Where the admission number for any school is likely to be reached mid category, places will be prioritised within that category by reference to the distance between the home address and the school. Highest priority will be given to those living closest to the school measured in a straight line on a horizontal plane (commonly known as measurement, “as the crow flies”).
Where any final place at a school is available and two or more pupils are judged to be living equidistant from the school (e.g. in flats), the final place will be allocated by the drawing of lots by officers of the authority outside of the Access to Education Service.
A ‘relevant looked after child’ is a child that is looked after by a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application for admission to a school is made, and who the local authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the time when he/she is admitted to the school.
Previously Looked After Children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). This includes those children who appear (to the admissions authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. For further information please refer to the Admissions Code 2021 which can be downloaded from School admissions code - GOV.UK
Places will be allocated in accordance with the LA’s co-ordinated admissions schemes for Primary and Secondary schools. In assessing preferences, the LA will operate an ‘equal preference’ system, which means that no priority will be given according to the ranking of the preference, except where a potential offer can be made in respect of more than one school. In that situation, the final offer of a place will be made at the highest ranked of the potential offer schools.
