1 Participants in scheme
All secondary schools within Bath & North East Somerset including Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools.
Bordering LA’s:- Bristol
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Wiltshire
The Relevant Area for all Bath & North East Somerset Schools is the Bath & North East Somerset LA administrative area.
2 Applications
2.1 Residents of Bath & North East Somerset will make applications on a common application form. This application form will be available on line or paper copies will be issued on request to the parents of all pupils resident in Bath & North East Somerset who are due to transfer to a Secondary school in September 2011. The application form can be used to apply for any school within any authority including Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools. Bath & North East Somerset will inform the other LAs of any applications made for schools within their area.
2.2 Applications for places at schools within Bath & North East Somerset made by people who live outside the LA will be made on application forms from the LA in which they are resident and submitted to their home LA. This can be sent by paper copy or application can be made on line through the appropriate authority.
2.3 All applications for secondary schools made on the Bath & North East Somerset common application form must be submitted by midnight on the closing date of 31 October 2010. Any applications received after this time will be considered as ‘late applications’ and will be dealt with at a later stage when all ‘on-time’ applications have been processed.
2.4 If an application for a school within Bath & North East Somerset is received from a resident living in the boundaries of another LA on a Bath & North East Somerset common application form, the applicant will be advised of the need to make application through their home LA using the common application form for that LA.
2.5 All applications will be made on the common application form either as a paper copy or on line. Voluntary Aided and Foundation Schools, who may want additional information in order to apply their over-subscription criteria, may issue a separate form in addition to the common application form. The common application form will detail which schools have this requirement and parents will be advised to obtain a copy of the relevant additional information form direct from the school. The additional supplementary information form should be sent direct to the appropriate school. Applications for a place will only be considered if the common application form has been completed and submitted to the LA by midnight on the closing date of 31 October 2010.
2.6 Details of the closing dates of all neighbouring authorities will be included in the admissions booklet ‘A Secondary School for your Child in Bath & North East Somerset’. Parents will be advised of the importance of making their application to their home authority by the published closing dates to ensure that their application is on time and not a late application.
2.7 All parents will be strongly advised to provide 3 preferences in ranked order together with reasons for each stated preference. The preferences can be for schools in any LA and can include Foundation and Voluntary Aided Schools.
2.8 Should any parents include on their application form a preference for an independent school the independent school preference will be disregarded and remaining preferences for schools will be given a higher preference than that shown on the original application form.
2.9 In fairness to all parents, the Council reserves the right to require documentary evidence of the genuineness of a family address and if this is not produced the Council reserves the right to make its own enquiries with, for example, the Council Tax Office.
2.10 The child’s normal permanent home address where he or she lives with his or her parents or legal guardians will be used to decide where the child lives. Temporary addresses cannot be used to obtain school places. If parents or guardians plan to move documentary evidence will be required and in order for any address changes to be taken into account in the first round of allocations made on 1 March 2011 the appropriate documentary evidence must be submitted by midnight on the closing date and time of 31 October 2010. Examples of evidence that may be acceptable to determine a child’s address are:-
· A solicitor’s letter confirming completion of contracts for a property which is being purchased or a property which is being sold.
· A copy of a signed rental agreement or a solicitors letter if moving to a council or rented property.
· A copy of a council tax bill or utility bill such as water, gas or electricity.
· A child benefit book
. If you are moving in with a relative a letter from them will be required confirming the date you will be moving in together with a copy utility bill showing their name and address. A solicitor's letter will also be required confirming that completion of contracts has taken place on your sale or Notice to Quit on your current/previous property.
2.11 A random sample of 10% of all applications received each year will be checked to confirm addresses using for example the electoral roll, council tax offices and if appropriate the school currently attended before allocations are made. A copy of a recent utility bill may also be requested. In certain additional cases proof of residency will also be determined by using the above methods. Once proof is obtained to the LA’s satisfaction that the parent is resident at the address given it will be accepted that the child is also resident at the same address.
2.12 The LA reserves the right to withdraw an offer of a school place in certain limited circumstances. Examples include:
· Where a parent has given fraudulent or intentionally misleading information such as a false address.
· Where a parent has not responded to an offer within the deadline set by the LA.
· Where a higher preference school has been offered or where the highest preference school on the latest application has been able to be met.
· Where the offer was made as a result of an administrative error.
2.13 If false information is provided on an application form before an offer of a school place is made then the application will be void. Parents could submit a further application if they so wished. If this application is received after the closing date it will then be regarded as a late application. If it is found that a sibling currently at the school was offered a place on the basis of false information then for any further application received the LA will discount the sibling connection.
