Does Your Child Turn Five between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012?

If so, you must apply for a reception class place now!

Where can I get a reception class application form?

• You can apply online at www.eadmissions.org.uk
• telephone the School Admissions Department on 020 8820 7150/7401
• download the application form below.

Deadline for application forms: 15 January 2011

Reception Class Admission Form

1. Applying to Voluntary Aided Schools in Hackney
If you wish to apply to a voluntary aided (religious) school in Hackney, you must complete The Learning Trust Common Application Form. You must also complete a separate form for confirmation of religious commitment (Supplementary Form) if you wish to be considered under the religious priorities. The supplementary form is available from the school direct and must be returned to the school and not The Learning Trust.

These schools will be responsible for applying their own admission arrangements, regardless of the parental ranking, and will let The Learning Trust have a list indicating the order in which all children have priority by reference to their oversubscription criteria. Full details of each VA schools’ admission arrangements including information relating to waiting lists can be found in the Primary Schools Brochure 2011.

2. Applying for Community Schools in Hackney
If there are more applications than places available, The Learning Trust will apply the oversubscription criteria below, regardless of the parental ranking, to determine which pupils are eligible to be offered places.

Children who have a school named in their statement of Special Educational Needs are required to be admitted to the school and will also be counted against the admission number.

1. Children in care
2. Children who are subject to a Child Protection Plan
3. *Children whose acute medical or social need justify the allocation of a place at a particular school.
4. **Children with a brother or sister on roll at the school from reception to year 6 at the time of the proposed admission.
5. ***Children living nearest to the main entrance of the school. These distances will be measured in a straight line on a map using a GIS computerised mapping system.

We will need to get confirmation from Children Social Care for priorities 1 and 2. Also, we will use distance, as measured in item 5 above, if we need a tie-breaker decision for priorities 2 and 4.

* The Head of Admissions will decide on these cases. Where necessary, will ask the Health Service for advice. The medical needs of parents cannot justify a place at a particular school, but a child may have a social need because of their parent’s medical condition. We will need to see medical evidence in support of these cases, which must clearly show why the child should be given a place at that particular school and an explanation of the difficulties which would be caused if the child were to attend another school. Parents are responsible for providing the evidence. Very few cases are awarded under this priority. If you are not given Priority you can contact the Admissions Team to find out why.

** A brother or sister must live permanently at the same address as the child for whom the application is being made. This includes a halfbrother or sister, a step-brother or sister and a foster brother or sister who lives permanently as a family unit at the same address.

*** When we work out distances, we using geographical information provided by the local council. If a number of addresses have the same geographical reference, or if there are a number of applicants living the same distance away from the school, we will look at other ways to identify those who live nearest to the school. If a child lives with a parent who shares parental responsibilities, the address where the child spends most of their time will be used to work out distances from home to school. If a child divides their time equally between each parent during the week, the parents must choose which address to use for all their preferences.

3. Notification of an Offer of a School Place
Parents will be sent a letter by The Learning Trust to notify them of the offer of a school place regardless of whether the preference is a Community or Voluntary Aided School.

4. Dealing with Late Applications
Parents who submit a late application will normally be considered for schools in Hackney after parents who have submitted their applications on time unless there is a good reason why the form has been submitted late.

5. Application Lists for Community Schools
Any parent of a child who is refused a place at a higher ranked community school is automatically placed on an application list. Pupils will be ranked on the list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria described above and not by the length of time the pupil has been on the list.

6. Appeal Arrangements
The letter making the offer of a school place will advise parents of their right of appeal against the refusal of places at other schools applied for and who to contact to make their appeals.

7. Preference Ranking
You must indicate on the application form your preferred schools and then say whether it is your 1st, 2nd or 3rd preference. If you are eligible for an offer at more than one school, you will only receive a place at the highest ranked school you have listed on the Part 3 of the application form.

8. You will need to provide Proof of your child’s Date of Birth and your Address
Your address must be your main residential home, where you and your child live. If we establish that you have more than one property, we will require further evidence that the address on the form is your main residential address.