BRANKSOME HEATH MIDDLE SCHOOL
ADMISSIONS POLICY 2012
The aim of the Governors is to provide a school to serve our local community. Due regard is paid by the LA's Admissions Policy and is used to keep us in line with all Poole Schools to ensure consistency across the Authority.
Parents and children are always welcome to visit and find out more about our school.
To assist parents of prospective pupils joining us from our Pyramid First Schools, we have held a series of open afternoons when Year 3 children have joined our Year 4 classes to experience life at Branksome, while their parents have a guided tour and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Once places at the school have been offered by the Local Authority, there is a further information evening during the Summer Term as well as a Transition Day when children can meet their new teacher.
COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY CONTROLLED FIRST, PRIMARY, COMBINED AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS
All the admission authorities within Poole operate an equal preference admissions system. This means that all first, second and third preference applications are considered together. The local authority will offer the highest ranked preference possible.
Where there are more applications than places available the following criteria will be used, in numerical order, to decide the priority list for the offering of places up to the school's Published Admission Number for the admission year group:
1 Pupils who are "Children in Care" (see Note 1)
2 Pupils who live (see Note 2) within the school's catchment area. If there are too many applications from the catchment area, criteria 3 (a) to (e), will be used in order to prioritise the applications with criterion 4 used as the final determining factor.
3 Pupils who live (see Note 2) outside the school's catchment area, in the following priority order:
a)Pupils who have a sibling (see Note 3) who is already on the roll of the school and will continue to attend the school at the time of admission.
b)Pupils who have a significant medical or psychological condition where the application is supported by appropriate written evidence from a Consultant for medical grounds or a Clinical Psychologist for psychological grounds, giving reasons why only a specific school can meet the medical or psychological needs of the individual pupil.
c)For Church of England Voluntary Controlled schools only - children who are members of the Anglican Church who attend worship at least once a month and whose parents request admission on religious grounds (see Note 4).
d)For Church of England Voluntary Controlled schools only - children who attend a mainstream Christian church and who attend worship at least once a month and whose parents request admission on religious grounds (see Note 5).
e)All other pupils who do not qualify in any of the categories (a) to (d) above.
4 If a school is oversubscribed in any of the categories 1, 2, and 3 (a) to (e) above, pupils who live (see Note 2) closest to the school will be given priority. The distance is measured by a Geographical Information System (see Notes 6 & 7).
Pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs
Pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs issued by a local authority naming a specific school where a pupil should receive his/her education will be admitted to that school before preferences are considered for admission in September.
Admissions arrangements
Admission to all Poole schools will be in accordance with the agreed scheme for co-ordinated admission arrangements 2011/12.
Entry to Reception including deferred entry
All children can start in Reception on a full-time basis from the start of the Autumn Term in 2011. Parents/carers may discuss with the Headteacher as to whether their child should start on a part-time basis, but the final decision will rest with the parent/carer of the child.
Parents of children offered a place in a Reception class can defer their child's entry to the start of the Spring term in January 2012. A place that has been offered will be kept available for those parents wishing to defer their child's entry. A child must start full time education at the start of the term following their 5th birthday. A place cannot be deferred to the start of the next academic year after which the application has been accepted.
Applications for a place in any year group other than a pupil's correct age related National Curriculum year group
Applications for pupils to be educated outside their normal national curriculum year group will be considered by a specialist panel comprising: a Senior Officer from the School Admissions Team in Children & Young People's Integrated Services, The Principal Educational Psychologist or her representative in Children & Young People's Integrated Services and the Headteacher of the school concerned.
Applicants must provide with their application form the following information in support of their request:
1. Clear, documented evidence that to place the pupil in his/her normal age group would be detrimental to his/her educational progress or likely exam performance.
2. Clear evidence that it is in the interests of the pupil's social and emotional development to be forward/back yeared.
3. Clear evidence that the pupil has previously been back/forward yeared and this has had positive benefits.
(A pupil would need to meet Criteria 1 and 2 above in all cases, for agreement of an out of year group admission. The existence of Criterion 3 would serve to strengthen a case.)
In-Year Fair Access
All the admission authorities in Poole have established an In-year Fair Access Protocol. The purpose of the Protocol is to ensure an equitable distribution of in-year admission placements of pupils without a school place or with challenging behaviour. Cases are considered by a Panel comprising Headteachers. Decisionsof the Panel may mean that individual schools may have to admit pupils which could result in the Published Admission Number being exceeded. Admission authorities will not be asked to admit a pupil to Year R or Year 1 due to infant class size restrictions. However, admission authorities may be asked to admit to a child to Year 2 as the child would be considered as an "excepted pupil" for the remainder of that academic year.
