Annex E

Schools in the City of York Local Authority area

In Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme 2023 - 2024

Last Updated: July 2021

A         Introduction

1. This coordinated scheme provides a framework for a fair and open way of determining in year applications for a school place.

2. This scheme complies with the requirements of the School Admissions Code 2021 and all current legislation regarding school admissions.

3. This scheme will remain in operation as long as in-year admissions are coordinated by the Local Authority (LA).  This scheme may be reviewed in the future to ensure it complies with current legislation and practice.

4. This scheme applies to all state-funded schools in the City of York area    who receive applications ‘in-year’.  It aims to ensure that within the operation of an equal preference system:

a) each applicant only receives one offer of a school place; and

b) each applicant is allocated the highest ranked preference school that is available.

5.       Applications will always be made and normally be considered only for admission into the year group relevant to the child’s age.  Only in very exceptional circumstances would a request for admission into other year groups be considered on an individual basis at the time of application. Factors that may be considered in varying this approach include:

(i) where a child has previously been educated outside of their chronological year group within the UK;

(ii) where a child has previously had an agreed ‘deferral’ for entry into Reception from the LA or another UK Local Authority;

(iii) where the child is from outside the UK and where an applicant can provide detailed and substantial evidence of the child’s need to be educated in a year group other than their own.  This will not include the variation of school starting ages in other countries.

Where none of the above apply, or where no variation is made by the LA, an applicant may, after being allocated a place, discuss their child’s needs with the head teacher of the allocated school.  The head teacher of the allocated school will make a decision, with regard to the LA’s latest Out of Cohort guidance regarding the best educational provision in consultation with parents and other relevant professionals.

6.       This scheme applies only to ‘in-year’ applications for a place from Reception to Year 11.  Applications for Year 12 or 13 should be made directly to those schools and colleges, though the right of appeal exists if an applicant is refused admission to a school in Year 12 or 13.

In-year admissions are those that are made either during the school year, or for admission into year groups other than the normal year of entry.  It does not apply to applications for a place within an ‘admissions round’, that is an application for the normal year of entry.  More information on applications within an admissions round can be found in the relevant City of York Coordinated Admissions Scheme.

7.     In year admissions are normally for school places that are required for a minimum period of one term, and where the child currently holds no other school place in any other jurisdiction, except in the case of dual registration.  There is no duty to provide a school place for short term or temporary admission requests, even where these are longer than one term in length.  Schools may choose to admit children on a short term basis where there is an available place that is not required for an in year admission and where agreement exists between the parent/carer and the school regarding what provision may be allocated.

8.     The LA coordinates in year school admission applications for all state funded schoolsin the City of York LA area.

Decisions on applications for community and voluntary controlled schools must be made by the admission authority for the school which is the City of York Council.  More information on how in year applications will be considered for these schools can be found in the City of York In Year Admissions Policy.

In line with the School Admissions Code, own admission authority schools – academy and voluntary aided schools – may choose to admit pupils separately, but they must, on receipt of an in-year application, notify the local authority of both the application and its outcome, to allow the local authority to keep up to date figures on the availability of places in the area.  If the admission authority chooses to admit a pupil separately, they must inform parents of a decision in writing within 15 school days of an application and also of their right to appeal against the refusal of a place.

9.     Information regarding applying for places at school can be found on the City of York School Admissions website at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions and in the Guide for Parents at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents

B          Making Applications

1. The standard way of making applications will be online at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions where an online form (‘the form’) can be completed to apply for a school place.  It is expected that most applications will be made online, but where applicants cannot apply online, they may request support from the LA, schools, or a paper application form known as the ‘School admissions application for an in year change of school’ (‘the form’).

2.  The form will be used for the purpose of gathering and processing applications for a change of school – in circumstances including being newly resident in the City of York Local Authority (LA) area, having moved across the LA area, or simply requesting a change of school.

