Admission arrangements for academies in Tameside

Home -> Education and learning -> Schools and colleges -> School - General Information

Admission Arrangements for Academies

Audenshaw School
Droylsden Academy Sixth Form Admissions 2012/13
New Charter Academy
Fairfield High School for Girls

Audenshaw School

Admission Arrangements 2012/2013

In common with other Tameside secondary schools, Audenshaw School has introduced a number of changes to its admission procedures to comply with the requirements of a qualifying scheme under the Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2007. Audenshaw School will operate an equal preference scheme.

Applying for a Place at Audenshaw School for September 2012

If you are a Tameside resident and your son attends a Tameside Primary School

You will have received a ‘Moving On’ booklet in September. The booklet will contain a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and a Common Application Form (CAF). The completed CAF should be returned to your son’s primary school who will forward it to Tameside LEA.

If you live outside the Tameside LEA area and your son attends a Tameside Primary School

You will receive a ‘Moving On’ booklet. The booklet will contain a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and an explanation of how to get the Common Application Form (CAF) for the education authority where you live. Application must be made to your own LEA even if you wish to state Audenshaw School as one of your preferred choices.

If you live outside the Tameside LEA area and your son attends a Primary School outside the Tameside LEA area.

You will receive a booklet from your own LEA which will provide details of applying to schools outside your own education authority. Applications forms need to be returned in accordance with their specific instructions and not to Tameside. Application must be made to your own LEA even if you wish to state Audenshaw School as one of your preferred choices.

If you live inside the Tameside local authority area and your child attends a Primary School outside the Tameside local authority area

You will receive an application pack from Tameside in September 2009. The pack will contain Tameside’s ‘Moving On’ booklet on secondary admissions, a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and a Tameside Common Application Form. Application must be made to Tameside even if you wish to state a school in another local authority as one or more of your preferred schools.

The Process

The Common Application Form will invite all parents to name 3 schools in order of preference. In allocating places, Audenshaw School will operate an equal preference scheme.
The Common Application Form will give parents the opportunity to include information to support an application to Audenshaw School.
There will be a common timetable for all including a single notification date. Late applications will be dealt with as late and ranked after all applications received by the deadline.
Changes to preferences or ranking order will not be allowed after the closing date of 31 October 2011 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 26 November 2011 when the allocations process has started.
Primary schools will forward all application forms (CAF) to the LEA who will collate them. Applications from outside the Tameside area will be forwarded by the relevant LEA to Tameside. Any application forms mistakenly received by Audenshaw School will be forwarded to the LEA.
Governors will apply the school’s oversubscription criteria irrespective of the preference order, and provide the Local Authority with a list of applicants ranked according to the criteria.
Notification letters containing offers of a single school place will be sent out to parents on 1 March 2012. This is common with all other LEAs nationally. These letters will also inform parents of their right of appeal, and who to contact, if an application to Audenshaw School has not been successful.
Parents will not receive multiple offers.
If the school is oversubscribed Audenshaw School will maintain a waiting list. The waiting list will operate until the end of the Summer Term 2013. 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 oversubscription 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 will be given precedence over any other children on the waiting list.

Electronic Admissions by E-Mail

Parents with a working e-mail address have the opportunity to apply on-line. To access this facility log on to Tameside’s website (www.tameside.gov.uk), then under quick links click on ‘Admissions on-line.’ This will take you to the log on page where you will need to register before you can make an application. The LEA will send you a confirmation reply.

Each child will be issued with a unique identification number (UID) which you enter on-line along with your child’s date of birth in order to bring up your child’s details and application form. No one else will be able to access your child’s information.

Preferences can then be entered in ranked (priority) order. These may be changed at any time before the closing date of 31 October. Parents can also opt to receive confirmation of their child’s school allocation by e-mail on 1 March, 2012. Letters will additionally be sent by post.

Admissions Arrangements for Audenshaw School

Boys will be admitted at age 11 without reference to ability or aptitude. The published admission number for the school is 196.

Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria (see also ‘Moving On’ booklet) will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit.

