In Year Admissions Policy, City of York
2026 – 2027
Admissions Policy approved by the determining authority Board (Ebor Academy Trust): 28th September 2024
Introduction
1 This policy applies to applications for the following schools for whom the Ebor Academy Trust is the Admission Authority, which are located within the City of York Local Authority area, and which do not have separate admission arrangements. These schools are:
● Haxby Road Primary Academy
● Hob Moor Primary Academy
● Lakeside Primary Academy
● Osbaldwick Primary Academy
● Park Grove Primary Academy
● Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy
2 This policy applies only to ‘in-year’ applications for a place from Reception to Year 6. 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 Ebor Academy Trust Admissions Policy.
3 The LA will offer assistance where requested to other admission authorities with schools in the City of York LA area who wish to adopt similar arrangements for the benefit of residents of the LA area.
4 This policy complies with and operates within the City of York In Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme for schools in the City of York Local Authority area.
5 The policy for allocating school places is designed to be as fair as possible while ensuring that resources are used sensibly. Ebor Academy Trust works closely with the LA in school place planning and organisation regarding the numbers of places that can be allocated.
6 Under these admission arrangements the allocation of places is based on where the child/parent lives and the preferences of parent/carers.
7 Advice and information for parent/carers on school admissions, including key information that applies to all applications as well as some frequently asked questions are available in the Guide for Parents which is available at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents or upon request from the LA School Admissions team. It is recommended that all applicants consider the information in the Guide for Parents before making an application.
8 The admission of children with an Education, Health and Care plan is covered by different admission regulations. Once a school has been named, a place will be allocated for these children before considering other applications.
A In Year Admissions
1 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 Admissions authority, Ebor Academy Trust, will make a decision, with regard to the LA’s latest Out of Cohort guidance regarding the best educational provision in consultation with parents, Headteacher and other relevant professionals.
2 Separate guidance applies to requests for the deferred entry of summer born children into the reception year in a primary or infant school. Further guidance can be found in the Ebor Academy Trust Admissions Policy.
3 Parent/carers who wish to apply for a change of school for their child should apply no earlier than 20 school days before the school place is required. Where a change of school is required due to relocation, a place may be allocated and 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.
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4 Applications can be made by York residents online at www.york.gov.uk/admissions or by completing a paper ‘School admissions application for an in year change of school’ form, which can be obtained from the LA School Admissions team. Applications made more than 20 schools days before the school place is required will not be accepted and will be returned to the applicant and another application will have to be made. Applications must be completed in full to be accepted.
5 When making an application, parent/carers are advised to supply any additional information that may be required to the admission authority by emailing education@york.gov.uk with the child’s details. For example, additional information will need to be provided when applying on the basis of being ‘previously looked after’ or having exceptional social or medical needs which relate to the preferred school. Further guidance on additional information can be found in the Guide for Parents.
6 Applicants are advised to consider their ‘catchment’ school when making an application. If the place your child is allocated is at a school which you are not in the catchment area for, or if you move out of the catchment area you now reside in, then you may have less chance of being successful when applying for any younger siblings. Catchment areas available to applicants in the Guide for Parents, online at www.york.gov.uk and upon request from the LA School Admissions team.
7 Any school’s resources, such as teachers and classrooms, have to be used carefully to ensure the best possible standards for education and a safe environment. If no limit were set on the number of children that can go to a school each year these standards could not be maintained. Infant Class Size legislation may also limit the number of pupils that can be admitted in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
8 The availability of school places in the relevant class or year group at the applicant’s preferred school(s) will be the primary factor in determining whether or not preferences are successful.
9 Although each school does have a published admission number – that is the number of places the school expects to offer – this number only applies for preferences submitted in the year of entry. The year of entry is Reception for primary and infant schools. Although a published admission number may help set class organisation in later years, decisions will be made primarily on class organisation.
10 Where it is determined by the admission authority that there is not an available place, this will be because it is the view of the admission authority that the admission of any additional pupil would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
11 Where there is an available space and there are no other applications for this place, the place will be offered to the applicant.
12 Where there is an available space and there are more applications for a place than places available, priority is given to certain categories of children according to the oversubscription criteria which are listed in Section B of this policy.
13 A place may be refused even if the numbers on roll in the relevant year group are lower than the Published Admission Number. Places may also be refused if the numbers on roll in the whole school mean the admission of an addition child would be detrimental to the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
14 If there are no available places in a preferred class or year group, places may not be offered, particularly if another school could reasonably be offered. Applicants may therefore wish to contact schools in advance to see if places are available or seek the advice of the LA School Admissions team by email education@york.gov.uk, online at www.york.gov.uk/admissions or by calling 01904 551 554.
15 Applicants may be successful in obtaining a place at a school that does not serve the local ‘catchment’ area in which they live. If allocated a place at such a school, applicants will be responsible for travel arrangements and the costs of travel to and from school.
