Mottram C.E. Primary School

Admission Arrangements 2010/11

Parents should be aware before applying that in this school RE, collective worship and our whole ethos are based on the teachings of the Church of England.

Applications for admission to the school should be made on the common application form, enclosed with the Local Authority’s brochure, and also on the School's supplementary form if you are applying under criteria 2, 4, or 7 between 19 October 2009 and 4 December 2009.

Applications may also be made on-line by using the common application form. The Supplementary form, if you are applying under criteria 2, 4 or 7, can be obtained from school or the Local Authority. It is not normally possible to change the order of your preferences for schools after the closing date. Whether application is made on paper or electronically, both forms must be completed by those applying under criteria 2, 4, or 7.

Letters informing parents of whether or not their child has been allocated a place will be sent out by the Local Authority by 29 March 2010. Parents of children not admitted will be informed of the reason and offered an alternative place by the Authority.

The number of places available for admission to the Reception class in the year 2010 will be a maximum of 20. This arrangement follows consultation between the governing body, the Diocesan Board of Education, Local Authorities and other admissions authorities in the area. The governing body will not place any restrictions on admissions to the reception class unless the number of children for whom admission is sought exceeds this number. By law, no infant class may contain more than thirty children.

The Governing Body operates a system of equal preferences under which they consider all preferences equally and the Local Authority allocates places according to its policy. In the event that there are more applicants than places, the governing body will allocate places using the following criteria, which are listed in order of priority:

1. Children in Care.
2. Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school.
3. Children who have a sibling in school who will still be attending school the following year.
4. Children whose parent(s) are faithful and regular worshippers in the Parish Church of St Michael & all Angels, Mottram in Longdendale.
5. Children resident in the Parish of Mottram. A map showing the parish is available from school. Proof of address is required – see Starting Out book and Note (g).
6. Children who live nearest to Mottram School. Distance will be measured as a straight line from the child’s home address, using the address point assigned by Tameside Council Master Address Database. The Local Land and Property Gazetteer, to the main gate to the school property. Measurements will be made using the local authority's school admissions data mapping software, which employs a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey. Proof of address will be required – see Starting Out book and Note (g).
7. Children whose parent(s) are faithful and regular worshippers either at other Christian churches, or at other places of worship, for whom this is the nearest Church School. This is defined as attending another place of worship at least once per month for twelve months prior to application. Verification will be required from the place of worship - see Supplementary form.

Notes

a) Professional supporting evidence from e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school in question is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school. A panel of governors will make a decision as to whether to admit a child under this criterion, using the evidence provided. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.

b) By “faithful and regular” we mean attendance at a minimum of one service per month at the 10.30am service for at least twelve months prior to the closing date for applications. A letter from your vicar or minister or other church officer will be required as proof of attendance.

c) A parent is any person who has parental responsibility or care of the child. Where admission arrangements refer to ‘parent’s attendance at church’ it is sufficient for just one parent to attend.

d) A map showing the boundaries is available from the school.

e) 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, and in every case, the child should be living in the same family unit at the same address.

f) Where the above criteria are not adequate to distinguish between requests for admission which cannot all be accepted without exceeding the admission limit, priority will be decided on the basis of the distance will be measured as a straight line from the child’s home address, using the address point assigned by The National Land and Property Gazetteer, to the main gate to the school property. Measurements will be made using the local authority's school admissions data mapping software, which employs a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey. In the event of distances being the same for two or more applicants where this distance would be the last place(s) to be allocated, a random lottery will be implemented where the distance is the same. The random lottery will be carried out in a public place and supervised by someone independent of the school. All names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names drawn out.

g) Proof of address. Applicants must pride TWO from the following list:

• Mortgage statement*
• Tenancy agreement or letter from landlord*
• Council Tax statement*
• council Tax benefit statement*3
• TV licence*
• Home contents insurance certificate*
• Buildings insurance certificate*
• Recent utility bill (gas, electricity, water, land-line telephone bill but not a mobile phone bill)**
• Letter from solicitor confirming exchange of contracts on a house**

* issued within the last 12 months
** issued within the last 3 months.

Children with Statements

Section 324 of the Education Act 1996 requires the governing bodies of all maintained schools to admit a child with a Statement of Special Education Needs that names their school.