Admissions September 2012

Published Admission Number: 196

Oversubscription Criteria

If the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, the criteria for over-subscription are applied to determine who should be allocated the places at the school. Children with statements of special educational needs, where Audenshaw School is the named school, will be allocated places before the oversubscription criteria are applied. The criteria for over-subscription for Audenshaw School are:

1. Children in Public Care (Looked After Children)

2. Children and families with exceptional medical or social needs

Written evidence must be provided from a doctor or other agency that he/she has exceptional needs which means that admission to a particular school is essential, reference will normally be made to the Community Health Physician, Social Services, or the Educational Psychologist, as appropriate. Members of the school’s Admission Committee 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.

3. Sibling: this will apply where there are brothers or sisters attending the school at the time of application for a place. Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.*

The sibling criterion includes; natural brothers; half brothers; step brothers; adopted brothers; brothers of fostered children, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of children whose siblings will still be attending the preferred school.

4. Single sex education - The Common Application Form allows an expression of a general preference for single sex education. If the school is oversubscribed on this criterion preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.*

5. All other applications on distance. Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.*

*Where oversubscription occurs in applying criterion 3, 4 or 5, 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 2 or more applications where this distance would be the last place/s to be allocated, a random lottery will be implemented between the applications 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 the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names will be drawn out.”

Sixth Form Entry

Admission to the co-educational sixth form will be from:

pupils in Year 11 at Audenshaw School
pupils from outside of Audenshaw School

Audenshaw school has 260 places in its sixth form. It is expected that there will be 75 qualified candidates wishing to transfer from year 11 therefore the admission number for pupils entering the sixth form from outside of Audenshaw will be 55.

Students on roll at Audenshaw School are required to apply for a place in the sixth form as are students from other schools.

The entry requirements for admission to the sixth form shall be the same for students on roll in Year 11 at the school and external applicants.

Pupils will be admitted into the sixth form at the start of the Autumn Term in each school year although there may be some occasions when students transfer during an academic year.

Minimum entry requirements

All those seeking admission to the Sixth Form must achieve the following grades:-

Students will be expected to have achieved a minimum of 5+ A*-C in their GCSEs.
A minimum of a grade B in their chosen subjects.

Oversubscription criteria

Where the number of eligible applicants for a course of study exceeds the places available then admission will be determined in accordance with the following priority of admission criteria:

Children in Public Care (Looked After Children). Students with Special Educational Needs who meet the minimum entry requirements.
The overall strength of the student’s academic profile based on estimated grades; the academic profile will be determined annually in the light of applications received.
The availability of space in the subjects applied for.

The number of students who have applied for each course will be taken into account, meaning that extra students can sometimes be accommodated over the admission number if the pupils chosen course is not full.

Applications

Students wishing to apply for a place in the Sixth Form should complete an application form (available from the school). These should be returned to the school no later than10th December 2012.
Offers of places will be made on18 January 2013.

Waiting List

In the event of the Sixth Form being oversubscribed, a waiting list will be held by the school. Places will be offered from this waiting list based on the oversubscription criteria above.
The waiting list will be operated by the school until 30 September 2012.

Appeals

Any pupil refused the offer of a place in the sixth form has the right of appeal to an independent appeals panel (see below).

False Information

Where the school has made the offer of a place in the sixth form on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application which has effectively denied a place in the sixth form to a pupil with a stronger claim, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.

Late Applications

Late applications will be considered up to the end of the third full week of the Autumn Term.

Appeals

Any parent who is dissatisfied with their school allocation has the right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. For pupils with Special Educational Needs, appeal can be made to the SEN Tribunal (details are included in the Statement).

Parents, therefore, who wish to appeal against any decision of the Admissions Committee in refusing admission to the school, should do so by completing a School Admission Appeal Form, setting out clearly why your child should go to Audenshaw. These are available, and should be returned to, the School Organisation Section at Tameside MBC, Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancs. OL6 6DL.

The Appeals Panel will:

be independent of the governing body;
give the appellant at least fourteen day's notice of the time and place of the hearing;
give the appellant, who may be accompanied by a friend or be represented, the opportunity to make oral representation;
give the appellant at least seven day's notice of any written representations made to it by the governing body.

