Starting school. in Lewisham Information for parents of children starting primary school in September closing date

Transcription

1 Starting school in Lewisham 2015 Information for parents of children starting primary school in September 2015 closing date for applications 15 Jan 2015

2 Apply online at It only takes a few minutes and you will get a confirmation once you submit your application. If your child is due to transfer to primary school in September 2015 you must apply for a school place by 15 January Applying online is best because: it is quick and easy to do you will get an confirmation that your application has been received the system helps you by checking for errors there is no risk that your application will get lost in the post or arrive late you can change your preferences of school up until the closing date your details are held securely during the evening of 16 April 2015, you will get an telling you which school your child has been offered. Once you have submitted your application you will get an with a reference number like this: E If you do not get this , it means your application has not been submitted. You may wish to record your user name, password and application reference number here: User name Password Application reference number Please note: information provided in this document is subject to change by the Government or the Schools Adjudicator. Any amendments will be published on our website: The information in this booklet is intended for Lewisham residents. Children who live outside Lewisham are welcome to apply for schools in Lewisham but must do so through their home local authority. Please read the information published by the council where you live. The admissions process described in this booklet does not relate to children with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan. For advice, please contact the Children with Complex Needs Team on Free reminders If you are applying for 2015 primary school places, get reminders, application tips and more by . Visit to sign up.

3 Contents Introduction 4 Foreword 4 Important dates 5 Primary places meeting the demand 7 How the admissions process works 8 Deciding which school to apply for 11 How to apply 14 What happens next 18 Primary schools in Lewisham 21 Schools in Lewisham (list) 21 Map of primary schools in Lewisham 28 Admissions policies 33 Further information 54 Protecting your child 54 Support for pupils and parents 54 Useful contacts 55 School term dates

4 Foreword Frankie Sulke Executive Director Children and Young People If your child is due to start at a primary school in September 2015, this booklet is for you. Starting school is an important and exciting event in a child s life and, as a parent or carer, you will want to be sure that you make the right decision about which primary school you would like your child to go to. Primary schools in Lewisham are among the top performing schools in the country. Last year, children leaving primary schools in Lewisham achieved the fourth best results in the country. Do go and visit your nearest schools, where headteachers and staff will be happy to meet you. Schools welcome visitors and many hold regular open sessions for parents. If you want to visit outside these sessions you can make an appointment. All primary schools in the borough have the highest aspirations and expectations of their children. Schools want all children to achieve highly, to enjoy school and to develop as fully rounded individuals with high aspirations, strong self-esteem and the motivation to learn and achieve. Schools are committed to working closely with parents and carers and I know you will be able to find a school which will meet your needs. Headteachers and teachers will be more than happy to talk to you about your child and how their school can offer the highest standard of education. Since 2009, Lewisham has had an unprecedented growth in population due to increasing birth rates and, over the years, we have been working hard to ensure there are enough places for every child who needs one. With the support of schools in Lewisham, we have created a significant number of extra Reception places to meet demand. It s very important that you consider this high demand for places when deciding which schools to apply for. I would encourage you to use all your six preferences and, most importantly, to apply for your nearest schools. On pages of this booklet, we set out information about how far away the last successful applicant lived from each community school where home-toschool distance has been the deciding factor. That information should help you to understand the likelihood of your child getting in to each school. Faith schools are likely to give priority to children who are members of the church, so distance may not be a deciding factor. The map on page 28 will show you the schools in your local area. You can also find this information at Once your child starts school, your child s teacher or headteacher will want to talk to you about how you can be fully involved in the education of your child. I do hope you find this booklet helpful as you decide on your six preferences. I wish you and your child well as you both enter this important new phase of life. If you have any questions about your application to a particular school, please contact us (see details on page 55). We will be happy to advise you. 4 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

5 Important dates This timetable is for families who live in Lewisham. If you live outside Lewisham, you should confirm the admissions arrangements with your local authority. Applications to Reception class 2015 Closing date for applications Apply online at Closing date for supplementary information forms (if required) to be returned direct to the faith school Lewisham Council writes to all Lewisham applicants to confirm schools applied for Closing date for accepting late for good reason applications and those who have changed address since 15 January 2015 National offer day Online applicants will get their result via during the evening. Deadline for accepting your offer Online applicants must accept or decline their offer online. Thursday 15 January 2015 Thursday 15 January 2015 End of February February 2015 by 10am 16 April April 2015 Appeals Closing date for lodging an appeal for a community school Admissions authorities of other schools may set the same or a later deadline 14 May 2015 Appeal hearings for those lodged by the given deadline June/July 2015 Appeals submitted after the closing date of 14 May 2015 may not be heard until the start of the academic year in September Apply online at 5