Admissions Information

Last year there were 53 applications for 20 places. The Admissions Committee applied the criteria and offered places to:

0 children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs
0 children under criterion 1 (children in care)
0 children under criterion 2 (medical or social)
4 children under criterion 3 (siblings)
0 children under criterion 4. (regular worship at Parish Church)
0 children under criterion 5 (living within the parish boundaries)

There were children who fell into the sixth criterion so the tie-break of distance was applied. The children living closest to school were offered a place. The children living further away from the school were placed on the waiting list. (This statement will be included if necessary)

Late Applications for Admission

The closing date for applications in the normal admissions round is 4 December 2009. Applications received after this date will be considered after all applications received on time have been processed.

Waiting List

If the school is over subscribed the governors will maintain a waiting list. The waiting list will operate until the end of the autumn term 2010 for those parents who have submitted an appeal or have opted to go on the list. All pupils on the waiting list will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered, should any become available, to the highest ranked application received by the date the place becomes available. If new or late applications have a higher priority under the subscription criteria, they will be ranked higher than those who have been on the list for some time. A significant change of circumstances, such as a change of address, will be taken into account: evidence must be provided. Children who have been referred under the local authority's Fair Access protocol or who are the subject of a direction by the local authority to admit must be given precedence over any other children on the waiting list.

Address of Pupil

The address used on the school’s admission form must be the current one at the time of application. If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Admission authorities will not allow preferences, ranking order, or pupil details to be changed after the closing date of 4 December 2009 except in exceptional circumstances for example, if the family has recently moved address. Evidence must be provided to support the request. No changes can be considered after 15 January 2010, when the allocations process has started. Where the parents live at different addresses, the address from which the distance will be measured will be the permanent residential address, at the time of application, of the parent with whom the child is normally resident. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the home address is the address from which the child travels to and from school for the majority of school days per week. If the number of days is exactly equal the home address will be that of the parent who receives the Child Benefit. For children of UK Service personnel and other Crown Servants returning to the area proof of the posting is all that is required.

In-Year Transfers

With effect from September 2010, Tameside MBC will coordinate all requests for in-year transfers (i.e. those other than at the normal time of admission into reception / year7) for children resident in the Tameside area. This will include requests for places at Community, Voluntary-Controlled, Voluntary-Aided, Foundation schools and academies, whether they are in Tameside or in another local authority. Requests for places at this school will be forwarded by Tameside MBC to governors, and considered by the governing body.

Appeals

Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is over subscribed, parents have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel, set up under the School Standards and Framework Act, 1998, as amended by the Education Act, 2002. Parents must be allowed at least 10 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to submit their appeal. Parents will have the opportunity to submit their case to the panel in writing and also to attend in order to present their case. Written notice of the date of the appeal must be sent at least 10 school days in advance of the hearing.

If your child was refused a place in Reception or Key Stage 1 because of Government limits on Infant class sizes, the grounds on which your appeal could be successful are limited. You would have to show that the decision was one which in the circumstances no reasonable governing body would have made, or that your child would have been offered a place if the governors’ admissions arrangements had been properly implemented. Please note that this right of appeal against the governors’ decision does not prevent you from making an appeal in respect of any other school.

Fraudulent Applications

Where the governing body discovers that a child has been awarded a place as the result of an intentionally misleading application from a parent (for example a false claim to residence in the catchment area or of involvement in a place of worship) which effectively denies a place to a child with a stronger claim, then the governing body is required to withdraw the offer of the place. The application will be considered afresh and a right of appeal offered if a place is refused.

Deferred Admission

All children who are born between 1st September 2005 and 31st August 2006 are admitted in September. If your child’s fifth birthday is between the months of September and December, then, if you wish it, admission may be deferred until January; if it is between January and April, then admission may be deferred until the start of the summer term though it is likely to be in your child’s interest to start no later than January.

Twins/Multiple Birth

In cases where twins, triplets and other multiple birth siblings whose date of birth falls within the same academic year, are split when allocations take place, parents will be offered a choice of breaking the sibling link and being offered a place at two or more schools or all siblings being offered a place at the same school which may not be the preference school named on the application form.