3. The form must be used as a means of expressing one or more preferences by applicants who are parent/carers resident in the LA area wishing to express a preference for their child:

a) to be admitted to a school within the LA area (including Voluntary Aided Schools and Academies); and/or

b) to be admitted to a school located in another LA area (including Voluntary Aided Schools and Academies).

4. Applicants should apply to the Local Authority in which they are resident, even if the school(s) they wish to apply for are in a different Local Authority area.

Applicants resident in other Local Authority areas should first apply to the Local Authority in which they are resident if they coordinate in year applications for school places.

5.  Applications will only be accepted if submitted by persons with parental responsibilityfor the child listed in an application.  If the Local Authority or any admission authority receives two applications for the same child and the applications differ, or if there is disagreement between persons who share parental responsibility, applications may be put on hold and/or not processed until agreement is reached or one person proves a legal right to proceed with the application.

6.  The form will invite applicants to –

a) express in rank order up to five preferences, including Voluntary Aided schools, Academies and schools outside the  City of York area;

b) give their reasons for their preference(s); and

c) provide details of their child’s home address which should be the address at which the child is ordinarily resident.  Further information on the address can be found in the Guide for Parents.

7.  Applicants are advised to –

a) consider their ‘catchment’ school when expressing their preferences.  Catchment areas are designated by the Local Authority and are made available to applicants in the Guide for Parents, online at www.york.gov.uk, and upon request from the School Admissions team;

b) consider the implications of home to school transport when expressing their preferences.  The City of York Home to School Transport Policy is made available to applicants online at www.york.gov.uk/schooltransport and upon request from the School Admissions team.  Applicants from outside the City of York area are advised to contact the Local Authority in which they are resident regarding transport; and

c) if applying with more than one child of school age who would require a place at the same school, consider several schools before expressing their preferences as parent/carers most preferred or most local school may not have places available for all children in all requested year groups

8. All preferences expressed on the form are valid applications.  Voluntary Aided Schools and Academies can require applicants who nominate their school to complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) or provide additional information where this is required for the admission authority to apply their oversubscription criteria to the applicant. The SIF, if required, must be returned directly to the school.

9. If the LA receives both an online and manual application, and they differ, the LA will query this with the applicant. 

10. Following submission of an application, the LA may seek clarification of the details in an application or further information relating to the application, including proof of address or residence.

Whilst waiting for requested information an application will be placed on hold.  If information is not supplied in order for an application to be processed further, an application may ultimately be withdrawn by the LA.

C          Timescales

1. Where a request is made regarding the number of school places available, requests will be answered within two schools days of a completed request. Please note that this information is only ever an indication as applications are being processed constantly.

2. Applications should be made no earlier than 20 schools days before the school place is required. Applications will not be accepted if made more than 20 school days before a place is required. Applications made more than 20 schools days before the school place is required will be returned to the applicant and another application will have to be made.

3. Upon receiving an application, and where the child does not have a school place in the LA area, all admission authorities will endeavour to allocate a school place within a period of 10 school days in order to minimise periods where children are without a school place.

4. Decisions on applications will be provided to applicants within 15 school days of the completed and accepted application. Applications should not be made more than 20 school days before the intended start date, unless the application is due to crown service posting in which case a place may be allocated upon receipt of the relevant posting order.  Other exceptional circumstances may mean that decisions are made more than 20 school days before the intended start date.

5. Where a change of school is required due to relocation, an allocated place may be taken up once the receiving school has been able to make suitable arrangements.  However, where a change of school has been requested for other reasons and the child’s current school is within a reasonable travelling distance, it is expected that the start date will be at the start of a new half term or other suitable day to be agreed with the receiving school.

D         Coordinating Applications

6. The LA will act as a clearing house for the allocation of places by the relevant admission authorities in response to preferences received via either an online application or the form.

7. Each admission authority operating within the scheme will have their own admissions policy or oversubscription criteria for their school(s).  All preferences expressed for a school will be determined in line with these policies and criteria.

8. The LA will provide information about applicants resident in the City of York area expressing preferences for schools outside the City of York area to other Local Authorities for their consideration and communication with other admission authorities in their respective areas.

