| Coventry Primary, Infant and Junior School Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme: 2020/21 | ||||||
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Contents Page 1 Introduction 2 Co-ordination 3 Types of schools/Admission Authorities 4 Application Process 5 Supplementary Information Forms 6 Processing of applications 7 Determining Offers 8 Decision Letters 9 Late Applications 10 Waiting Lists 11 Admission of children outside their normal age group 12 Timetable 13 In Year Application Process 14 Fair Access Protocol
1. Introduction The co-ordination scheme as detailed in this document applies to all primary maintained schools, academies and free schools (excluding special schools) in the Coventry area and shall take effect for the admissions process for the academic year 2020/2021. This is published in accordance with the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulation 2012 as amended by the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and the School Admissions Code 2014.
Coventry City Council are the responsible authority for co-ordinating the arrangements for the admission of pupils to Primary, Infant and Junior schools in the Local Authority area.
2. Co-ordination 2.1 The School Organisation team on behalf of the Local Authority and other admission authorities in Coventry, will co-ordinate applications made during the main admissions round (for the Reception year and year 3 for Junior school). Parents/carers living in Coventry will make an application to the Local Authority for any maintained school, academy or free school for a school place for their child in September 2020. The application process will be available online via the Local Authority website or via a paper common application form from September in the year before children are due to start school.
2.2 For the academic year 2020/2021 and subsequent years, applications made outside of the normal admissions round (In Year Applications) can be made via the online application process found on the Coventry City Council school admissions web pages.
3 Admission Authorities 3.1 There are 5 types of primary schools in Coventry: Local Authority community schools, voluntary controlled schools, Catholic voluntary aided schools, Academies and Free schools. The arrangements for all these schools are co-ordinated by the Local Authority.
3.2 Coventry City Council is the relevant admissions authority for all Community and Voluntary Controlled schools within the city.
3.3 For academies and free schools their Trust or board of directors is the admissions authority. For Voluntary aided schools the governing bodies are the admissions authority.
4. Application process 4.1. The online application and the Common Application Form will be used as a means of expressing preferences for the purposes of Section 86 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, by parents resident in Coventry wishing to express a preference for their child to be admitted to a maintained Primary, Infant and Junior school or an Academy/free school.
4.2. When applying the parent will be able to: a. express three preferences, in rank order of preference. b. give their reasons for each preference.
4.3. The parent will receive no more than one offer of a school place and: (i) a place will be offered at the highest ranking nominated school for which they are eligible for a place; and (ii) if a place cannot be offered at a nominated school, a place will be offered at the nearest available school following consultation with the schools own admission authorities where appropriate.
4.4 The Local Authority will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that:
4.5. During September 2019 all maintained Primary, Infant and Junior schools and academies/free schools in Coventry will receive information for parents who wish to apply for admission to a Coventry school at the normal age of entry in 2020. Information will also be made available in nurseries and other early years provision, and in other general community settings such as libraries and GP surgeries.
5 Supplementary Information Forms 5.1. All preferences expressed on the Common Application Form or via the online process are valid applications. The governing body of a school which is its own admission authority (eg voluntary aided schools or academies) may ask parents to provide additional information on a supplementary form for the governing body to apply their oversubscription criteria to the application. Details of schools using supplementary forms will be included in the admissions booklet on the city council website. If parents complete a supplementary form, this must be returned to the school.
5.2. Where a school receives a supplementary form it will not be regarded as a valid application unless the parent has also completed an online application or Common Application Form with their Local Authority and the school is nominated on it. Where supplementary forms are received directly by schools which are their own admission authorities the school must inform the Local Authority immediately so the Local Authority can verify whether an application has been received from the parent and, if not, contact the parent and ask them to complete one. Under the requirements of the scheme, parents will not be under any obligation to complete an individual school’s supplementary form.
6 Processing of Applications 6.1. Parents must complete the online application by 15 January 2020. An email confirming receipt of the application will be received once the application has been submitted. Alternatively parents can return a completed Common Application Form to a primary, infant or junior school or to the Local Authority by 15 January 2020. The Local Authority will issue a receipt within 14 days for all Common Application Forms received. The receipt letter is the only valid proof that an application has been received by the Local Authority. Applications received after 15 January 2020 will be treated in accordance with the procedure for late applications.
6.2. All Primary, Infant or Junior schools should forward any Common Application Forms received directly onto the School Admissions Team by 15 January 2020 at the latest.
7. Determining Offers 7.1. It should be noted that all children with an Education, Health and Care plan that names a school must be admitted to that school before all other applicants.
