ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL

Scheme for co-ordinated admissions to middle schools –

School Year 2005/06 (Admissions in September 2005)

Introduction

The main purpose of this co-ordinated scheme is to ensure that every child living on the Isle of Wight receives an offer of a middle school place at the conclusion of the normal admissions round for pupils transferring from primary to middle school in September 2005 (i.e. by 1 March 2005). The scheme is designed to foster clear communications on school admissions between the LEA, the 14 community and controlled schools plus Archbishop King Catholic and Trinity Church of England Middle Schools which, as voluntary aided middle schools, act as their own admission authorities.

The scheme does not affect the rights of the three admission authorities (The LEA, Archbishop King Catholic Middle School and Trinity Church of England Middle School) to set their own admission policies, and consider applications on the basis of those policies. Its purpose is to set out a process and time scale for the exchange of pupil information between the parties to the scheme, resulting in the offer of a single school place. This should represent the highest preference listed by the parent / carer that it is possible to meet following the application of the relevant admissions policy. Where it is not possible to allocate a place at any of the parents' preferred schools a place will be offered at the nearest school to their home address where a place is available. Parents can still seek an alternative place elsewhere if they are unhappy with the offer. They can also appeal against the decision to refuse their child a place at their preferred school and / or ask for their child's name to be put on a waiting list.

Process and time scale

1. School admissions application packs containing the composite prospectus published by the Isle of Wight Council will be distributed to parents via pupils' current primary schools, at the beginning of October 2004. The LEA will have identified those pupils due to transfer to Year 5 in September in Isle of Wight schools (the transfer cohort) from its computer records. Information on the admissions process will also be sent to Education Welfare Officers and relevant staff of the Social Services & Housing Directorate.

2. Parents / carers will be invited to list up to three preferences for a school place in priority order. These may be at a community, controlled or voluntary aided middle school, or any maintained school outside the Isle of Wight. Parents resident on the Isle of Wight must use the LEA’s own school admissions preference form to indicate their preferred schools and also obtain the special supplementary application (see paragraph 3) should they wish their child to attend either Archbishop King Catholic or Trinity Church of England Middle School. No other form will be valid, in accordance with the requirements of the Education Act 2002. Parents should list the schools in order of priority (e.g. first, second and third). This is vital for the consideration of applications. Parents must ensure that completed application forms are received by the School Admissions Office, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 1UD by 5 pm on 30 November 2004.

3. Where parents wish their child to attend either Archbishop King Catholic or Trinity Church of England Aided Middle School they must, at the same time that they receive the LEA application form, also contact those schools to obtain the special supplementary admissions form relevant to these schools. They must then ensure that the Parish Priest countersigns the form. Both the LEA and supplementary forms must be returned to the School Admissions office at County Hall, Newport by 5 pm on 30 November 2004, not to either of the two aided schools.

4. No later than 16 December 2004

v The LEA will make an indicative allocation of places to all first preferences at community and controlled schools on the Island which are not oversubscribed. The published oversubscription criteria will be applied to those schools with more applicants than places.

v Archbishop King Catholic and Trinity Church of England Middle Schools will be provided with parental preference forms where each of the schools has been listed as a preference (first, second or third), and a list of LEA first preference allocations. They will then apply their admissions criteria. Where pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Needs and must be offered a place this will be indicated.(NB Statemented pupils must be given priority for the school of their parents’ preference in accordance with the SEN and Admissions Code of Practice.)

5. No later than 15 January 2004

v If oversubscribed, Archbishop King Catholic and Trinity Church of England Middle Schools will provide the LEA with a list showing which children will be offered places at the school, and which will not. The list will show which admissions criterion was applied to each child. The school will advise the LEA where in its admissions criteria it stopped offering places, and such additional information as is necessary to inform parents of the reason for its decision when allocation letters are sent on 1 March 2005.

v The Council will decide upon its first preference allocations to community and controlled schools.

6. No later than 30 January 2005

v The Council will liaise with Archbishop King Catholic and Trinity Church of England Middle Schools to establish whether they would be able to offer places to children whose applications to them were second or third preferences. Where the first preference was for an Isle of Wight school which can be offered, second and third preference offers will be declined so that only one offer of a place is made.

7. Between 30 January 2005 and 13 February 2005

v Final lists of school allocations will be prepared.

v Letters to parents / carers will be prepared

v Consideration will be given to late applications received before the allocation date.

8. 1 March 2005

Letters will be posted to parents / carers via first class post. The LEA letter to parents will contain the following information.

v The school where a place has been allocated.

v If they have not been allocated a place at the school of their preference, the reason why.

v If they have been refused a place at their first preferred school (or second or third preference if appropriate), advice concerning their right of appeal to an independent panel.

v How places at the preferred school were allocated.

v In the case of the two church-aided middle schools, an acceptance slip which must be returned by the parents to those schools by 16 March 2005.