9. The LA will receive information about applicants resident outside the City of York area expressing preferences for schools within the City of York area from other Local Authorities.  These preferences will be processed alongside preferences from applicants from the City of York.

10. The LA will provide details of all preferences expressed for Voluntary Aided and Academy schools within the City of York area to those schools for their consideration.

11. The LA will receive information from schools within the City of York area for the purposes of determining where a place can be allocated. 

12. The LA will provide information on all preferences, including to whom allocations can be made, to other coordinating Local Authorities for applicants resident outside the City of York area. 

13. The LA will receive information on all preferences, including to whom allocations can be made, from other coordinating Local Authorities for applicants resident in the City of York area. 

E          Decisions on Applications

1. The decision on whether an applicant may be allocated a place at a school named as a preference on an application is the responsibility for the admission authorityfor that school.

2. The LA will only make a decision with respect to the allocation or refusal of a place in response to any preference expressed on an application where:

a) it is acting in its separate capacity as an admission authority, or

b) an applicant is eligible for a place at more than one school, or

c) an applicant is not eligible for a place at any school that the applicant has named as a preference.

3. Those schools that are their own admission authority will provide the LA with information as to whether a place is available, or if more than one application has been received, information as to whom is most entitled to the available place according to their own admissions policies or oversubscription criteria.

4. The LA will, for those schools for which the LA is also the admission authority, make a decision on each preference according to the City of York In Year Admissions Policy.

5. Where an applicant has applied for more than one child at the same preferred school(s), but a place is only available for one child, the LA will seek further instruction from the applicant regarding whether the applicant would prefer both siblings to be allocated places at the same school (this may be a lower or alternative preference), or be allocated places at two different schools. . A decision must be made within two working days.

6. If a place cannot be allocated at a school named as a preference, and the pupil could be considered eligible to be considered under the Fair Access Protocol, the application may be referred to a Behaviour and Attendance Partnershipwho will consider the application.

F          Allocations

1. When the LA has received information for all schools that are named as a preference by the applicant, and where the child is eligible for a place at only one of the nominated schools, that school will be allocated to the child.

Where the child is eligible for a place at two or more of the nominated schools, they will be allocated a place at whichever of these schools is the highest ranked preference.

2. Each applicant will receive no more than one allocation of a school place.  A place will be allocated at the highest ranking school named as a preference for which they are eligible for a place.

3. The LA, as the coordinating Local Authority for all applicants resident in the City of York area, will allocate school places on behalf of all admission authorities operating within the coordinated scheme.

4. The LA will provide schools with all relevant information held to the allocated school as soon as practically possible after a place has been allocated.  Schools should not contact parent/carers until allocations have been made by the LA.

If following an allocation, the child does not start an attendance at the allocated school, the allocated school must inform the LA Attendance Advisor so the child can be identified, if applicable, as a Child Missing in Education. 

5. Applicants should make contact with the allocated school within 10 school days of the date of the allocation letter.  If they do not then the allocation of a place will be withdrawn and the place will subsequently be made available to other applicants.

6. If a place cannot be allocated at a school named as a preference, a place may be allocated at an alternative school where places are available. This may be a school some distance from the home address of the applicant.

7. No allocation may be made if the current school of the child is within a reasonable distance, orif the applicant has indicated further preferences may be supplied should a preference be refused, orif the applicant has indicated that they would like to keep a place at their child’s current school should their preference(s) be refused.

8. No places will be held in reserve for any school.

G         Waiting Lists

1. Admission authorities may choose to hold waiting lists for all unsuccessful preferences.  They may choose to do so themselves or ask the LA to do so on their behalf.  As standard waiting lists should be kept until the end of the current school year, at which time the waiting list may be reset.

Should applicants wish to remain on a waiting list for a future school year, they should submit a new application 20 school days before the end of the current school year, and preferably by no later than 05 July.

2. Each waiting list will contain all the unsuccessful preferences, and ranked in accordance with the relevant oversubscription criteria for that school according to the applicant’s current circumstances where these circumstances have been provided to the admission authority or LA where the list is held by the LA.

