St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant School Admission application procedures 2012

Admissions Policy 2012/2013

The Governors of St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School are the Admissions Authority. Following consultation with the Diocesan Board of Education and the Local Authority the Governors have set the published admission number for access to the reception class as 60.

An application for admission to our School is to be made on the form SA1 which is included in the parental information pack. If you wish your application to be considered under the faith criteria then parents must provide proof with the completed form that they are on an electoral roll of a Church of England Church and have been for a period of two years prior to the closing date for the submission of the preference forms. It is also possible for an application to be made on the Local Authority’s website. The application closing date for entry in September 2012 is the 15th January 2012. The parental information pack contains additional information.

Parents are encouraged to state three preferences on the application form. The Governors operate a system whereby they consider all preferences equally. Places are allocated according to this Admissions Policy and the Local Authority’s Coordinated Admissions Scheme. A letter informing parents of the success or otherwise of their application will be sent out by the Local Authority. Parents of those children not offered a place will be informed of the reason and offered an alternative school by the Local Authority.

In the event that there are more applicants than places the Governors will allocate places using the following criteria. These are listed in order of priority.

1. Children who are in Public Care. A child in public care is defined as a child who is looked after by the Local Authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989.
2. Children living within the catchment area who have attended our Nursery.
3. Children living within the catchment area having brothers and sisters attending our School or associated Junior School (Windermere CE Junior School) at the time of their admission giving priority. Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address including step and foster children. (note A)
4. Children living outside the catchment area who have attended our Nursery.
5. Children living outside the catchment area having brothers and sisters attending our School at the time of their admission giving priority, if necessary, to those children with the youngest siblings. Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address including step and foster children. (note A)
6. Children living within the catchment area who with their parents attend on a regular basis for at least two years at a church recognised by Churches Together in Britain. Attendance may be at more than one church. (note B)
7. Children living outside the catchment area who with their parents attend on a regular basis for at least two years at a church recognised by Churches Together in Britain. Attendance may be at more than one church. (note B)
8. Any other children.

The criteria outlined above will be strictly followed there being one exception. If a child has a statement of Special Educational Needs naming St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School then irrespective of the criteria the child will be admitted as in these circumstances the Governors have a statutory duty to admit the child concerned.

A. In categories 4 and 5, priority will be given to those children with the youngest siblings. Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address and includes step and foster children. Priority will only be given where it is known at the time of allocating places that a sibling will be attending the school (including nursery class) at the time of admission. In circumstances where there is an application for more than one child in the family, and it is not possible to offer a place to all the children concerned, it will be up to the parents to decide whether they wish to accept the place(s) offered.

B. To be considered under category 6 or 7 parents must provide proof with the completed form that they have attended church regularly for a period of two years prior to the closing date for the submission of the preference forms.

Tie Break.

Where there are more applicants than places available in any category then distance will act as a determining factor. The distance is measured from the child’s home front door to the main entrance door of the school. The distance is determined by the shortest walking route by road. The Governors will use the Local Authority measuring system to ensure consistency of measurement. The closest addresses will have priority.

Address of Pupil.

The address on the application form must be the current one at the time of application. Where a child can live at more than one address the home address is to be the one where the child sleeps and thus wakes up for all or the majority of the school week. Where there is any doubt the Governors reserve the right to verify the information provided by the parent(s), for example, through the GP or the child benefit address.

Successful Applications.

Last year the Governors of St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School were able to admit all the pupils whose parents applied.

Late Applications.

These are dealt with by the Local Authority under the Scheme for the Co-ordination of Admissions.

Waiting List.

Those children who are not offered a place may, if the parents so wish, be placed on a waiting list. The names will be placed on the list in the order of the admissions criteria. Late applicants will be slotted into the list according to the admissions criteria. It is thus possible for a child recently arrived in the area to have a higher priority than a child who has been on the waiting list for some time. Irrespective of whether an appeal has been submitted, if a place becomes available it will be offered to the child at the top of the list. For the Reception class the waiting list will remain open until the end of the Autumn Term.

Non Routine Admissions.

Non routine admissions are those which occur outside the “normal” admission time. Parents who wish their child to attend St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School should visit our School. If we have a vacancy in the relevant year and the parents will be provided with admission details. In the event of no vacancies and an appeal being made the latter will not be heard until the appropriate address is confirmed. The Local Authority will coordinate a non routine admission.

Fraudulent applications.

If the Governors of St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School discover that a child has been awarded a place as a result of an intentionally misleading application from a parent, for example, an incorrect address and as a result it effectively denies a place to a child with a stronger claim then the Governors will withdraw the offer of a place. The Governors will reconsider the application and the right of appeal offered if a place is refused.