The appeal shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast, the chairman of the panel having a casting vote.
The decision of the Appeals Panel and the grounds on which it was made shall be communicated by the Clerk in writing to the appellant. That decision shall be binding on all parties.

Droylsden Academy Admissions 2012/13

The Admission of Students to Droylsden Academy

General

1. This annex may be amended in writing at any time by agreement between the Secretary of State and the Academy Trust.

2. The Academy Trust will act in accordance with, and will ensure that the Independent Appeal Panel is trained to act in accordance with, all relevant provisions of the School Admissions Code and the School Admission Appeals Code published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (“the Codes”) as they apply at any given time to maintained schools and with equalities law and the law on admissions as they apply to maintained schools. For this purpose, reference in the Codes or law to “admission authorities” shall be deemed to be references to the governing body of the Academy Trust.

3. Notwithstanding the generality of paragraph 2 of this Annex, the Academy Trust will take part in the Admissions Forum set up by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (TMBC), and have regard to its advice; and will participate in the co-ordinated admission arrangements operated by TMBC and the local in-year fair access protocol.

4. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement, the Secretary of State may direct the Academy Trust admit a named student to Droylsden Academy on application from a local authority. Before doing so the Secretary of State will consult the Academy Trust.

5. The Academy Trust shall ensure that parents will have the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel if they are dissatisfied with an admission decision of the Academy Trust. The Independent Appeal Panel will be independent of the Academy Trust. The arrangements for appeals will comply with the School Admission Appeals Code published by the Department for Education as it applies to Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools. The determination of the appeal panel is binding on all parties.

6. The Academy Trust shall prepare guidance for parents about how the appeals process will work and provide parents with a named contact who can answer any enquiries parents may have about the process. The Academy Trust may, if it chooses, enter into an agreement with the LA or any other organisation for it to recruit, train and appoint appeal panel members, and to arrange for the process to be independently administered and clerked.

Annual Procedures for Determining Admission Arrangements

Consultation

7. The Academy Trust shall consult the following parties on the Academy’s proposed admission arrangements by 1 March in the Academy Financial Year beginning two years before the Academy Financial Year which the admissions arrangements will be for e.g. March 2009 for admissions in September 2010, (“Determination Year”):

8. TMBC.

9. The admission forum for TMBC.

10. Any other admission authorities for primary and secondary schools located within the relevant area for consultation set by TMBC.

11. Any other governing body for primary and secondary schools (as far as not falling within paragraph c)) located within the relevant area for consultation.

12. Affected admission authorities in neighbouring local authority areas.
Such consultation shall be in line with the requirements of the Codes and relevant admissions legislation, which at the date of this Agreement is section 89 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 as amended, and Regulations under that section.

Academy Trust Determination of Admission Arrangements

13. The Academy Trust will consider comments made by those consulted in accordance with paragraph 7, including any requests to amend the proposed admissions number, before determining the admissions arrangements for the Academy.

14. The Academy Trust will determine the Academy’s admission arrangements by 15 April of the Determination Year and notify those consulted in accordance with paragraph 7 what has been determined within 14 days of that decision being made.

Representations about admission arrangements

15. Where the Academy Trust has determined the Academy’s admission arrangements and notified all those bodies that it has consulted in accordance with paragraph 9, if any of those bodies object to the Academy’s admission arrangements, including the proposed admissions number, they can make representations to the Secretary of State. Any representations must be made by 30 June in the Determination Year.

Secretary of State’s Consent for Changes to Admissions Arrangements

16. Where the admissions arrangements determined in a Determination Year in accordance with paragraph 9 are different to the admissions arrangements currently in existence for the Academy, the Academy Trust shall by 30 June in the Determination Year apply to the Secretary of State for him to consent to such amended admissions arrangements.

Secretary of State’s Power to Accept, Modify or Reject Admissions Arrangements

17. Where the Secretary of State has received any representations made in accordance with paragraph 10, the Secretary of State must consult the Academy Trust on such representations. Following such consultation, by 31 July in the Determination Year, the Secretary of State may direct that the Academy Trust amends the proposed admissions arrangements for the Academy. The Academy Trust shall comply with any such direction.