3. Each additional applicant, or change in circumstances of an applicant, will require a waiting list to be reordered in accordance with the relevant oversubscription criteria for that school.

4. The admission authority for each school shall, should a place become available whilst the waiting list is in operation, make the LA aware of the available place so that the LA can offer the place to the applicant on the top of the waiting list on the day the place became available.  Applicants should be given a reasonable period of time to make a decision as to whether they wish to accept the place.

5. The LA shall, as the coordinating Local Authority, oversee these waiting lists in partnership with admission authorities and other Local Authorities.  The LA requires other admission authorities to inform the LA when places may become available, so that a coordinated allocation may be made by the LA on behalf of all schools within this coordinated scheme, and to ensure that each child is only allocated one school place.

H         Appeals

1. Where an applicant has been refused a place at a school of their preference, the applicant will be allocated the statutory right of appeal against the decision of the admission authority for the preference school.

2. The refusal letter will contain the reason why the preference was refused by the admission authority for the preference school and what steps the applicant needs to take in order to appeal against this decision.

3. Where there is more than one applicant appealing for a school these will be ‘grouped appeals’ for the first stage wherever possible.

4. Where the appeal is for a school in another Local Authority area, and/or where appeal arrangements may differ from the above, the applicant will be advised to contact that Local Authority or body to further discuss the appeals process.

J          Contact details for correspondence

City of York Council School Admissions

West Offices,

Station Rise,

York YO1 6GA

01904 551554

education@york.gov.uk

K          City of York Schools

Acomb Primary (Academy, 5-11)

All Saints’ RC School (Voluntary Aided, 11-18)

Archbishop Holgate’s CE School (Academy, 11-18)

Archbishop of York’s CE Junior (Voluntary Controlled, 7-11)

Badger Hill Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Bishopthorpe Infant (Community, 5-7)

Burton Green Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Carr Infant (Community, 5-7)

Carr Junior (Community, 7-11)

Clifton Green Primary (Community, 5-11)

Clifton with Rawcliffe Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Copmanthorpe Primary (Community, 5-11)

Dringhouses Primary (Community, 5-11)

Dunnington CE Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Elvington CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

Fishergate Primary (Community, 5-11)

Fulford School (Academy, 11-18)

Haxby Road Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Headlands Primary (Community, 5-11)

Hempland Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Heworth CE Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Hob Moor Community Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Huntington Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Huntington School (Community, 11-18)

Joseph Rowntree School (Voluntary Controlled, 11-18)

Knavesmire Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Lakeside Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Lord Deramore’s CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

Manor CE Academy (Academy, 11-16)

Millthorpe School (Academy, 11-16)

Naburn CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

New Earswick Primary (Academy, 5-11)      

Osbaldwick Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs RC Primary (Voluntary Aided, 5-11)       

Park Grove Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Poppleton Ousebank (Academy, 5-11)

Poppleton Road Primary (Community, 5-11)

Ralph Butterfield Primary (Community, 5-11)

Robert Wilkinson Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Rufforth Primary (Community, 5-11)

Scarcroft Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Skelton Primary (Community, 5-11)

St Aelred’s RC Primary (Voluntary Aided, 5-11)     

St Barnabas’ CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

St George’s RC Primary (Voluntary Aided, 5-11)   

St Lawrence’s CE Primary (Academy, 5-11) 

St Mary’s CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

St Oswald’s CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

St Paul’s CE Primary (Voluntary Controlled, 5-11)

St Wilfrid’s RC Primary (Voluntary Aided, 5-11)     

Stockton on the Forest Primary (Community, 5-11)

Tang Hall Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Vale of York Academy (Academy, 11-16)

Westfield Primary Community (Community, 5-11)

Wheldrake with Thorganby CE Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Wigginton Primary (Community, 5-11)

Woodthorpe Primary (Academy, 5-11)

Yearsley Grove Primary (Community, 5-11)

York High School (Academy, 11-16)

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