2020/21 School Year

1 These are the admission arrangements for the 2020/2021 school year.

2 Unless delegated to the Local Authority, only the Governing Body is able to decide who is eligible for a place at the school.  Neither the Headteacher nor their representatives are able to offer a school place.

General Statement

3 In Doncaster, each school serves a local community, usually referred to as the ‘catchment area’.  These arrangements reflect the philosophy that ‘efficient education’ is particularly fostered by closely associating a secondary school and a group of linked primary schools, in a pyramid.  In this way, the school becomes part of the provision for a community and the education of the community’s children benefits greatly from the association of its schools.

Admission Number

4 The admission number for the school is 60.  A school must have an admission number for each ‘relevant age group’, defined in law as ‘an age group in which pupils are or will normally be admitted to the school in question’.  The admission number for each year group is set with regard to the capacity assessment for the school taking into account the nature and type of the school buildings and provides for an acceptable amount of space for each pupil.  Therefore, the admission number is set to benefit the children who are taught in the school and those who teach and support them.  Where necessary, the Governing Body consults with the LA.

5 Before making a final decision, the Governing Body considers the number, and size, of classes or registration groups planned.  These are determined within resources available.  Where this results in places in excess of the admission number being available, places are offered strictly in criteria order.

6 In the case of the year of entry, a child may not normally be refused admission on the grounds of prejudice to efficient education or the efficient use of resources unless the number of applications for admission exceeds the admission number or a child is offered a school which is ranked higher on a Common Application Form (CAF) under a Coordinated Admission Scheme (CAS).

Expressing A Preference - Year of Entry

7 Applications for admission to a schools year of entry should be made in accordance with the relevant CAS.

Closing Date For Receipt Of Parental Preferences

8 The closing dates for receipt of preferences for the year of entry are in accordance with the Authority’s CAS.

Late applications are processed in accordance with the relevant CAS.

Eligibility For A Place At A School - Oversubscription Criteria

9 This section outlines the criteria to be used to decide upon eligibility for a place where the number of preferences exceeds the admission limit.

Preferences for each school will be sorted in the order of the criterion outlined below. Each of the remaining criterion are applied in order of priority as tie breakers, with criterion d) being the final tie breaker.

a)    Looked After Children or all Previously Looked After Children

b)    Catchment Area

Children who are ordinarily resident in the catchment area of the school.

For applications for the year of entry received by the closing date, a catchment area school will be determined in relation to the address at which the pupil is ordinarily resident on that date.  Once a waiting list is formed, a child’s place on that list will be updated in light of any new address.

c)    Siblings 

Children who are living within the same family unit (e.g. stepchildren) who will be attending the requested school, (excluding nursery), at the point of admission.  Where the requested school is an infant or junior school, attendance at a linked infant or junior school will be included.

Where a place is only available for one child from a multiple birth i.e. twins, each child will be offered a place.

d)    Proximity

Children who live nearest to the requested school measured in a straight line from the centre point of the child’s ordinary place of residenceiv, to the entrance nearest to the reception point of the school.

If two or more pupils live equidistant from the school, the distance each pupil lives by road from the preferred school will be measured and the place offered to the pupil who lives nearest by this means.  In the event of this being equal (e.g. in the case of flats), places will then be decided by Random Allocation.

Measurements will be made using EMS for Windows provided by Capita Education Services and/or ArcView GIS provided by Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc or suitable substitute.

The Offer Of A Place At A School

10     Decisions will be posted to parents in accordance with the Authority’s CAS.

Unsuccessful Applications

11     Any parent whose child is not offered a school place for which they have expressed a preference has the right to an independent appeal.

Waiting Lists

12     Pupils will be added to the waiting list(s) of community schools where they were refused a place and those schools were ranked higher on the CAF than the place offered.  Places on the waiting list will be strictly prioritised in criteria order given above and will operate until the end of the autumn term. 