18. Where the Secretary of State has received an application made in accordance with paragraph 11 to consent to any amended admissions arrangements, the Secretary of State must by 31 July in the Determination Year either approve the amended admissions arrangements or direct that the amended admissions arrangements are not implemented or must be modified. The Academy Trust must comply with any such direction.

Publication of Admission Arrangements

19. The Academy Trust shall each Determination Year publish the Droylsden Academy’s agreed admission arrangements by:

copies being sent to the persons consulted in paragraph 7;
copies being sent to primary and secondary schools in TMBC’s area;
copies being sent to the offices of TMBC;
copies being made available without charge on request from the Academy;
copies being sent to public libraries in the area of TMBC for the purposes of being made available at such libraries for reference by parents and other persons.

20. The published admissions arrangements will set out:

the name and address of Droylsden Academy and contact details;
a summary of the admissions policy, including oversubscription criteria and any arrangements for post-16 admission;
a statement of any religious affiliation, if relevant;
numbers of places and applications for those places in the previous year, and:
arrangements for hearing appeals.

Proposed Changes to Admission Arrangements by Droylsden Academy After Arrangements Have Been Published

21. Subject to paragraph 17, once the Academy’s admission arrangements have been determined for a particular year and published, the Academy Trust will not make any change to such arrangements unless there is a major change of circumstances and the following procedures have been followed:

the Academy Trust has consulted those who were consulted under paragraph 7 above on the proposed variation;
following such consultation, the Academy Trust has applied to the Secretary of State to approve the change setting out:
i) the proposed change;
ii) reasons for wishing to make such change;
iii) any comments or objections to the proposal from those consulted; and
following such application, the Secretary of State has provided his consent to the proposed variation.

22. The Academy Trust shall, following the prior written agreement or direction of the Secretary of State, vary the Academy’s admissions arrangements where such changes are necessary to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of admissions law or the Codes as they apply to maintained schools. Such changes may be made at any time.

23. Any changes to the Academy’s admission arrangements brought about through the variation processes in paragraphs 16 or 17 above must be published within the Academy’s prospectus and website (if it has one) and be communicated within seven days to those persons who must be consulted under paragraph 7.

24. The Academy Trust must make arrangements for a parent of a child who has attained the age of two but is not above compulsory school age and who has been, is or will be eligible to apply to be admitted to the Academy to make representations to the Secretary of State that any aspect of the Academy’s admission arrangements does not comply with the relevant provisions of admissions law or the Codes as they apply to maintained schools.

25. Where a representation is made in accordance with paragraph 19, the Secretary of State may, after consulting the Academy Trust, direct that the Academy Trust modify its arrangements for the admission of students to the Academy so that they comply with the relevant provisions of admissions law and the Codes as they apply to maintained schools. The Academy Trust must comply with any such direction.

26. Records of applications and admissions to the Academy shall be kept by the Academy Trust for a minimum period of ten years and shall be open for inspection by the Secretary of State.

Procedure for Admitting Students into the Academy

Admissions Numbers

27. The Academy Trust has the following agreed admissions numbers for the Academy for the year 2011/2012 and, subject to any changes approved or required by the Secretary of State, for subsequent years:
a) The admission number for year 7 is 240 students;

28. In any specific year, the Academy Trust may set a higher admission number than the Academy’s agreed admission number for an applicable year group. Before setting an admission number higher than its agreed admission number, the Academy Trust will consult those listed at paragraph 7. Students will not be admitted in any year group above the published admissions number for that year group unless exceptional circumstances apply and such circumstances shall be reported to the Secretary of State.

Process of application

29. Arrangements for applications for places at the Academy will be made in accordance with TMBC’s co-ordinated admission arrangements and will be made on the Common Application Form (CAF) provided and administered by the relevant local authority.

30. The Academy Trust will use the following timetable for applications to the Academy each year (exact dates within the months may vary from year to year) which, whenever possible, will fit in with the common timetable agreed by TMBC’s Admissions Forum or TMBC.