Deferred admission.

If your child’s fifth birthday is between September and December then if you wish admission may be deferred until the beginning of the Spring Term. If it is between January and April admission may be deferred until the beginning of the Summer Term at the latest though it is recommended in your child’s interests that deferment is no later than the start of the Spring Term.

Appeals Procedure.

If the Governors are unable to offer your child a place because of over subscription you as a parent have a right of appeal under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 as amended by the Education Act 2002. You should notify the Clerk to the Governors at St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School within 14 days (10 school days) of receiving the letter refusing a place. As a parent you will have an opportunity to submit your case to an independent (of the Governors) appeals panel both in writing and in person. You will normally receive 14 days notice of the time and venue for the appeal hearing. An independent appeal will be organised on behalf of the Governors by the Member Services Unit at Carlisle.

If your child was refused a place in a reception or key stage one class because of Government limits on infant class size the grounds on which your appeal could be successful are limited. You would have to show that the decision was one which no reasonable governing body would have made or that your child would have been offered a place if the governors’ admissions policy had been properly implemented. This right of appeal does not prevent you from making an appeal in respect of any other school.

Multiple births.

The Governors of St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School will ensure as far as possible that twins, triplets or those children born in the same year are not separated. Such children will be given priority in any particular category. If despite this the Governors are unable to accept all the children because the published admission number will be exceeded then the Governors will allocate a place by leaving the decision to the parents. The Governors will invite the parents to go to appeal for the unsuccessful child(ren).

Nursery.

If you have a child in our Nursery School/Class then you must make a separate application for the Reception Class. A place in our Nursery School/Class does not guarantee a place in our Reception Class. The admission of your child to our School is not dependent on your ability or willingness to make financial contributions.

St Mary’s Church of England Nursery and Infant Aided School encourages children to walk to school but for those living further away a school bus service is provided by the Local Authority transport to school scheme. Applications for this can be done through the Local Authority. The application procedure for the nursery will be as follows:

• LA designated Nursery Class for 104 part time (52 full time equivalent)
• Applications will be made on the published Cumbria County Council application form.
• The admissions timetable and process will match that published by Cumbria County Council.
• Over subscription criteria and the order in which they will be applied in order to allocate places is as follows

Nursery Admissions Policy 2012 –2013

Children born between 01.09.08-31.12.08 are eligible to apply for January 2012 entry to St Mary’s Nursery.

Children born between 01.01.09-31.03.09 are eligible to apply for April 2012 entry to St Mary’s Nursery.

Children born between 01.04.09-31.08.09 are eligible to apply for September 2012 entry to St Mary’s Nursery.

Children born between 01.09.09-31.12.09 are eligible to apply for January 2013 entry to St Mary’s Nursery.

Children born between 01.01.10-31.03.10 are eligible to apply for April 2013 entry to St Mary’s Nursery

1. Children looked after, i.e. in public care giving priority, if necessary to the youngest children.
2. Children living within the catchment area of St Mary’s.
3. Children who do not live in the catchment area of an infant/primary school with a nursery class.
4. Children living outside the catchment area of St Mary’s.

If at any time it is not possible to offer a place to all of the children in any of the above categories, applications will be prioritised on the following basis:

• Priority is given to those requesting 6 sessions, then 5, then 4, then 3, then 2, then 1 per week.
• Children who have brothers or sisters in St Marys or Windermere Junior School at the time of admission giving priority to those with the youngest siblings.
• Children from families who would be eligible for free school meals giving priority to those living nearest measured in a straight line on the map.
• Children who with their parents attend on a regular basis for at least two years at a church recognised by Churches Together in Britain. Attendance may be at more than one church.
• Others living nearest measured in a straight line on a map.

Notes

• The closing date for applications is published by Cumbria County Council on the application form
• Applications should be submitted to the Headteacher of the nursery along with proof of date of birth and address.
• Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address.
• Children from families who would be eligible for free school meals are defined as those families in receipt of Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
• Parents must provide proof that they have attended on a regular basis for at least two years at a church recognised by Churches Together in Britain. Attendance may be at more than one church. (Prior to the closing date for the submission of the preference forms.)
• The catchment area is the same for both the nursery and the school.
• Parents can request a split placement e.g 3 /6 sessions. Priority is given to children applying for 6 sessions.
• A child looked after, i.e. in public care, is defined as a child looked after by a local authority within the meaning of Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989.

This policy was agreed on 7th March 2011 at a meeting of the Full Governing Body. It will be reviewed in February 2012.