Admissions criteria for places in community and voluntary controlled secondary schools 2022/23

An admission number will be published showing the maximum number of pupils that the school will admit in the Autumn Term 2022. Parents are given the opportunity to express three preferences for a secondary school. Published criteria are used to decide which children should be offered the available places. In secondary schools an equal preference system operates, whereby the three parental preferences are given equal status. Each preference will be considered equally against the admissions criteria.

When a school is oversubscribed on parental preferences, then the following priorities apply in order:

1. Looked after children and those who have been previously looked after, [including those legally adopted from overseas] (please see note (xi) below), then
2. Children for whom the Local Authority accepts that there are exceptional medical, social or welfare reasons which are directly relevant to the school concerned (please see note (i) below) then
3. Children living within the school’s geographical priority area with older brothers or sisters attending the school when the younger child will start, (please see note iii below) then
4. Children living within the school’s geographical priority area then
5. Children living outside the school’s geographical priority area with older brothers or sisters still attending the school when the younger child will start (please see note (iii) below) then
6. Children living outside the school’s geographical priority area (please see note (iv) below)

Notes

(i) The medical, social and welfare criterion will consider issues relevant to the child and/or the family. This category may include children without an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) who have special needs.

(ii) As required by law, all children with an EHC Plan naming a school will be admitted before the application of the over-subscription criteria. Children who have an EHC Plan have their applications considered separately.

(iii) Brothers and sisters includes full brothers and sisters, step children, half brothers and sisters, fostered and adopted children living with the same family at the same address; and full brothers and sisters living at different addresses. The priority does not apply to siblings whose brothers and sisters transferred into a sixth form at 16+.

(iv) The distance criterion, which will be used as the tie breaker if there is oversubscription within any of the admission criteria, is a straight line (radial) measure. If the Local Authority is unable to distinguish between applicants using the published criteria, eg siblings, those living the same distance from home to school, or families residing in the same block of flats, places will be offered via a random draw. The distance measure is a straight line measurement (radial) between the applicants' home address points and the address point of the school (co-ordinates provided by ordnance survey data).

(v) A child’s permanent address is the one where they normally live, sleep and go to school from. Proof of residence may be requested at any time throughout the admissions process, (including after a child has accessed a school place). Addresses of relatives or friends must not be used and neither should addresses of any other properties owned by applicants. (Please refer to Section 1 – Residency)

(vi) The Local Authority will keep waiting lists for all Lancashire secondary schools until 31 August 2022. These are kept in priority order using the school's published admission criteria.

(vii) From 1 September 2022, waiting lists will be transferred to and retained by individual admission authorities (the Local Authority for community and voluntary controlled schools and own admission authority schools will each retain their own list). To comply with the School Admissions Code the waiting lists must be retained until at least 31 December 2022.

(viii) Applications for school places which are received late will not necessarily be dealt with at the same time as those received by the set deadline. The reasons for a late application may be requested and where these are not exceptional the relevant admission criteria will be initially applied to all others received on time. The late application will be dealt with after this process.

Application forms received after the published closing date will only be considered at that time if the following conditions apply:

(a) if the number of preferences received for the school is below the published admission number or

(b) there are extenuating circumstances justifying a late application

These may include:

(a) parents moving into the County after the closing date

(b) parent/carer illness which required hospitalisation for the major part of the period between the publication of the composite prospectus and the closing date for applications

(x) Where a child lives with one parent for part of the week and another for the rest of the week, only one address will be accepted for a school admission application. This will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of school days (Monday to Friday). Proof of residence may be requested at any time throughout the admissions process.

(xi) The highest priority must be given to looked after children and children who were previously looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order, child arrangement orders or special guardianship order). Further references to previously looked after children in the Code means children who were adopted (or subject to residence orders, child arrangement orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after. This includes children who are legally adopted from overseas. Relevant, legal documents must be provided to evidence the adoption.

A 'looked after child' (1) or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption(2) child arrangements order (residency order) (3) or special guardianship order (4).

(1) 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.

(2) 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).

(3) Under the provisions of s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which amend section 8 of the Children Act 1989, residence orders have now been replaced by child arrangements orders.

(4) Please 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).

This includes children who are legally adopted from overseas. Relevant, legal documents must be provided to evidence the adoption.

The Authority has a duty to co-ordinate admission arrangements for all Lancashire maintained schools. The Authority will ensure that all Lancashire parents whose children are transferring to Year 7 classes receive the offer of one secondary school place on the agreed date.