By September of the preceding year - The Academy Trust will publish in the Academy’s prospectus information about the arrangements for admission, including oversubscription criteria, for the following September (e.g. in September 2009 for admission in September 2010). This will include details of open evenings and other opportunities for prospective students and their parents to visit the school. The Academy will also provide information to the LA for inclusion in the composite prospectus, as required;
September/October - The Academy will provide opportunities for parents to visit the Academy;
October/November – Common Application Form (CAF) to be completed and returned to the LA to administer
TMBC sends applications to Academy
Academy sends list of students to be offered places to TMBC
February - TMBC applies agreed scheme for its own schools, informing other LAs of offers to be made to their residents.
1st March offers made to parents/carers.

Consideration of applications

31. The Academy Trust will consider all applications for places at the Academy. Where the admission is fewer than the published admission number for Year 7, number of applications for the Academy Trust will offer places at the Academy to all those who have applied.

Procedures where the Academy is oversubscribed Secondary phase oversubscription criteria

32. Where the number of applications for admission is greater than the published admissions number, applications will be considered against the criteria set out below. They will be applied in conjunction with explanatory notes 1 - 4 which form part of the admissions arrangements.

33. After the admission of students with statements of Special Educational Needs where the Academy is named on the statement, the criteria will be applied in the following order:

Children in Public Care (Looked After Children).(Note 1)
Children and families with exceptional medical or social needs (Note 2)
Sibling: This will apply where there are brothers or sisters attending the school at the time of application, who will still be attending at the time of admission, i.e. in the September when the pupil is admitted to Year 7. Preference will be given to students living nearest to the school (Note 3)
Children attending primary schools in Tameside and children educated at home. Preference will be given to students living nearest to the school (Note 4)
All other applications on distance.
Sibling criteria may apply where, at the time of application, an older sibling is expected to be on roll (including in the Academy sixth form) when a younger child starts at the Academy. If the older sibling unexpectedly leaves the school after an offer has been made to a younger child the offer of a place would not be withdrawn on these grounds. Distance will also be used as a tie-breaker where oversubscription occurs within any of criteria a to d. Preference will be given to students living nearest to the school.

In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applicants where this distance would be the last place/s to be allocated, a random lottery will be implemented between the applicants where the distance is the same. The random lottery will be carried out in a place accessible to the public and supervised by someone independent of the Academy. All the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names will be drawn out.

This section of the Droylsden Academy Admissions Policy applies to all 16 – 19 year old students seeking admission to full time courses.

34. The full capacity for Droylsden Academy will be 100 in each year of sixth form.

Process and Consideration of Applications:

35. Students on roll at Droylsden Academy are required to apply for a place in the sixth form as are students from outside of Droylsden Academy.

36. Droylsden Academy will consider all applications received for places.

37. All students requesting a place at Droylsden Academy sixth form will be expected to have met the minimum entry requirements. The entry requirements for students on roll at the Academy will be the same as those for external applicants.

38. The Academy will give guidance to students who wish to consider a change of subject on receipt of their GCSE results.

39. Students will be admitted into the sixth form at the start of the Autumn Term in each Academy year although there may be some occasions when students transfer during an academic year.

Minimum entry requirements:

40. All students who receive a conditional offer of a place at the sixth form must normally achieve the following minimum requirements:-

5 or more A*-C at GCSE including English Language and Mathematics.

Applications:

41. Students wishing to apply for a place in the sixth form should complete an application form (available from the Academy). These should be returned to the Academy no later than the end of February. Students will be offered a conditional place on the day of their interview.

42. Students holding conditional offers will have their place confirmed following receipt of GCSE results.

43.Where the Academy has made the offer of a place in the sixth form on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application which has effectively denied a place in the sixth form to a student with a stronger claim, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.

Late Applications:

44. Places will not be allocated to students who submit their application forms after the closing date until all applications made prior to the closing date have been considered, this will only be subject to the maximum capacity of the particular year group not being met.

Waiting List

45. In the event of the sixth form being oversubscribed, a waiting list will be held by the Academy. Places will be offered from this waiting list based on the oversubscription criteria.

46. The waiting list will be operated by the Academy until 14 September each academic year.

Oversubscription criteria:

47. Where the number of eligible applicants for a course of study exceeds the places available then admission will be determined in accordance with the following priority of admission criteria:

Children in Public Care (Looked After Children).
Children and families with exceptional medical or social needs.
Students who have a sibling resident at the same address who currently attend Droylsden Academy and will continue to do so on the date of admission.
All other applications on distance.

