural area and the two schools are jointly the normal schools for the Selby town area. Places will be offered, within priority group 4, to children from the individual rural area associated with each school before those in the town area, using the tie break elements of the Admissions policy for community and voluntary controlled schools for the school year 2018/19 where necessary.
Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar School is a designated grammar school,1 this means that the school is permitted to select its entire intake on the basis of high academic ability. The school does not have to fill all of its places if applicants have not reached the required standard. Ripon Grammar School offers 103 day places and 14 boarding places.
As a maintained boarding school Ripon Grammar School may take boarders as well as day pupils. Maintained boarding schools can set separate admission numbers for day places and boarding places. A maintained boarding school can interview applicants to assess suitability for boarding, but such interviews must only consider whether a child presents a serious health and safety hazard to other boarders or whether they would be able to cope with and benefit from a boarding environment. To help with this assessment, they may also use a supplementary information form, and information provided by the previous school and by the child’s home local authority (on safeguarding issues).
Boarding schools must give priority in their oversubscription criteria in the following order:
a) looked after children and previously looked after children
b) children of members of the UK armed forces who qualify for Ministry of Defence financial assistance with the cost of boarding school fees
c) children with a ‘boarding need’, defined by Ripon Grammar School as follows:
- Children at risk or with an unstable home environment and children of service personnel who have died while serving or who have been discharged as a result of attributable injury; or
- Children of key workers and crown servants working abroad, e.g. the children of charity workers, people working for voluntary service organisations, the diplomatic service or the European Union, teachers, law enforcement officers and medical staff working abroad whose work dictates that they spend much of the year overseas.
Deferred applications for infants
Admission authorities must provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday.
Parents offered a place in reception for their child have a right to defer the date their child is admitted, or to take the place up part-time, until the child reaches compulsory school age. Places cannot be deferred beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer was made.
Children reach compulsory school age on the prescribed day following their 5th birthday (or on their fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March.
Summer born children
Children born in the summer term are not required to start school until a full year after the point at which they could first have been admitted – the point at which other children in their age range are beginning year 1. As noted above, school admission authorities are required to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday, but flexibilities exist for children whose parents do not feel they are ready to begin school at this point.
If you feel that your summer born child is not ready to start school in the September following his/her fourth birthday, you should still submit your application for your child’s normal age group at the usual time and at the same time submit a request for admission out of the normal age group directly to the local authority. You will be advised of the outcome of your request for delayed entry prior to the primary national offer date of 15 April 2019.
The DfE has issued non-statutory guidance, “Advice on the Admission of summer born children”, which can be accessed via the summer born children admission page on the Government website.
The DfE guidance states that:
‘It is reasonable for admission authorities to expect parents to provide them with information in support of their request – since without it they are unlikely to be able to make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case. This should demonstrate why it would be in the child’s interests to be admitted to reception rather than year one.
In some cases parents may have professional evidence that it would be appropriate for them to submit, for example, when a child receives support from a speech and language therapist. However, there should be no expectation that parents will obtain professional evidence that they do not already have. Admission authorities must still consider requests that are not accompanied by professional evidence. In such cases the supporting information might simply be the parent’s statement as to why they have made their request.’
If your request is agreed, your application for the normal age group may be withdrawn before a place is offered. If your request is refused, you must decide whether to accept the offer of a place for the normal age group, or to refuse it and make an in year application for admission to year one for the September following your child’s fifth birthday.
Where your request is agreed, you must make a new application as part of the main admissions round the following year.
Admission of children outside their normal age group
The School Admission Code states that ‘parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1.’
When such a request is made, the local authority will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. The local authority will notify parents in writing of the outcome of their request setting out the reasons for their decision. Parents have a statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which they have applied. This right does not apply if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.