6 6 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

7 Primary places meeting the demand As in many other London boroughs, birth rates are increasing in Lewisham and our population is growing quickly. Between 2000 and 2010 the birth rate in Lewisham jumped by more than a third. This means that we need more places in our primary schools. We have been working with schools to create extra classes so that there is a place for every child who needs one. We have done this by expanding a number of our primary schools. Some schools have been expanded fully across all year groups, and others have been partially expanded to offer additional places in specific years. These are reflected in this booklet. The demand for primary places will continue to be high at least until the end of the decade. We constantly review the demand for places and will continue to create more places where they are most needed. How this may affect you Through careful planning, we have been able to offer a place to every child who needs one. In April 2014, 93.7% of primary school applicants living in Lewisham were offered a place at one of their preferred schools. The remaining 6.3% of children were allocated to a school where there was a vacancy. When we have to allocate children to a school, we take all possible steps to ensure the allocation is to the school with a vacancy that is closest to the child s permanent home address. We aim for this to be within two miles of the child s home. However, this is not always possible and we might have to allocate a place further from the family home. In 2014, we had to allocate 27 children to a school which was more than two miles from the family home. To give yourself the best possible chance of getting a place at a school near to your home, we advise strongly that you: use all six preferences consider the admissions criteria of the schools you are interested in to satisfy yourself that your child has a chance of being offered a place most importantly, apply for schools that are closest to where you live. For families living on the borough border, this may include schools in the neighbouring borough. If you are not sure about whether your nearest school is right for your child, you should visit the school, speak to the headteacher and take a look around. Primary schools in Lewisham are some of the highest performing in the country, with over 90% graded outstanding or good by Ofsted. If you are made an offer of a school place, you are advised to accept this offer so your child has a place secured. Your child s name will be considered for any vacancy at a higher preference school you have not been offered, so it is possible that a place will become available at one of your preferred schools later in the school year. If you decide to decline an offer made to you, the range of alternative school places will be severely limited and we cannot guarantee that you will be made an alternative offer at a school you prefer or live close to. Apply online at 7

8 How the admissions process works The coordinated admissions system has been developed to improve the way applications are made and make the process more accessible. Key points You must apply through the local authority where you live. If you live in the London Borough of Lewisham, you should apply online at If you cannot do this, please contact us. Paper application forms will be issued to those who live in new developments where the address is not recognised by the eadmissions website. If you make a paper application and hand the form into the Customer Service Centre in Laurence House, please make sure you get a receipt. If you post the form to us (the address is on the form), please send it by recorded delivery or ask for a free certificate of posting from the post office. Also take a photocopy of the form and keep this safe, together with the receipt or proof of posting from the post office. If the form arrives late or does not arrive in our office, this proof will be needed if the application is to be considered as an on-time application. Residents in London may apply for up to six primary schools and these can be in Lewisham or anywhere else in England. We strongly advise you to use all six preferences. Independent (fee-paying) schools are not part of this system and you should apply direct to the school. Therefore please do not include independent schools on the application. Applications must be submitted by 15 January You must only make one application even if you are applying to schools in different boroughs. If you apply both online and on a paper application form, we will only accept the online application. If you submit more than one paper application, we will accept the last form you submitted. Before deciding which schools to apply for, you must understand the admissions criteria for the schools to decide whether your child is likely to be offered a place. Apply for your nearest schools and include your closest non-faith school as one of your preferences, particularly if you are unlikely to qualify for a place at schools further from your home. There may be schools in a neighbouring borough which are closer to your home than a school in Lewisham, and where you may be more likely to be offered a place. Go to to find primary schools near your home. If a child qualifies for a place at more than one school, they will be offered the highest of the preferences they qualify for. If you apply after 15 January 2015, you will be able to apply online up until 10am on 13 February 2015 but you must give evidence to show why you did not apply by 15 January 2015 in order for it to be considered as a late for good reason application. After 10am on 13 February 2015 you will need to complete a paper application form. These will be available after national offer day on 16 April Travel, work or childcare arrangements cannot be considered when determining the outcome of applications. Primary school starting age If your child was born between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011 your child is eligible to start Reception class in September 2015 and you must apply for a place at a primary school by 15 January Starting school in Lewisham 2015

