FLEGG HIGH SCHOOL
Admission Policy and Procedures

1. BACKGROUND

The School Admissions Code (the Code) came into force on 28 February 2007 and all admission arrangements from 2008 have to comply with the Code. The Code has mandatory requirements and guidelines which admission authorities have to or should follow. As a Foundation School, the Governing Body is the Admission Authority for Flegg High School. Admission Authorities must ensure that any member of staff employed at the school has no individual role in the admission process. The local Admission Forum monitors our compliance with the Code and produces an annual report for the area. Decisions on objections to admission arrangements are made by the Schools Adjudicator.

The Governing Body adopted this policy and procedures at their meeting of Monday
4 February 2008.

2. AIMS OF THE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

a. To comply with the statutory obligations of the school, particularly in respect to ensuring fair admission arrangements. The Governing Body is required to promote community cohesion.
b. To provide a framework in which the school can work within LA and DCSF recommendations and guidelines, particularly with reference to the co-ordination admission scheme operated by the LA.

3. ADMISSIONS POLICY

This Policy is to be included in the school prospectus, submitted to the LA for inclusion as part of the co-ordinated Admissions Scheme and advertised on the school’s website for access either on line or in hard copy.

a. The Admission Number for 2009 is 190

b. Children with a statement of special educational need that names the school will be admitted at all times.

c. In the case of oversubscription, places will be allocated according to the following criteria:


1. Children in care who are due to transfer to or already reside in the area served by the school
2. Children permanently attending the primary schools in Martham, Winterton, Hemsby, Ormesby, Filby and Rollesby (in equal order of precedence).
3. Children (including adopted or step-children* living permanently at the same address) with an elder brother or sister currently attending the school.
4. Proximity of the child’s home to the school, with those living nearer** being accorded the higher priority.
5. Where there are medical grounds (supported by relevant doctor’s certificate***) for admitting a child**

* Step-children are defined as children related by current marriage
** The distance will be measured from the front door of the home to the main gate of the school, along public highways, and will take account of availability of public transport for the journey.
*** The certificate should set out the particular reasons why the school is the most suitable school and it will be assessed by the Governing Body, who will take into account any advice from the local authority.

4. PROCEDURES

4.1 PUBLICATION OF ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS

The agreed annual intake limits and admission/appeal arrangements must be published in the school prospectus and we also make them available through the school’s website. The Prospectus has to also include the number of applicants in the previous year. If the Governing Body decides on an admission number lower that the capacity assessment for the school this must be published for parents and notified to the bodies with whom we are required to consult.
Arrangements must be clear, objective, procedurally fair and comply with current legislation. Information about admissions must explain clearly whether school transport will be available and at what cost. It should also be made clear that there is no charge or cost related to the admission of a child to a school

4.2 ADMISSION NUMBER

Each year, the Governing Body is required to sets an intake limit for the cohort of children to be admitted to the school in September. This is referred to as the admission number.
The following factors are taken into consideration when considering the admission number:

i. The net capacity assessment formula
ii. The present overall number of children in the school
iii. The availability of classroom space
iv. The budget available for teaching staff and other costs
v. The intake situation in the immediate and surrounding cluster of schools
vi. The forward projection number of children likely to enter the school in succeeding years.
vii. The likely number of children with Special Educational Needs with a statement of SEN that names the school, who will be admitted at the normal admission round.

4.3. CONSULTATION

The Governing Body will consult with the LA, the Admission Forum, neighbouring schools and any other Admission Authorities in our area about proposed admission arrangements, before determining the arrangements to be used. This consultation must be completed by 1st March, after this the admission arrangements must be determined by 15th April in each calendar year for the following school year, unless advised by the LA through their general compliance within the Code. However, whether there is a consultation or not, statutory consultees must still be notified of our admission arrangements.

4.4 ADMISSION PRINCIPLES

Each cohort will be divided into mixed gender and ability classes. Pupils aged between 11 and 16 will be admitted up to the intake limit for each year regardless of ability, gender, race, social group, interests or religion. As a B&E specialist school, we were entitled to select up to 10% of our intake on aptitude, but as we elected not to do so before our 2008 intake, the Code does not allow this option to be taken up.

4.5 OVER SUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA

Children with a statement of SEN that names the school will be admitted at all times, whether there are places or not. In the event of over subscription for pupil places in any of the Year Groups for other children, the criteria stated in the Admissions Policy are applied in making the decision to admit a pupil:

Interviews must not be used to determine the extent to which a child meets oversubscription criteria.

4.6 CRITERIA MANAGEMENT

The Headteacher with senior teachers will carry out the necessary procedures for allocating places to children under the above criteria.

4.7 PARENTAL PREFERENCE

The LA makes arrangements for parents to express preferences for their child’s school, within its co-ordinated admission system, and then informs the school of the children wishing to be admitted. The school has to comply with the expressed preferences unless the school is full. Pupils should not be admitted above the published intake number unless exceptional circumstances apply.

4.8 ADMISSION DECISIONS & COMMUNICATION

The school must not inform parents of any possible offers – only the LA can convey the single offer. A single member of staff must not give parents an expectation that their application has been successful or tell them that their child has been given a place before an offer has been formally made by the LA. A decision to refuse admission must not be made by one individual at the school, so this is delegated to the Headteacher and two other senior teachers.

Admission to the school must not be conditional on parents signing a home-school agreement or make reference to any charge or cost related to admission to the school (eg. donations or contributions to school fund).

4.9 ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS OUTSIDE OF NORMAL ADMISSIONS ROUND

The same criteria and principles will apply to applicants outside of the normal round of admissions. Special considerations regarding excluded children, children in care, children with challenging behaviour and those arriving in the area outside the normal admission round will be taken into account as outlined in the Code. The school operates the LA’s recommended In-Year Fair Access Protocol for hard to place children.

4.10 ADMISSION APPEALS

i. Other admission authorities have the right to appeal against the school’s admission arrangements (and we have to theirs).
ii. Parents have a right to appeal against any decision made about admissions. Details of how to appeal should be published along with the information about the admission arrangements by the LA as part of the co-ordinated admissions scheme.

4.11 APPEALS PANEL

The Governing Body is required to inform parents of their right to appeal, through the LA, and to establish a panel to which parents can appeal.

4.12 ENTRY ON SCHOOL ROLL

A child must be included in the Admission Register from the beginning of the first day on which the school has agreed or been notified that the child will attend the school.

4.13 WAITING LIST

The school operates a continuous waiting list in which children are ranked in the same order as our over-subscription criteria, not the date of application. Parents will be told where their child has been placed on the waiting list but not given any indication of the likelihood of being offered a place as their position may change. As soon as a school place becomes vacant, the school must fill the vacancy from the waiting list. However, if the school is directed by the LA to take a child, this will take precedence over the waiting list.

4.14 OPERATION OF THE POLICY

The Governing Body delegates responsibility to the Executive Committee for the operation of these procedures and the day to day operation of the policy to the Headteacher. The Governing Body will appoint an Admission Appeals Committee if and when the need arises.

The Policy is to be included in the school prospectus, submitted to the LA for inclusion as part of the co-ordinated Admissions Scheme and advertised on the school’s website for access either on line or in hard copy.

The local authority acts on behalf of the school under the co-ordination admission scheme.

4.15 REVIEW

The Policy will be reviewed annually by the Executive Committee of the Governing Body along with the suggested annual cohort limit. All decisions will be minuted.

Reviewed by the Executive Committee: Jan 2008
Flegg High School : Admissions Policy 2007 : Page 1 of 4