16 If parent/carers disagree on an application made in the normal round only one parent can submit a school place application and we cannot resolve disputes between parents only a family court can do this. When you apply, you are confirming you have the consent of all other persons to make the application. If we (or the local authority) receive two conflicting applications, both applications will be placed on hold (and school places may have to be offered to other applicants) until the local authority has received (either):
• written evidence that everyone holding parental responsibility agrees the application
• a Court Order specifying who should apply
Your home local authority may be required to allocate a place at the closest school to the child’s home with spaces remaining available if the child needs a school place offer.
B Oversubscription criteria
Some schools will be oversubscribed – that is where there are no available places in the preferred class or year group. Preferences for oversubscribed classes or year groups will normally be refused.
Where there is an available space and more applications for a place than places available, priority is given to certain categories of children. The oversubscription criteria set out below will be used to prioritise all applicants who have applied for a place at a school in these circumstances in the following priority order:
1 Children who are either currently or have previously been ‘looked after’. This applies to all children who are currently or have previously been, in the care of a local authority; all children who have been adopted from local authority care, subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order; and all children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of adoption, residence or special guardianship order;
It is the responsibility of parent/carers, or the child’s social worker to provide the information to the admission authority that this criterion applies.
2 Children who live within the catchment area normally served by the preferred school, with a sibling at the preferred school at the time of admission. Catchment areas are designated by the Local Authority and agreed by the Admissions Authority. Maps are made available to parent/carers in the Guide for Parents, online at www.york.gov.uk, and upon request from the School Admissions team. Siblings are defined as brothers or sisters living in the same house, as their primary place of residence (including half-, step- and foster-brothers or sisters);
The LA uses the address provided in the application, and using GIS software, determines which catchment area an address, and therefore a child, resides in. This address must be the address at which the child is ordinarily resident. Further detailed advice on addresses is contained within the Guide for Parents.
It is the responsibility of parent/carers to include with their application the name of any sibling(s) where this criterion applies for checking by the LA.
3 Children who live within the catchment area normally served by the preferred school. Catchment areas are made available to parent/carers in the Guide for Parents, online at www.york.gov.uk, and upon request from the School Admissions team;
The LA uses the address provided in the application, and using GIS software, determines which catchment area an address, and therefore a child, resides in. This address must be the address at which the child is ordinarily resident. Further detailed advice on addresses is contained within the Guide for Parents.
4 Children considered by the admission authority to have exceptional social or medical needs which makes the preferred school the most suitable school for the child. The admission authority may consult with other medical or educational professionals for a further opinion as to whether the child should be allocated a place at the preferred school due to a particular medical condition or social need;
It is the responsibility of parent/carers to provide the additional information where they believe this criterion applies. To be given priority on this basis, the admission authority would have to be satisfied that the child’s needs were such that the preferred school would be the most suitable school for the child.
Admissions officers defer these considerations and decisions to a panel of children’s services officers, in areas such as safeguarding and education social care. This ‘Exceptional Social and Medical (ESM) Panel’ considers any documentation provided by parent/carers and assesses whether these needs are ‘exceptional’ in nature. Admissions officers have no decision-making role in this process and only identify those applications to be considered by the ESM Panel and request further information from parent/carers. Those applications with supporting information that the ESM Panel determines are ‘exceptional’ would have to be where only the preferred school could meet the child’s need.
5 Children with a sibling at the preferred school at the time of admission. Siblings are defined as brothers or sisters living in the same house, as their primary place of residence (including half-, step and foster-brothers or sisters);
It is the responsibility of parent/carers to include with their application the name of any sibling(s) where this criterion applies for checking by the LA.
6 Children who live closest to the preferred school using the nearest available safe walking route. Distances are measured by a GIS mapping system from the child’s home address to the closest entrance of the school.
Distances are measured using a system of walking routes rather than straight line distances to better reflect the length of the journey from home to school. Within a contiguous urban area these routes are those that are properly paved and lit alongside roads and other walkways and do not include the York outer ring road. Outside a contiguous urban area, for example for applications from outside the City of York area, these distances continue to be measured along the road network.
If a school has moved to a temporary site, distance measurements will be based on the school’s permanent site.
Where there are fewer places than children in an oversubscription priority as above, in order to decide to whom places will be allocated, the following tie-breakers will be applied:
● first, to the child(ren) who also fulfil the next highest priority;
● second, to the child(ren) living closest to the school as defined in priority 6;
● and third, if the measurement of the distance from home to school above does not distinguish between two or more applicants with equal priority, random allocation will be used as the final tie-breaker, and independently verified.
Where the application of the above would lead to a place being made available for a child of multiple birth, but not their sibling(s), we will work within the Admissions Code in order to make a place available for the sibling(s) wherever reasonably possible.
For example, for two children who are both resident in the catchment area without a sibling on roll at the time of admission and are thus assigned the same (third) priority, the place would first be allocated to the child who also fulfils the next highest priority, for example, an exceptional social or medical need (fourth priority) over a child who lives closer to the school (sixth priority).