9 Legally, children must receive full-time education from the beginning of the school term following their fifth birthday. In Lewisham, children qualify for a full-time Reception class place in September 2015 if they become five between 1 September 2015 and 31 August Deferring a place If your child is offered a place but you wish to defer taking the place until later in the school year, you may do so, and the place offered will be held for your child. Alternatively you can request that your child goes to school part time until they reach compulsory school age. You should speak to the headteacher of the school to discuss what support is available to help your child participate fully in school life. Admission to primary school outside a child s age group Children are educated in school with others of their age group. However, parents may request that their child is exceptionally admitted outside their age group. The admissions authority* of a school must consider the individual child s circumstances and decide whether or not this is appropriate on educational grounds. Such requests will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances. All requests must include recent professional evidence, such as an education, health and care plan, showing that the child s development is such that education outside the age group is necessary. Each admissions authority must make its own decision, but all will expect to see evidence of an individual child s educational need, rather than general factors which relate to a wider group of children born at a similar time. They will want to discuss with parents the impact of the child being educated with children of a different age, both within primary school and at transition to secondary school when admission outside the age cohort cannot be guaranteed. Parents requesting admission to an age group below the child s actual age should submit an application for the child s actual age group before the closing date on 15 January The request for later admission should accompany the application. This enables the application to be processed and a school place secured in the child s actual age group if the request is refused by an admissions authority. If the admissions authority approves the request, the parent will need to withdraw their original application, reapply the following year and provide a copy of the decision. However, there can be no guarantee of a place being available at the school, as this is dependent on the number of applicants that year. It is not possible to reserve a place for the following year. Parents are therefore advised to have alternative arrangements in place. * Lewisham Council is the admissions authority for community schools in the borough. The governing body is the admissions authority for all other schools. Any decision is applicable only to the school for which the admissions authority is responsible. Reception your questions answered Q If I apply early, is my application more likely to be successful? A No. All applications are considered after the closing date in accordance with the admissions criteria. Q If I apply under the exceptional medical or social need criterion, what information should I provide? A Each case will be considered on its merits and the needs of each child or family will be different. If you wish to apply under this criterion, you must provide independent evidence from a professional such as a hospital consultant, social worker or similarly qualified professional which sets out why, in their professional opinion, the school is the only one to meet the needs of the child or family. This evidence must be provided at the time of application, either uploaded and submitted with an online application or attached to the paper application. Please note that applications made under this criterion after the deadline, or supporting documents sent after the closing date, cannot be considered. Apply online at 9