3 The process of allocation 3.1 Applications for all schools will be considered under an ‘equal preference’ system. All preferences (1st, 2nd or 3rd) will initially be considered equally regardless of ranking. The LA will produce a report of all applications for Y7 places for all schools including Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools within Bath & North East Somerset. This report will not reveal the order of the applicant’s preferences and will be sent to other LAs as appropriate week commencing 15th November 2010. Bath & North East Somerset will also receive details of applications from other LA’s as appropriate on this date. All information will be sent to the appropriate Secondary Schools within Bath & North East Somerset on 26th November 2010.
3.2 In the case of applications for Y7 places in Secondary schools the Voluntary Aided and Foundation admissions authorities within Bath & North East Somerset will then apply their admissions criteria to all applications and produce a list explaining the ranking of each applicant against the admissions criteria. This list will then be sent to the LA by 17th December 2010.
3.3 Using all the available information the LA will determine which is the highest preference which can be met for each applicant. If no preferences can be met for any applicant from Bath & North East Somerset the LA will determine the nearest school with an available space.
3.4 By 14th February 2011 Bath & North East Somerset will inform other LA’s of potential offers and / or refusals to be made for applications for places within Bath & North East Somerset schools made by residents living outside the LA. By the same time other LA’s will inform Bath & North East Somerset about potential offers and refusals to be made for applications from residents within this authority for school places in other authorities.
3.5 On 25th February 2011 all schools within Bath & North East Somerset will be informed of all final offers which will be made up to the Admissions Number for each school. The LA will also include details of any children being refused a place at their preferred school. All information provided to schools at this stage will be confidential.
3.6 Where a child qualifies for a place at more than one school the final offer will be the highest stated preference of the places available.
4 Offers of a school place
4.1 On 1st March 2011 the LA will make the offer of one place at a secondary school to parents resident within the authority. [Posted 2nd class].
4.2 Parents not offered a place at one of their preferred schools will be offered a place at the nearest suitable school with a place available. All parents refused a place at any preferred school will be informed of their other options at that stage including their right of appeal.
4.3 Parents would be requested to respond to the offer direct to the LA by 15th March 2011.
5 Late applications
5.1 Late applicants who live in Bath & North East Somerset should complete and return a paper copy of the common application form as the on line application facility is not available after the closing date. Any applications received after the closing date of 31 October 2010 will be regarded as a ‘late application’. This includes any change of preference which is received after the closing date even if the original application was an ‘on time’ application unless the local authority considers that there are extenuating reasons for allowing the application to be treated as if it had arrived on time. This will only apply to late applications received before 12th November 2010.
Examples of extenuating circumstances might include a close family bereavement or a serious illness for which documentary evidence would be required.
After the closing date of 31 October 2010 parents/carers may make a change of school preference or change of school preference order on the understanding that their previous application will be withdrawn and their child will not be considered for a school place in the first round of allocations even if the original application was received before the closing date. The change of preference or school preference order will be considered as a completely new late application.
5.2 For over-subscribed schools ‘late applications’ received after 31 October 2010 will be considered together with original applicants refused a preference who have lodged a formal appeal or asked to remain on a waiting list. In all cases the admissions criteria will be used to determine the allocation of any places that may become available within the schools admission number. Any late applicants refused a preference will then be informed that they can lodge a formal appeal and remain on a waiting list or, alternatively, just go on the waiting list.
5.3 For over-subscribed schools late applications will not be considered until the second round of allocations takes place on the 29 April 2011.
5.4 For under-subscribed schools places will be offered on 1st March 2011 or as soon as possible after that date. Any application received after 31 October 2010 and up to the 1st March 2011 will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
5.5 Late applications for under-subscribed schools received between the 1st March 2011 and the 22nd April 2011 will be considered together in the second round of allocations which take place on the 29 April 2011. If the school is then oversubscribed all late applications will be considered under the admissions criteria. If the school is still under-subscribed all applicants will be offered places and any further late applicants dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
5.6 If any under-subscribed school becomes full, any places, which subsequently become available, will be offered to any late applicants by applying the admissions criteria.
5.7 Details of late applications, on time applicants still seeking a place at their preferred schools and of places not accepted following the initial allocations made, to be exchanged between Local Authorities as far as possible between 16th March 2011 and 22 April 2011, to enable a second round of allocations to be made on the 29th April 2011.
5.8 The co-ordinated admissions process will continue to be operated, with application data being exchanged with other Local Authorities as necessary, for all applications received up to 31 August 2011.
5.9 Waiting Lists. The waiting list comprises of those children refused a place whose parents lodged a formal appeal or asked to go on the waiting list together with any later applications received. In all cases the admissions criteria will be used to determine the allocations of any place that may become available within the school’s admission number. However children who are the subject of a direction by a local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those on a waiting list.