In-year admissions - Children in Care
A Child in Care may be admitted to a school above the Published Admission number if it is felt by the local authority that a particular school is the most appropriate placement to meet the needs of the individual child. The local authority has adopted a Protocol for dealing with in-year admissions of Children in Care.
Applications from separated parents
Only one application can be considered for each pupil. Where parents are separated it is essential that agreement is reached by both parties concerning the nominated preferred schools. If agreement cannot be reached the local authority will only consider the application from the parent who is the prime carer for the child. The prime carer is the parent in whose name Child Benefit payments are made.
Applications for children of multiple births
If there are insufficient places to accommodate all the children of a multiple birth (i.e. twins, triplets etc):
(a) For an infant class (Years R,1 and 2) the parents of the children will be asked to nominate the child or children to take up the available number of places, and
(b) For all other year groups: In-catchment children: if one child can be admitted the other siblings of the multiple birth will be admitted over the school's Published Admission Number. For out of catchment pupils: the parents of the children will be asked to nominate the child or children to take up the available number of places.
Notes
1."Children in Care" means any child who is in the care of a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
2.The local authority will consider that a child lives at the address at which he/she lives during the school week. Where a child lives at more than one address during the school week the local authority will consider the home address as being where the prime carer resides. The "prime carer" is the person in whose name Child Benefit payments for the individual child are made. The final decision on the home address of a child will be made by the local authority. If any information supplied by an applicant is judged by the local authority to be fraudulent or intentionally misleading the local authority may refuse to offer a place or if already offered may withdraw the offer.
3."Sibling" means a full brother or sister, and a half brother or half sister, adoptive brother or sister and non-blood related children who live with married or cohabiting parents in the same household.
4.In criterion 3(c), applications on denominational grounds must be supported by the Supplementary Information Form, used by all Poole schools, signed by a parish priest confirming attendance at worship at least once a month. Supplementary Information Forms can be obtained from the school, the School Admissions Team in Children and Young People's Integrated Services or on-line at the Borough of Poole's website.
5.In criterion 3(d), applications on denominational grounds must be supported by the Supplementary Information Form, used by all Poole schools, signed by a priest, minister or leader of the church. "Mainstream Christian church" means a church which subscribes to Churches Together in Britain and Northern Ireland. Supplementary Information Forms can be obtained from the school, the School Admissions Team in Children and Young People's Integrated Services or on-line at the Borough of Poole's website.
6.(a) The distance from home to school is measured by using the shortest, safest, practicable walking route using the centre line of public roads and footpaths (excluding paths identified for the sole use of bicycles i.e. cycleways) from the nearest point on the public highway to the centre point of the pupil's home address (see Note 2 above) to a point opposite the nearest approved access point on school property that is for the use of pupils. The GIS maps used are provided by Ordnance Survey and represent the position as at the beginning of the annual admission cycle i.e. September in the year prior to admission, any footpaths or roads added after this time will not be taken into consideration until the next academic year of application.
(b) For applicants living on islands within Poole harbour the distance measurement will be a straight line from the centre point of the home property (see Note 2) to either:
1. the nearest public landing steps at Poole Quay, or
2. a point on the mainland that the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the local authority that he/she can access
and from that point the distance will be measured using the shortest, safest, practicable walking route to the nearest point on the public highway and from there using the shortest, safest, practicable walking route using the centre line of public roads and footpaths (excluding paths identified for the sole use of bicycles i.e. cycleways) to a point opposite the nearest approved access point on school property that is for the use of pupils.
(c) If an applicant advises the local authority that the child would or could use the Sandbanks/Studland Chain Ferry in the journey to school then the distance will be measured on that basis from the home address (see Note 2) in line with Note 6(a) above, including the distance travelled by the ferry.
7.If there are insufficient places to accommodate all applicants and the distance criterion is used, the local authority will use random allocation for applicants living an equal distance from the school (up to three decimal points) or at the same address or in the same bock of flats who are eligible for the remaining places. Applicants will have their names drawn as lots to see who should be offered the place(s). The person drawing the names will be an officer within Children & Young People's Integrated Services who has no involvement in the school admissions process.
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