10 Q What if I change my mind and want to change my preferences? A You cannot change or add to your preferences after the closing date unless you have moved address (and provide proof of the move), even if you have listed fewer than six preferences. If you change your mind after offers have been made, you cannot change your preferences. Q Will my child still be considered for a place later in the process if my application is unsuccessful? A Every child who has been unsuccessful in gaining a place at a higher preference school will automatically be added to the reallocation list. If a vacancy arises during the Reception year, the place will be offered to the next child who fulfils the published admissions criteria. Q What happens if I change my mind after I have been offered one of my preferences and decide that I would prefer one of my lower preferences? A The purpose of the coordinated scheme is to offer each child their highest possible preference. One application per child is allowed, including six preferences of school, and the scheme will continue to operate until the end of August If you wish to reapply you will need to make a new in-year application in September Q Do I get priority in the Reception class if my child goes to the nursery in the same primary school? A No. There is no automatic transfer from nursery to the Reception class, and a place in a nursery class does not give a child a greater claim than another applicant for a place in the Reception class at that school. You must make a separate application for Reception. This is to ensure that children whose parents choose not to use a school-based nursery are not disadvantaged. Q I have twins (or triplets). Will they automatically be given places at the same school? A Government regulations limit class sizes to 30 children. It could be that, on distance, one of a set of twins or triplets qualify for the last available place. In this circumstance, we will offer both or all siblings a place at a Lewisham community school, and they will be considered as a permitted exception under the class size legislation. You must complete an application for each child. How the decisions are made After the closing date each preference is looked at separately without taking into account other schools listed on the application. Applications for schools in other boroughs will be sent on to the relevant admissions authority for consideration. Once all applications have been received, the admissions authority for the school will consider its complete list. If there are more applications than there are places available, the admissions criteria will be applied. For Lewisham community schools, Lewisham Council will apply the admissions criteria and decide which applicants get an offer of a place. For voluntary or foundation schools or academies, the governors of the school will make the admissions decision and, in the case of a faith school, will use evidence provided on the supplementary information form. The admissions criteria for community schools are published on page 33 and the criteria for each foundation and voluntary-aided school and academy are published from page 35. Decisions on schools outside the Lewisham borough will be made by the local authority for that borough or by the governors of the school. Once all of the admission decisions have been made, they are fed back to the Council. If a child can be offered more than one of their preference schools, we will use the ranked order to offer the child the highest of the possible offers. No child will get an offer of more than one school place on national offer day. If it is not possible to offer a Lewisham resident a place at any of the schools named as preferences, we will offer an alternative place at the closest school to the child s home that still has a vacancy at the end of the allocation process. 10 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

11 Deciding which schools to apply for Visiting schools Before deciding which schools you wish to apply for, we recommend that you visit to see the facilities and opportunities available. Headteachers will be pleased to show you around the school and answer any questions. Please contact the school(s) direct to arrange a convenient time. Information on oversubscription to Lewisham s community primary schools You can list up to six preferences for a Reception place. The schools you list can be in Lewisham or outside Lewisham. Many community schools in Lewisham were oversubscribed when the closing date for applications was reached in January The following information is provided to help you consider whether your child is likely to be offered a place in the Reception class at a community school in Lewisham. It tells you about the number of applications made to each primary school by 15 January 2014, the closing date for the academic year. Please use this information as a guide, as we cannot guarantee that application rates will be the same each year. Note also that the information about home-toschool distances for the previous year is intended as a guide only. You will find information about voluntaryaided and foundation schools and academies in Lewisham on the schools individual pages on pages You may be able to find similar information about other boroughs schools in their own booklets. We use straight-line measurement to calculate home-to-school distance by using an electronic measuring system. All home-to-school distances are calculated in metres. For admission in September 2015, distance will be measured to one nodal point in the school and not to a particular school gate. Please note that commercial websites will not give the same measurement and should not be relied on for school admission purposes. Home-to-school distances are calculated for admissions purposes only and not to aid or inform house purchases. Please bear in mind that small schools that have only one class of 30 children are likely to admit from a much closer home-to-school distance than larger schools or those who have opened a bulge class. Apply online at 11

12 application and appeal rates for community schools The following table indicates how places were allocated on 16 April 2014 under each admissions criterion. For admissions all distances were measured in metres and using a straight line to the closest school gate. For precise home-to-school measurements for schools in other boroughs please contact the council for that borough direct. Schools where there is an admission number in brackets are those who opened a bulge classes. Number of places offered under each admissions criterion Appeals Name of school Published admissions number Number of applicants who named the school as one of their preferences Children in public care Children with exceptional medical or social need Siblings on roll Distance of last child offered for published admissions number Distance of last child offered for bulge class Children with SEN statement Appeals heard in the summer of 2014 Adamsrill ,342 Ashmead Athelney ,744 1 Baring Beecroft Garden Brindishe Green Brindishe Lee Childeric , Coopers Lane 60 (90) Dalmain Deptford Park 90 (120) ,518 Downderry Edmund Waller ,056 Elfrida 60 (90) , Eliot Bank Fairlawn Forster Park 60 (90) ,389 Gordonbrock Successful appeals in the summer of Starting school in Lewisham 2015

