Consultation on Admission Arrangements for 2017-18

Admissions to Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools in Torbay

This consultation relates to admission arrangements for the following schools in Torbay:

Brixham Church of England Primary School

Furzeham Primary School

Homelands Primary School

Sherwell Valley Primary School

Upton St James Church of England Primary School

Watcombe Primary School

Torbay Council is considering changing the way in which applications for school places in Community and Voluntary Controlled schools are prioritised.

Where there are enough places available in a school, everyone who applies will be offered a place unless there is another school that is preferred by parents that can also offer a place.

Where there are more applications than places, the council has a set of criteria to prioritise the applications for a school.

The agreed priority order for 2016-17 is as follows:

Children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs/ Education, health & Care Plan where the school is named on the Statement/ Plan will have automatic entitlement to a place at the school.

Looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order.
Children who will have a sibling attending the school at the time of application.
Other children living in the designated area.
Other children living outside the designated area.

Where there are more applications than places available in a particular category, those living closest to the school will have priority for any places available (i.e. the shorter the distance the higher the priority). Measurements are taken by a straightline distance using the Council’s electronic mapping system. Measurements will be taken from an internal point of the building concerned (usually the visual centre of the building).

The proposed new priority order for 2017-18 is as follows:

Children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan that names a school will be admitted to the school. This is a plan made by the local authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 specifying the special education provision required for that child.

Over-subscription Criteria

Looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order.
Children who will have a sibling attending the school at the time of application.

Other children.

Definitions (for both current and future years)

Sibling: children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.

Home address: address of the person with parental responsibility for the child and with whom the child lives for 80% of the week, at the time of application. Where a child resides through shared custody, the address will be with the parent who receives/is eligible for child benefit.

Rationale for changes

The main change in the proposed arrangements is the removal of the designated area for all the schools listed at the top of this document.

A number of primary admission authorities across Torbay have already removed their designated area, following consultation. The combined effect of this is that in some parts of Torbay parents now feel disadvantaged as they have no school in their locality for which their child is prioritised. Also other nearby schools prioritise other children through continued use of a designated area.

Torbay Council is committed to a fair, transparent admissions process for its schools and is therefore proposing that the designated area is removed for all schools for which it is the admission authority. Siblings will continue to be prioritised to help families to manage and to maintain their unity, and other places will be prioritised according to straight line distance from the school.

A number of other changes have been made to the admission arrangements. These are to ensure compliance with changes in the law and to add further clarity about the admission process. They should be read in conjunction with the primary co-ordinated scheme and the co-ordinated in year scheme, which describe the wider processes undertaken by Torbay Council in allocating school places.

Feedback is therefore welcomed on any aspect of the proposed admission arrangements.

Please submit your consultation response

by email to:
by post to: Elizabeth Smale, Student Services, 4th Floor South, Tor Hill House c/o Town Hall, Castle Circus, Torquay TQ1 3DR.

Please contact Student Services on 01803 208908 if you would like a printed copy of the consultation documents.

Admission Arrangements 2017-18 – Primary, Secondary and In Year Co-ordinated Schemes for Torbay

Torbay Council co-ordinates primary and secondary admissions for all schools in Torbay and in-year admissions for those schools that have agreed to take part in a co-ordinated scheme. The schemes have not been changed but the procedures have been described in more detail to add clarity. There are three schemes:

Primary Co-ordinated Scheme 2017

Secondary Co-ordinated Scheme 2017

Co-ordinated In Year Scheme 2017

Feedback is welcomed on any aspect of these schemes.

Please submit your consultation response

by email to:
by post to: Elizabeth Smale, Student Services, 4th Floor South, Tor Hill House c/o Town Hall, Castle Circus, Torquay TQ1 3DR.

Please contact Student Services on 01803 208908 if you would like a printed copy of the consultation documents.