Appeals

48. There will be a right of appeal to an independent appeals panel for unsuccessful applications. Appeals will be heard within four working weeks of the appeal being received by Droylsden Academy.

Arrangements for admitting students to other year groups, including to replace any students who have left the Academy

49. Subject to any provisions in TMBC’s co-ordinated admission arrangements relating to applications submitted for years other than the normal year of entry, the Academy Trust will consider all such applications and if the year group applied for has a place available, admit the child unless one of the permitted reliefs apply.

50. If more applications are received than there are places available, the oversubscription criteria in paragraph 28 shall apply. Parents whose application is turned down shall be entitled to appeal.

Arrangements for admission of students as the Academy builds to its full capacity

51. Droylsden Academy will open on 1 September 2009 with a Published Admission Number relating solely to students in Year 7. Students in subsequent Years will have been transferred automatically from the predecessor schools, which will close on 31 August 2009.

52. Admission to Year groups without a Published Admission Number will be based upon the size of teaching groups already existing in the Academy and the efficient use of resources.

53. There will be a right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel for unsuccessful applicants.

Notes

These notes are part of the admissions arrangements.

Note 1 - A child in public care is defined as a child who is looked after by a local authority within the meaning of Section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
Note 2 - Written evidence must be provided by a suitably qualified professional – e.g. a GP or consultant for medical needs, or a social worker for social needs - that he/she has exceptional needs, which means that admission to a particular school is essential. A panel of governors from the Academy 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.
Note 3 - Sibling includes; natural sisters/brothers; half sisters/brothers; step sisters/brothers; adopted sisters/brothers; sisters/ brothers of fostered children, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of children whose siblings will still be attending the preferred school. Where the last place to be allocated would mean that a sibling group i.e. twins, triplets or other multiple birth sibling groups would be split, the sibling group will be given priority over other children.
Note 4 - Preference will be given to students living nearest to the school. The address from which distances are measured will be the permanent principal residential address, at the time of application, of the parent (as defined in the introduction to the TMBC Moving On booklet, "We're Here to Help"). The Academy will not take into account an intention to move to another address without a solicitor's letter confirming an exchange of contract for purchase of a property, or a long-term agreement for renting a residential property.

When a child lives with parents who share responsibility, each for part of a week, the home address, for the purpose of distance measurements and travel considerations, will be that from which the child travels to school for the majority of school days during a normal school week.

Distance will be measured as a straight line from the child’s home address to the main gate to the school site which houses Year 7 students, using the LA’s school admissions data mapping software, which uses a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey.

New Charter Academy

Admission arrangements for 2012/13

Contact the school.

Fairfield High School for Girls

Admission Arrangements for 2012/13

In common with other Tameside secondary schools, Fairfield High School's admission procedures comply with the requirements of a qualifying scheme under the Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2007. Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.

If you are a Tameside resident and your daughter attends a Tameside Primary School.

You will have received a ‘Moving On’ booklet in September. The booklet will contain a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and a Common Application Form (CAF). The completed CAF should be returned to your daughter's primary school who will forward it to Tameside LA.

If you live outside the Tameside LA area and your daughter attends a Tameside Primary School.

You will receive a ‘Moving On’ booklet. The booklet will contain a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and an explanation of how to get the Common Application Form (CAF) for the education authority where you live. Application must be made to your own LA even if you wish to state Fairfield High School as one of your preferred choices.

If you live outside the Tameside LA area and your daughter attends a Primary School outside the Tameside LA area.

You will receive a booklet from your own LA which will provide details of applying to schools outside your own education authority. Applications forms need to be returned in accordance with their specific instructions and not to Tameside. Application must be made to your own LA even if you wish to state Fairfield High School as one of your preferred choices.

If you live inside the Tameside local authority area and your child attends a Primary School outside the Tameside local authority area.

You will receive an application pack from Tameside in September 2011. The pack will contain Tameside's ‘Moving On’ booklet on secondary admissions, a personally addressed letter, outlining the admissions process to be followed and a Tameside Common Application Form. Application must be made to Tameside even if you wish to state a school in another local authority as one or more of your preferred schools.