13 Number of places offered under each admissions criterion Appeals Name of school Published admissions number Number of applicants who named the school as one of their preferences Children in public care Children with exceptional medical or social need Siblings on roll Distance of last child offered for published admissions number Distance of last child offered for bulge class Children with SEN statement Appeals heard in the summer of 2014 Grinling Gibbons Haseltine 60 (90) , Holbeach Horniman John Ball John Stainer Kelvin Grove 90 (120) , Kender 60 (90) , Kilmorie Launcelot ,401 Lee Manor Lucas Vale 60 (90) ,750 Marvels Lane ,377 Myatt Garden Perrymount Prendergast Ladywell Fields ,451 Rangefield Rathfern Rushey Green Sandhurst Sir Francis Drake Stillness Torridon 90 (120) , Successful appeals in the summer of 2014 Apply online at 13

14 How to apply You should apply online at before the closing date of one minute to midnight on 15 January If you have any queries about the application process please contact us on How it works: Parents or carers apply online at You must submit your application by Thursday 15 January You list up to six schools (not special schools or independent schools) in order of preference. The schools you list can be in the borough of Lewisham or outside. The admissions authority for each school will consider all applications for their school at the same time, regardless of where the school has been ranked on the application. If more applications are received than the number of places available, they will use the school s admissions criteria to work out which applicants qualify for a place. If a child qualifies for a place at more than one of the schools applied for, we will use your preference ranking to identify the highest of those possible offers. The highest available offer will be made. If applying for a place at a faith school based on church membership or worship, you must complete the school s supplementary information form and return it direct to the school by 15 January Governors of faith schools will rely on the details provided in the supplementary information form when making admissions decisions. You can download supplementary information forms from the schools websites (see pages 21 32). If you apply online, you will get an confirming the result of your application during the evening of Thursday 16 April If you do not apply online, you will be sent your result by first class post on Thursday 16 April There is no guarantee that the letter will arrive on the following day as first class post does not guarantee next-day delivery and we will not give results over the telephone. Applying online If you do not have a computer at home, but wish to make an application online, visit your local public library in Lewisham, where you can use one of the computers free of charge. You will need a library membership card, and you may need to book, so you may wish to call the Library Service on to book a time slot. If you do not have an account, you can set one up free of charge via the eadmissions website. Filling in the application form Here are some tips that will help you complete your application. You might find it useful to read this section again once you have logged onto the online system. Your child s details Make sure you spell your child s name correctly and provide their permanent home address, which must be in the borough of Lewisham. The child s name must be exactly the same as on their birth certificate, unless it has been legally changed, in which case a copy of the legal document must be provided. 14 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

15 Permanent home address The address you give must be the child s permanent home address, not a temporary address or one that you have rented in order to increase your child s chances of getting into a particular school. To establish an applicant s permanent rather than temporary home address, you must provide a copy of one of the following documents with the application form: the council tax bill addressed to the child s parent(s)/carer(s) a current tenancy agreement. Moving home If you move at any time during the application process, you must let us know immediately. You will need to provide evidence of: closing accounts for the previous property official confirmation of the end of tenancy or house sale for the previous property tenancy agreement via a commercial letting agency for a period of 12 months or more (the period of the tenancy must extend beyond the start of the academic year in which the child is due to be admitted) or a solicitor s confirmation of the completion of the purchase of the new property. Until the tenancy or ownership of the original property has been surrendered, we will not accept the new address as the permanent home address. If you move before 13 February 2015, we will use your new permanent home address to determine your offer or you can make a new application. If you move after 13 February 2015 but before 16 April 2015, your offer will be based on the address given on your original application. Fraudulent applications You cannot rent a property close to a popular school or apply from a relative s address to increase the likelihood of your child getting a place. If a false address has been given and an offer made on the basis of fraudulent information, the offer of a place will be withdrawn. Your details Only give the name(s) of parents/carers who live at the same address as the child and have parental responsibility for the child. Please provide evidence with your application that you have parental responsibility for the child and are therefore eligible to make an application. Evidence includes copies of: a letter from the Child Benefit Agency showing both your name and your child s name to show that you are getting benefits for the child residence orders/child arrangement order (or other court orders) a copy of the child s full birth certificate. If you apply online you will need to scan and upload these documents and the proof of address. If parents who are not living together share the care of their child, we will consider that the child lives with the parent who has parental responsibility and is receiving child benefit and child tax credit. Applications on exceptional medical or social grounds You may give reasons for your preference. Some schools will give priority to children who would not normally qualify for a place at the school but who are able to demonstrate an exceptional medical or social need. If applying under this criterion you will need to provide a letter from a hospital consultant (if you have a medical reason for your claim), a social worker (if you have a social reason), or a professional of equivalent standing. The letter must state clearly why, in that professional s opinion, the particular school is the only school able to meet the child s or the family s specific needs. The letter must be provided with the application and must be submitted by the closing date. If this documentation is not provided, it will not be possible to consider the application under the exceptional medical or social reasons criterion. Each case will be considered on its individual merits, and such applications will not necessarily be given priority over other children. Apply online at 15