13     Places will only be allocated from the waiting list when the number of pupils falls below the Admission Limit of the school.  Whilst the waiting list is in operation, when a place does become available it will be allocated to the child at the top of the list on the day that written confirmation of the vacancy is received.

In Year Transfers

14     Applications for admission outside of the normal admission round (In Year Transfers) are normally considered each school week.  They should be made on the official application form.

15     Where there are sufficient places an application will normally be agreed unless specific circumstances apply. 

16     Where there are insufficient places for the number of applicants, all applications will be ranked in accordance with the criterion listed above and places awarded accordingly. 

17     Where a place is not available, the application will normally be refused and the applicant will be offered the right of appeal to an independent appeals panel.

18     If a place is agreed, the headteacher will, within two weeks of a place being offered, determine a start date. 

19     Pupils are normally admitted to a school at the start of the next half term other than with the prior approval of the Headteacher of the school or in circumstances beyond the parent’s control, e.g. movement into the Borough.

20     Pupils are required to start at the school within two weeks of the start date offered by the headteacher and places cannot be held open beyond this period.  Applicants must be in a position to take up a place within this stated period.

21     Repeat applications made for entry to the same year group at the same school will not be considered, unless there has been significant and material change to either the families or the schools circumstances, since a previous application, and this is relevant to the application for admission.  Where information was known at the time of the original application or appeal, but parents chose not to use it, this will not be considered as additional information or a change in circumstances.

22     In accordance with DfE requirements, where a Fair Access Protocol has been adopted by the Council, pupils may be admitted under this protocol outside of the normal admission arrangements noted above.

Independent Appeals

23  If a place is not offered at a preferred school parents have the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel formed in accordance with the legislation.  Details of the appeals procedure will be sent to parents with their decision.

Parents who intend to make an appeal should normally submit a notice of appeal within 20 days of receiving the refusal letter to:

Litigation and Education Section, Directorate of Resources, Doncaster Council, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU

General Information

False Information

Any place offered on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application will be withdrawn, e.g. giving a false address.  It is for parents to satisfy the admission authority of their circumstances as they apply to the admission criteria at the time of application.

Multiple Addresses

Where a child is resident with parents at more than one address, the address used for admission purposes shall be the place at which the child spends the majority of the school week (Monday to Friday) during term time.  Where there is a clear 50/50 split, parents should decide.

Explanatory Notes

Common Application Form (CAF)

This is a form used in the admission process on which parents express preferences for a school or schools at the normal point of admission.

Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme (CAS)

A scheme, determined by a local authority, for ensuring that a single offer of a place is communicated to parents who have applied for places during the normal admission round.  Separate schemes apply in the case of primary and secondary admissions.

Looked After Children or Previously Looked After Children

A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school.  This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Childrens Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).  Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.  See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

Ordinarily Resident

Reference to where a child is ordinarily resident means that they are habitually and normally resident at their address, other than for occasional absences, for a settled purpose which is not solely to receive education.  This will only be considered when they are living at their new address and waiting list place amended as necessary.

Specific Circumstances For Refusal

An application will normally be agreed if there are sufficient places unless specific circumstances apply, as outlined in the School Admissions Code, or the Local Authority’s In Year Fair Access Policy.

Explanatory Notes

Common Application Form (CAF)

This is a form used in the admission process on which parents express preferences for a school or schools at the normal point of admission.

Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme (CAS)

A scheme, determined by a local authority, for ensuring that a single offer of a place is communicated to parents who have applied for places during the normal admission round.  Separate schemes apply in the case of primary and secondary admissions.

Looked After Children or Previously Looked After Children

A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school.  This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Childrens Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).  Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.  See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

Ordinarily Resident

Reference to where a child is ordinarily resident means that they are habitually and normally resident at their address, other than for occasional absences, for a settled purpose which is not solely to receive education.  This will only be considered when they are living at their new address and waiting list place amended as necessary.

Specific Circumstances For Refusal

An application will normally be agreed if there are sufficient places unless specific circumstances apply, as outlined in the School Admissions Code, or the Local Authority’s In Year Fair Access Policy.