Appendix A – Changes of address and late applications

New arrivals to the Island

Parents / carers moving to the Isle of Wight who are making an application on the basis of their new address must provide evidence of a tenancy agreement of six months or more, an exchange of contracts if they are purchasing a property or a letter from a Housing Association confirming the address where they will be resident. The tenancy agreement, exchange of contracts or a letter from a Housing Association must have been received by the closing date of 30 November 2004.

Late applications received before the allocation date.

(a) Forms received after the closing date will not be considered by the LEA until after those which were received by 30 November 2004. Any received for Archbishop King or Trinity Middle Schools will be forwarded to those schools, who will consider the application after those received by 30 November 2004.

(b) Any preference forms received for children in public care will be included in the main admission round as valid first preferences at any time up to the allocation date on 13 February 2005. Where such an application is received after that date, the LEA will, if attendance at the particular school is seen as a necessity, seek to offer a place there. If this is not possible because the school is already oversubscribed , the LEA will discuss the matter with the Directorate’s officer responsible for the Looked-after children.

13 February will be sent a letter allocating a school place on 1 March 2005. Applications received after the allocation date will be sent an allocation letter as soon as possible after 1 March.

(d) Parents / carers living on the Isle of Wight who change their preference as a result of a change of address, and who return the new form by the closing date will have that change considered in the main round of allocations. They will have until

16 December to provide evidence of the address change. Those preference forms received after the closing date will be considered as late applications.

Applications received after the allocation date and ‘in year’ admissions

(a) Where a preference form is received after the allocation date, from a parent / carer living on the Isle of Wight, they must use an Isle of Wight LEA preference form. If the preference(s) is for a community or controlled school, the LEA will allocate a place as long as the school remains under subscribed. If the school is fully subscribed, a place will be allocated at the nearest school to the home address that has a vacancy. The LEA will seek to make a decision as soon as possible after receiving the form. Where a preference is made for either Archbishop King or Trinity Middle Schools or a school in a neighbouring LEA, the form will be passed to that admission authority for a decision. They will be asked to reach a decision within fourteen days of receiving the relevant documentation. The Isle of Wight LEA will endeavour to send a decision to the parent / carer either as soon as possible once it has reached a decision, or has been informed of a decision by the other admission authority.

(b) All applications received after the beginning of the autumn term 2005 will be regarded as outside the co-ordinated scheme. Nonetheless, the LEA will act as the point of contact for all preferences for parents / carers living on the Island, and will liaise with Archbishop King and Trinity Middle Schools and other LEAs over applications for admission to schools other than Isle of Wight community and controlled schools. The LEA preference form should be used in all cases together with the supplementary form for Archbishop King Catholic and Trinity Church of England Aided Middle Schools. The same arrangements will apply to applications for admission to middle schools for year groups other than the normal intake group in Year 5, i.e. years 6, 7 and 8.

Waiting Lists

The Isle of Wight LEA will operate waiting lists for oversubscribed community and controlled schools. The waiting list will operate until the child gains a place or until the parents wish his / her name to be removed. The waiting list ranking will be based on the LEA oversubscription criteria. Rankings within each priority will be determined by distance from home to the relevant school as measured in a straight line. Places will be offered to children from the waiting list as soon as a place becomes available at an over subscribed school. It is for parents to ask for their child to be placed on a waiting list using the form provided by the LEA.

It is a matter for voluntary aided schools such as Archbishop King or Trinity Middle Schools to decide whether or not to operate a waiting list system. If they place a child resident on the Isle of Wight they are asked to notify the LEA at the earliest opportunity.

Admission Appeals

(a) Parents / carers wishing to appeal against any decision not to offer a place at a preferred school should do so by 16 March 2005.

(b) The LEA will not arrange an appeal for a school that was not included on the original preference form. It will only arrange an appeal for a school which was listed as a preference, as it will not have given a decision to the parent / carer for schools not included on the form. If a parent / carer wishes to receive a decision for a school not included in their original preference(s), and thus acquire a right of appeal, they must complete a further preference form.

(c) Parents / carers will receive fourteen days notice of the date of the appeal hearing and will receive copies of any documentation relating to the appeal seven days in advance of the hearing.

(d) Whilst the Isle of Wight Council will make every effort to hear appeals within six weeks of the allocation letter being sent out, as suggested in the Code of Practice, it cannot guarantee this time scale. The volume of appeals to be heard and the availability of the appeal panel members, who are volunteers, will have a direct affect on the timing of the appeal hearings.

(e) Appeals for late applications and school transfers outside the normal admission round will be arranged as soon as is possible after the decision to refuse a preference has been conveyed to the student and the parent / carer.