Proposed Change to the Admission Criteria for Oldbury Academy
In line with the Admissions Code, published in December 2014, Oldbury Academy is consulting on a minor change to the criteria applied when allocating places at the academy.
The current admission criterion (point 4) states:
“ Children will be prioritised by distance, measured in a straight line from a child’s home** to the Academy’s main entrance ……..”
The proposed change to that criterion is:
“Children will be prioritised by distance, measured in a straight line from a child’s home** to the centre point of the school site.”
[** Measured from the Local Land and Property Gazetteer address base for the property.]
The remainder of the criteria is unchanged.
This consultation will run from 30th October 2018 to 12th December 2018 and you are invited to submit objections or comments, in writing, to Kerry Penn, clerk to the Governing Body, Oldbury Academy, Pound Road, Oldbury or by email to [email protected]
Following the consultation period, the Governing Body will consider any comments received and how to proceed. Admission arrangements for September 2020 will be determined by 28th February 2019 and any subsequent objections will need to be made to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.
Objections to the Adjudicator needed to be made by 15 May 2019.
Subject to there being no objections to the above proposal, the new admission priorities may be seen by clicking here.
Oversubscription admission priorities for Oldbury Academy – academic year 2020/2021
- Children who are in public care and children who were previously in public care but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order).
- Children with a particular medical condition. Applications submitted under this criterion must be accompanied by a medical declaration form (ASU75M) signed by the child’s general practitioner or consultant confirming the condition, detailing the child’s needs and specifying why, in their opinion, the school is the only or most appropriate to meet the child’s needs. All applications under this criterion will be assessed by the local authority to decide whether the child’s needs can be met most appropriately by the school.
- Children having a brother or sister at the school (but not in the sixth form) at the time of admission.
- Children prioritised by the distance measured in a straight line from a child’s home** to the centre point of the school site.
In all cases, should the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, places will be allocated based on the distance between home and school, as measured in a straight line from home to the centre point on the school site with priority being given to those living closest to the school.
Children with an Education & Health Care Plan (EHCP) (previously known as Statement of Educational Needs), naming the school will be admitted before all other applicants.
Note:
** Measured from the Local Land and Property Gazetteer address base for the property.
Additional arrangements for the year of entry admissions 2020-21
- Late applications
Late applications for places will only be considered alongside those received by the closing date under the following circumstances:
- When the applicant has bought, rented or leased a house or flat and has moved into Sandwell after the closing date, but before the allocation of places has been made.
- When the applicant has moved home within Sandwell to an address more than three miles from their previous address but closer to the school after the closing date but before the allocation of places has been made.
- When a child who is in public care (looked after) or was previously in public care moves into Sandwell after the closing date, but before the allocation of places has been made.
- When a sibling has commenced at the school after the closing date but before the allocation of places has been made.
- When the applicant is a single parent and was prevented from submitting their application on time due to a long-term illness of more than six weeks’ duration from the date on which application forms became available.
If your application is received after the closing date and not covered by one of the circumstances above, then it will be processed after consideration of all on time and accepted late applications.
- Waiting lists
Places will be offered initially to applicants whose forms have been received by the closing date or whose application has been considered as being made on time (under 1 above).
Any preferences which cannot be met following the application of the admission priorities will be put on a waiting list which will be ranked in accordance with the published admission priorities.
Waiting lists will be maintained until the end of the autumn term proceeding the year of entry and will then be discarded.
Places will only be offered from the waiting list if the number of confirmed offers (including those offered as a result of independent appeals) is less than the published admission number.
- Further applications in the same academic year
Oldbury Academy will only consider more than one application in the school in the same academic year if one or more of the following significant changes apply:
- The child becomes looked after by the local authority;
- The child has a medical condition which was not present when the previous application was considered;
- The child’s brother or sister has been admitted to the school and was not there at the time of the last application;
- The applicant has changed address since the previous application was considered and the applicant now lives closer to the school;
- A vacancy arises in the relevant year group.
- Changing or adding new preferences
Once a parent/carer has submitted an application they will be able to amend it online before the closing date. However, if the closing date has passed it will not be possible unless they meet the criteria to be considered as a “late” application (in 1 above).
- Twins and multiple births
Special conditions will apply if one child from a set of twins or other multiple births does not gain admission to the preferred school through the admissions criteria. Oldbury Academy will exceed the admission number to prevent separation of twins or children from multiple births.
- Tiebreaker
If two or more applicants tie for last place during the allocation process the final place shall be decided by the tossing of a coin.
Definitions used in admissions administration
- Brother and sister (Sibling)
The definition of a brother or sister is:
- a brother or sister sharing the same parents*;
- a half brother or half sister, where two children share one common parent*;
- a step brother or step sister, where two children are related by a parent’s marriage*;
- adopted or fostered children*,
- children of unmarried parents*
*and living at the same address;
It does not include:
- cousins or other family relationships;
- brothers or sisters who, at 1 September in the year of entry will not be registered pupils at the preferred school;
- brothers or sisters who, at 1 September in the year of entry will be in the sixth form at the preferred school.
- Children in Public Care
A child in public care means 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 section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time an application is made.
An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoptions and Children Act 2002.
A child arrangement order (previously residence order) is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989.
Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
- Home address
The home address of a child is the address at which a parent with parental responsibility lives. It may also be the address at which a child resides (and sleeps) for the majority of the school week (Sunday to Thursday night). In the event of a query on the home address we will require two examples from the following list;
- Council tax
- Tenancy agreement
- Solicitors letter confirming completion of the purchase
- Statutory declaration from a solicitor