16 Supplementary information forms Applications made on religious grounds for a Catholic school, or a foundation place at a Church of England school, will need to be supported by a supplementary information form issued by that school. This form needs to be signed by the priest, vicar or minister who will confirm your child s church membership and attendance. The supplementary information form must be returned direct to the school and not Lewisham Council before the closing date of 15 January The school must also be one of the schools applied for on the application form. If it is not, the application cannot be considered by the school governors. The following schools in Lewisham require supplementary information forms: All Saints Church of England Primary School Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School St Augustine s Catholic Primary School St Bartholomew s Church of England Primary School St George s Church of England Primary School (formerly Christ Church CE Primary School) St James Hatcham Church of England Primary School St John Baptist Church of England Primary School St Joseph s Catholic Primary School St Margaret s Lee Church of England Primary School St Mary Magdalen s Catholic Primary School St Mary s Lewisham Church of England Primary School St Matthew Academy St Michael s Church of England Primary School 16 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

17 St Saviour s Catholic Primary School St Stephen s Church of England Primary School St William of York Catholic Primary School St Winifred s Catholic Infant School Trinity Lewisham Church of England School Supplementary information forms are available from the school direct or may be downloaded from the school s website (see pages 21 32). Name of school and DfE number Please make sure you enter the correct school name. This is particularly important because some schools work in federation and will have similar names. Children in public care or adopted from public care If the child is in public care, or has been adopted and was in care in England or Wales immediately before the adoption, the child s social worker must provide evidence of the child s legal status. If the child is adopted, please include the adoption order with your application. For advice on the application process, carers should contact us on Supporting documents If you are providing additional information to support your application you will need to scan and upload the documents and submit them with your application. If you cannot do this, please bring the documents to the Customer Service Centre in Laurence House, Catford. Please ensure your child s name, date of birth and application reference number are clearly marked on each page so this can be matched to your application. Remember to get a receipt from the Customer Service Centre. If you are applying for a school that requires a supplementary information form, make sure you post or take this to the school concerned by 15 January You must tick the box for every school for which you are providing supporting evidence. Note that in Lewisham, only Prendergast Vale College and St Stephen s Church of England Primary School give priority to children of staff. Schools outside Lewisham may also do so. Please check the admissions criteria for the schools you are applying for. Siblings Include the full name, gender and date of birth of any sibling (this means brother or sister, not cousin or any other relative) already attending the school and living at the same address. Siblings of children in Year 6 will not be given priority as they will have left the primary school by the time the younger child is due to start school. The exception may be for those children attending an all-through school, but you will need to confirm whether sibling priority applies to older children who are transferring to or already attending the secondary phase in September Distance Home-to-school distance for community schools in Lewisham will be measured in a straight line from the child s home address (including flats) to a nodal point in the school, using a computerised measuring system. Home-to-school distances to faith, foundation and academy schools in Lewisham will be measured to the school gate. If the school has identified more than one gate used by children, the measuring system will calculate the distance to the closest gate to your address. If more than one applicant lives in a multioccupancy building, such as a block of flats, priority will be given to the applicant whose door number is lowest numerically and/or alphabetically. New build properties If your address is a new build, the exact position of your property may not yet be available on GIS (geographic information systems). If this is the case you will not be able to make your application online. Please contact us on If necessary, we will use the provisional mapping coordinates allocated to the new development in order to calculate home-toschool distances. Submitting your online application After you have completed your application and listed the schools you wish to apply for you must submit the application by clicking on the submit Apply online at 17