The Process

The Common Application Form will invite all parents to name 3 schools in order of preference. In allocating places, Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.
The Common Application Form will give parents the opportunity to include information to support an application to Fairfield High School.

There will be a common timetable for all including a single notification date. Late applications will be dealt with as late and ranked after all applications received by the deadline.

Changes to preferences, ranking order or pupil details will not be allowed after the closing date of 31 October 2011 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 tbc, when the allocations process has started.

Primary schools will forward all application forms (CAF) to the LA who will collate them. Applications from outside the Tameside area will be forwarded by the relevant LA to Tameside. Any application forms mistakenly received by Fairfield High School will be forwarded to the LA.

The LA will liaise with Fairfield High School over applications. Governors will apply the school's oversubscription criteria irrespective of the preference order, and provide the Local Authority with a list of applicants ranked according to the criteria (see below).

Notification letters containing offers of a single school place will be sent out to parents on 1 March 2012.

This is common with all other LAs nationally. These letters will also inform parents of their right of appeal, and who to contact, if an application to Fairfield High School has not been successful.
Parents will not receive multiple offers.

If the school is oversubscribed the governors will maintain a waiting list.

The waiting list will operate until the end of the school year 2012. Parents who have expressed the school as a preference and have not been offered a place at the school or at a higher preference school, will automatically be placed on the waiting list. Other parents who have submitted an appeal or who have opted to go on the list will also be placed 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 oversubscription 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.

Electronic Admissions by E-Mail

Parents with a working e-mail address have the opportunity to apply on-line. To access this facility log on to Tameside's website (www.tameside.gov.uk), then under quick links click on ‘Admissions on-line.’ This will take you to the log on page where you will need to register before you can make an application. The LA will send you a confirmation reply.

Each child will be issued with a unique identification number (UID) which you enter on-line along with your child's date of birth in order to bring up your child's details and application form. No one else will be able to access your child's information. Preferences can then be entered in ranked (priority) order. These may be changed at any time before the closing date of 31 October 2011. Parents can also opt to receive confirmation of their child's school allocation by e-mail on 1 March 2012. Letters will additionally be sent by post.

Admissions Arrangements for Fairfield High School

Girls will be admitted at age 11 without reference to ability or aptitude. The published admission number for the school is 195.

Admissions September 2012

If the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, the criteria for over-subscription are applied to determine who should be offered places. Girls with statements of special educational needs where the school is named will be allocated places before the oversubscription criteria are applied. An application to Fairfield High School indicates a preference for single sex education.

The criteria for over-subscription for Fairfield High School are:

Children in Public Care (Looked After Children)
Children and families with exceptional medical or social needs - Evidence must be provided from a doctor or other agency that she has exceptional needs which means that admission to Fairfield High School is essential. Reference will normally be made to the Community Health Physician, Social Services or the Educational Psychologist, as appropriate. The Governing Body will make a decision as to whether to admit a girl under this criterion using the evidence provided. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Siblings - This will apply where there are sisters attending the school at the time of admission. Preference will be given to girls living nearest to the school. *
The sibling criterion includes: natural sisters; half sisters; step-sisters; adopted sisters; sisters of fostered girls, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of girls whose siblings will still be attending Fairfield High School.
Girls attending primary schools in Tameside, including pupils educated at home at the time of application, as identified by the LA. Preference will be given to girls living nearest the school.*
All other applications on distance. Preference will be given to girls living nearest the school.*

*Where over-subscription occurs in applying criteria 3, 4 or 5, 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 unlikely event of distance being the same for 2 or more applicants, where this distance would be for the last place(s) to be allocated, a random lottery will be implemented between the applicants for whom 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 the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names drawn out.

The address from which 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 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.

In cases where twins, triplets, other multiple birth siblings, or other siblings whose date of birth falls within the same academic year, would be split when allocations take place, governors will exceed the Published Admission Number in order to admit that sibling group.

Appeals

Parents, therefore, who wish to appeal against any decision of the Admissions Committee in refusing admission to the school, should do so by writing to School Appeals, Democratic Services, Tameside MBC, Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6DL.

Page last updated: 20 December 2011