7.2 The Local Authority will act as a 'clearing house' for the allocation of places by the relevant admission authorities in response to the online applications and Common Application Forms. The Local Authority will only make a decision with respect to a preference expressed where- (a) it is acting in its separate capacity as an admission authority, or (b) an applicant is eligible for a place at more than one school, or (c) an applicant is not eligible for a place at any school that the parent has nominated.
7.3. By 5 February 2020 Coventry Local Authority will apply the individual admissions policy on behalf of community & voluntary controlled primary schools. Where the governing body is the admission authority, Coventry Local Authority will notify the admission authority for each of the schools of every application that has been made for that school, regardless of ranking. All relevant details which schools require in order to apply their oversubscription criteria will be forwarded to the governing body together with any evidence.
7.4. By 20 February 2020 the admission authority for each school will consider all applications for their school, apply the school’s oversubscription criteria (if appropriate) and provide the Local Authority with a list of those applicants 'ranked' according to the school’s oversubscription criteria. Where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available at the school by a significant amount, the admission authority need 'rank' only as many as it agrees with the Local Authority to be necessary, allowing for the fact that some of those who could be offered a place might be offered a place at another school.
7.5. The Local Authority will match this 'ranked' list against the 'ranked' lists of the other schools: (a) Where the child is eligible for a place at only one of the nominated schools that school will be allocated to the child. (b) Where the child is eligible for a place at two or more of the nominated schools, they will be allocated a place at whichever of these is the highest ranked preference. (c) Where the child is not eligible for a place at any of the nominated schools, the child will be allocated a place at the nearest appropriate school with a vacancy, following consultation with own admission authorities where appropriate.
7.6. On 9th March 2020 the Local Authority will commence the exchange of information with other Local Authorities on potential offers of places in Coventry schools. Similarly, other Local Authorities will notify Coventry Local Authority of potential offers available to Coventry residents.
7.7. Following this Coventry and other Local Authorities will compare potential offers and provisionally allocate places. This information will then be exchanged between Local Authorities, and this work will be completed by 27 March 2020.
8. Decision Letters 8.1. On 16 April 2020 Coventry Local Authority will post letters to parents by second class post notifying them of the Primary / Infant / Junior school place that has been allocated to their child. Emails will also be sent on this date to those parents who have applied on-line. Both will provide the following information: The name of the school at which a place is offered; The reasons why the child is not being offered a place at each of the other schools nominated on the application Information about their statutory right of appeal against the decisions to refuse places at the other nominated schools; Contact details for applicants to lodge an appeal when they have not been offered a place at a school.
9. Late Applications 9.1. The closing date for applications in the normal admissions round is 15 January 2020.
9.2. All applications received after 15 January 2020 will be late and will only be considered after all those who applied on time.
9.3 A link to the late application form will be available on the Coventry City Council admissions web pages from the 16 January 2020. CoventryPrimaryCo-OrdinatedAdmissionsScheme2020 P a g e | 6
9.4 All late applications and changes of preference made up to 2 weeks after the national offer day will then be considered in a further round of allocations of places
10. Waiting Lists 10.1. After the initial allocation on 16 April 2020 the Local Authority will establish waiting lists for community & voluntary controlled Primary, Infant and Junior schools, and these will operate up until 31 December 2020. Parents who wish to have their child's name on a waiting list for a community or voluntary controlled school after this date should contact the Local Authority.
10.2. Voluntary Aided schools and academies will be responsible for maintaining their own waiting lists in conjunction with the Local Authority. Parents, who wish for their children to continue to be considered for any places at these schools after 31 December 2020, will need to contact the School Organisation Team or check details directly with the school for arrangements to stay on the waiting list.
10.3. Waiting lists are kept in the oversubscription criteria order and this is the basis for deciding where a child is placed on a list. The date of application does not affect the position on a waiting list.
11. Admission of children outside their normal chronological age group
11.1 Paragraph 2.17 of the School Admissions Code allows parents to request that their child is educated outside of their normal age group; for example, if their child is gifted or talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday, and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1.
11.2 Where a parent/carer seeks a place for their child outside their normal age group they must notify their intention on the application. Parents/carers will then be contacted to discuss the matter further as each case will be considered individually on the circumstances of each case and in the child’s best interests. There are no guarantees that such applications will be agreed. Parents will be provided with a letter setting out the decision on their application and the reasons for the decision. Details of how applications are considered are included within individual school policy arrangements.
12. Timetable
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