18 button. You will then get a confirmation with an application reference number, which will look like this: E If you do not get an with this number, your form has not been submitted. The completed application, along with the application reference number, can be printed. You might want to make a note of your user name, password and application reference number in the space in the inside front cover of this booklet. Checking your application Please note that you are entirely responsible for submitting your application and any supplementary information with the correct information and on time. We accept no responsibility for applications that are received after the closing date. Make sure your application is received on time by applying online before 15 January Confirmation of applications Applicants who apply online will get an to confirm that the application was successfully submitted. We will also write to all Lewisham applicants by the end of February 2015 to confirm the schools applied for. If you do not get this letter, please contact us as soon as possible, as it may mean that we have not received your application. If you completed a paper application you will need to provide the photocopy of your application and proof of postage or receipt from the Customer Service Centre. Applications made after the closing date 15 January 2015 We will continue to accept applications which are late for good reason until 10am on 13 February These applications must be submitted along with evidence showing why the application could not be made by the closing date. Applications received after 15 January 2015 which are not accepted as late for good reason, and all other applications received after 13 February 2015, will not be considered until after 30 April 2015 and after the on-time applications have been dealt with. Those wishing to apply after 13 February 2015 will need to complete a paper application form which will be available from the Customer Service Centre in Laurence House from 16 April What happens next Your offer of a primary school place National offer day is 16 April If you apply online you will get your result by during the evening of 16 April. Results will be posted first class on 16 April 2015 to those who are not offered their first preference school. First class post does not guarantee next-day delivery, and results will not be given over the telephone. Unsuccessful applications Any child not offered a place at a school which was a higher preference than the school offered will automatically be added to that school s reallocation list. Schools in Lewisham will maintain their list until the end of the school year for which admission is sought. If a vacancy occurs at the school in question, the admissions criteria will be used to decide which child is admitted. The date on which the child s name was added to the list will not play any part. The order of the list will change as families move in and out of the borough. New applicants (those applying for the first time) will be added to the list and these children may take priority over an existing applicant, if they have a greater claim to a place. It is very important that you inform us immediately if you decide that you are happy with a school you have been offered and no longer wish to be on the reallocation list for a higher preference school Any applicant who has not been offered a higher preference of school may appeal against the decision not to offer them a place. However, the legislation on class size and the limited powers of the appeal panel should be borne in mind (see below). Infant classes are restricted by law to a maximum of 30 children. Change of address between 16 April 2015 and your child s start at school If you move home after you have had your offer of a place confirmed, the offer of a place will still be honoured but you must ensure that 18 Starting school in Lewisham 2015

19 the journey is reasonable and your child always arrives at school and is picked up on time. If you no longer need a place in Lewisham, please tell us in writing, confirming why the place is no longer required, so we can close the application and offer the place to another child. Appeals procedure If your child is not offered a place at the school(s) you applied for, you can appeal against the decision. In the case of community schools, we will send you information about why your child did not qualify for a place. In the case of other schools, you will get a letter from the school itself. The result letter sent on 16 April 2015 will also tell you how and when to appeal. Appeals are not managed or decided by the Council but by an independent appeal panel of people who are not employed by the Council. The panel will consider all appeals for the same school, and the hearing will be clerked by an independent appeal clerk. You will be able to attend the hearing to present your case. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (as amended by the Education Act 2002) limits the circumstances in which an appeal panel may allow a Reception or infant class appeal where the child did not qualify for a place on class size prejudice grounds. For Reception appeals the panel can only uphold the appeal where: 1. the admission of another child would breach the infant class size limit 2. it finds that the admissions arrangements did not comply with admissions law or were not correctly and impartially applied, and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied, or 3. it finds that the decision was not one which a reasonable admissions authority would have made in the circumstances of the case. An unreasonable decision is defined in the School Appeals Code as a decision that is beyond the range of responses open to a reasonable decision-maker or a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question could have arrived at it. The legislation requires that the size of all infant classes is limited to a maximum of 30 children. In the case of half-form entry schools (those admitting 45 children) the Reception class is likely to be smaller than 30. However, the independent appeal panel must take into account future prejudice in Year 1 and Year 2, when the classes are reorganized into groups of 30. Appeals submitted after the given deadline may not be heard until after the start of the academic year in September Parents who have appealed unsuccessfully may not appeal again for a place at the same school in the same academic year unless there are significant and material changes in the circumstances of the case. For more information about the appeals procedure, visit or contact the Governance Team (Appeals) on Apply online at 19

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