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Discussions
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Discussions
Welcome to the PTA Discussion Forums. To join in the discussions you need to Login. If you haven't already registered, it is quick and easy to do. Click here to Register.
Please remember to respect other people's views when replying to posts.
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| School Admissions Consultation |
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Bracknell Forest Borough Council have the School Admissions Arrangements for the Cohort Year 2011/12 open for consultation.
The consultation is open from 15/12/2009 to 09/02/2010.
There are several items up for discussion and comment by parents and interested parties. Here is a link to the Borough Web Site.
http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/learning/learn-schools/learn-and-starting-school/learn-admissions-arrangements/learn-school-admissions-arrangements-2011-to-2012-consultation.htm
The main areas are:-
(a) Whether "Siblings" should be considered before others regardless of whether they are in the Designated area of the school or not.
(b) A removal of the criteria "Social/Medical Need"
(enabling parents to put forward special circumstances that can't be accounted for in the general admission arrangements)
(c) The change of the Designated Area Secondary school for Jennets Part to Easthampstead PArk School.
We are campaigning locally to raise the awareness of this unique opportunity for parents to write in (and email) to make their own views heard.
Here is a link to our Blog Website if you want to know more - with how to email and write in, pro forma letters, news articles and more.
http://www.ParentsTakePart.com
Thanks for Listening
ParentsTakePart |
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| Re: School Admissions Consultation |
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This is a subject quite close to me right now.
We moved from College Town to Bracknell in June, and haven't been able to get places at the local school for my 2 girls (age 5 and 4) and so am travelling to Owlsmoor every day. My daughter was 4th on the waiting list for the local school less than 1/2 a mile away, and went up to 5th after a couple of months due to 'pupils with more need'. Subsequently we have decided to keep them at Owlsmoor where they are happy, but my younger daughter is due to star full time school in September and I am worried about her into getting accepted at Owlsmoor, obviously I cannot be in two places at the same time and as my elder daughter can't get into the local school what choice do I have?? |
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| Re: School Admissions Consultation |
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This is all because of the Infant Class Size Rule that was introduced by Tony Blair in 2002, where no KS1 class can be more than 30.
There are exceptions to this rule, where children are admitted outside of the normal admissions round. Here is the excerpt from the School Admissions Code (DCSF Feb 2009) Check out part "b" in the starred section. I suggest you speak to the Admissions Team about getting her admitted to a school at least closer to you - it may not be your "Designated Area" (catchment) school, but it would save you journeying to Owlsmoor every day, and give you a better chance of getting your 2nd child in to the same school. If I knew which were your most local schools at your new address, we could look at the catchment and the subscription statistics for the last few years, to get an idea whether you stand a good chance of getting the 2nd child into that more local school too. Also, if we get the criteria changed to consider siblings regardless of catchment (but I guess 2011/12 is too late?) Note also "reasonable distance" (below) is 2 miles (ie: walking). Have you had a conversation with admissions about this? Have you put your CAF in yet?
EXTRACT............................
Infant classes
2.62 Infant classes42 (i.e. those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6, or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher43. While admission can be refused on normal prejudice grounds once an admission number of lower than 30 (or multiples of 30) has been reached, admission must be refused on “infant class size prejudice” grounds where the published admission number allows for classes of 30, and the school would have to take ‘qualifying’ measures to keep to the statutory class size limit if more children were admitted, e.g. employ another teacher.
2.63 The class size legislation makes allowance for the entry of an additional child in very limited circumstances where not to admit the child would be prejudicial to his or her interests (‘excepted pupils’). However, every effort must be made to keep over large classes to a
minimum. These circumstances are where:
a) children with statements of special educational needs are admitted to the school outside the normal admissions round;
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b) children move into the area outside the normal admissions round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable
distance (admission authorities must check with local authorities before determining that a child falls into this category);
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c) children admitted, after initial allocation of places on the local offer date, because the person responsible for making the original
decision recognises that an error was made in implementing the school’s admission arrangements and that a place ought to have been offered;
d) children in care admitted outside the normal admissions round;
e) children admitted where an independent appeal panel upholds an appeal on the grounds that the child would have been
offered a place if the admission arrangements had been properly implemented, and/or the admission authority’s decision to refuse a place was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case;
f) children are registered pupils at special schools and by arrangement with another school which is not a special school, receive part of their education at that other school; and
g) children with special education needs who are registered pupils at a school which is not a special school and are normally educated in a special educational needs unit attached to that school, and attend, an infant class in the school (i.e. not in the unit), where this has been deemed as beneficial to the child. |
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| Re: School Admissions Consultation |
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Thank you for your reply.
We are in Priestwood and our closest school is Meadowvale and Sandy Lane, both of which are full. We started an appeal but were discouraged by the admissions team as a decision based on class size are very rarely overturned. And we had to make a quick decision regarding pre-school for my 4 year old, as we took her out of pre-school in June, naively thinking places wouldn't be a problem, and really needed to get her back into a school setting.
We know that Fox Hill, Easthampstead has places but I have not heard good reports from there. I will need to travel at least 10 mins to the other Bracknell schools with places, and so figured they may as well stay where they are.
I dont mind really taking them to and from Owlsmoor, as inconvenient as it may be, they are happy there and have friends there. I have made the application for my youngest school place - I have a friend who lives in Yateley and has 2 daughters similar ages to mine, she had to go to appeal for her eldest daughter and won.
It is hard to know what to do for the best, I want t be able to walk my children to school and for them to have their friends around. But after moving I want to minimise any further disruption to them and am concerned about how I can get them into the same school at the same time.
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| Re: School Admissions Consultation |
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Interesting that your friend in Yateley had her appeal upheld (I presume infant class size). My friend in Hillingdon also won an ICA - Bracknell Forest have a tough line on appeals. Even in our case, where we argued that they broke the admissions code and the DDA - still they did not uphold.
I understand your wish to minimise disruption - there is no way I would move my Autistic boy - even though it would "solve" my two school nightmare problem.
To get them both into a school near you could be very tricky until one is in KS2, at which point they can admit over 30. An appeal could be won at that point.
Have the LA given you any advice? |
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Events
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PTA Quiz Night
19 March 2010
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KS1 School Disco
26 March 2010
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26 March 2010
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