Winterhill School
Admissions Policy
Introduction
Winterhill School is a 11-16 mixed comprehensive school in the Borough of Rotherham. As a Multi Academy Trust, we are our own Admissions Authority.
We regard good behaviour, loyalty to and respect for others, endeavour, team work and commitment as important attributes and expect all our students to pursue excellence in all they undertake. We ask all parents applying for a place here to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community.
The key aims of our Trust are to:
- Ensure consistently high expectations
- Enable all students to access high quality teaching and learning experiences by sharing “best practice’ resources and staff
- Work more effectively with all stake holders to promote health and well-being
- Work with partners to develop the quality of teaching training provision
The Trustees and Local Governing Body
Trustees and Local Governing Bodies will ensure that:
- The admission arrangements are reviewed annually and consultation takes place on changes with all other admission authorities and the Local Authority (LA)
- The admission arrangements are made available to parents and potential parents
- Students are admitted in accordance with this policy
- Where places are available, students are admitted in accordance with the agreed priorities
The number of students on roll and reasons for unsuccessful appeals will be reported to the Trustees and Local Governing Body each term with advice on any implications.
The Trust will comply with all relevant provisions of the statutory codes of practice (the School Admissions Code of Practice and the School Admission Appeals Code of Practice), including Section 149 Equalities Act, as they apply at any given time to Foundation Trust Schools and with the law on admissions as it applies to Foundation Trust Schools.
The Trust participates in the coordinated admission arrangements operated by Rotherham Local Authority (LA). Applications must be made using the Common Application Form (CAF) which will be made available by the Local Authority. Applications must be made direct to the council by the deadlines specified by them. All places will be offered by the council on behalf of the Trustees and Local Governing Body. Allocations will be notified by the Council in accordance with their procedures.
More information and detail can be found from Rotherham Borough County. Use the contact link on the www.rotherham.gov.uk website.
Arrangements for Admission
Winterhill School as a member of the Trust has an agreed admission number of 200 students. Winterhill School will accordingly admit at least 200 students in the relevant age group each year if sufficient applications are received.
General Arrangements for Admissions
Students will not be admitted above the Published Admission Number (PAN) unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Oversubscription Criteria
Where there are more applications for admission than places available, the following oversubscription rules will be used to determine which children will be allocated places, after children with Statements of Special Educational needs, where the statement names the Trust specifically, places will be offered to applicants ranked highest:
- Children in public care (Looked After Children).
A ‘relevant looked after child’ is a child that is looked after by a local authority in accordance with Section 22(1) 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 of Practice which can be downloaded from www.dfe.gov.uk.
- Students who will have an older brother or sister/siblings*continuing at Winterhill School at the time of admission of the younger child.
- Children who attend a named Learning community or partner school (see list of schools below)
- Thorpe Hesley Primary School
- Meadowview Primary School
- Kimberworth Community Primary School
- Thornhill Primary School
- Ferham Primary School
- Blackburn Primary School
- Children who live in Winterhill School Catchment Area, this can be found by using the following this link.
- Other students.
Where distance measurements are used, these are calculated (by the Admissions Team) using a Geographical Information System which applies seed points as determined by Ordnance Survey. Measurements are taken from the seed point of the ordinary place of residence to the seed point of the school. Where the school has more than one seed point, the seed point closest to the geographical centre of the school site is used.
Where places are being allocated based on the distance criteria, as part of the distance tie-breaker, and there are insufficient places within the admission for two (or more) children living in the same building (e.g., flats) or otherwise equidistant from the school, then any final place will be allocated by the simple drawing of lots by a representative independent of the Admission Authority.
Where applications are received for twins, triplets, siblings born in the same academic year etc. these will be treated equally as there is nothing within any admission criteria to distinguish between them.
Definition of Older Brothers and/or Sisters
Siblings (brothers or sisters) are considered to be those children who live at the same address and either:
- Have one or both natural parents in common or
- Are related by a parent’s marriage or related by parents living as partners at this address
- Are adopted or fostered by a common parent
- Where none of the above apply but children who are brought together by the same sex civil partnership and who are living at the same address are also considered to be siblings
We do not include cousins within our definition of sibling.
Waiting Lists
Under the coordinated scheme the LA will maintain a waiting list until the end of the Autumn Term. The Trust will continue to maintain a waiting list for subsequent terms. Applications for inclusion on a waiting list must be made through the usual channels, as this is administered by the Local Authority. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added or leaves the waiting list. We also maintain waiting lists for all ‘full’ year groups. On being offered a place parents will be invited to engage in a discussion to ensure that the ethos of the Trust is understood and accepted, thereby agreeing to uphold the school values.
In-Year Admissions
If there are more applicants than vacancies for any year group, in-year applications will be considered in accordance with the above over subscription criteria.
The LA will administer a co-ordinated scheme and applications should be made direct to the LA on the approved form.
The Trusts Right to Withdraw a Place
The Trust reserves the right to withdraw a place offered to a student in the following circumstances:
- When a parent/student has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time
- When a parent/student has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information
- It is evident the place has been offered on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information by the student/parents(s)
- Where an offer has been made in error.
Appeals
If you are not offered a place the Trust, you have the right to appeal to an independent pannel in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code.
Annual Procedures for Dertmining Admission Arrangements
The Trust shall consult every 7 years on its proposed admission arrangements, unless there are changes to the Admission arrangements, in which case a consultation will take place.
The Trust will consult in accordance with the statutory procedure.
