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Reserch - Admissions to Non Fee Paying Secondary Schools Policy

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Children, Young People, Education and Skills

Policy

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Title:  School Admissions to Non Fee Paying Secondary Schools Issued:  14 August 2013

Last Updated:  07/11/2022

Author:  Project Manager

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  1. Overview

This document details the policy framework used by the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) to administer secondary school admissions. It includes the key process steps applied to children transferring from primary school to secondary school and to secondary school in year' between schools.

Statutory Framework

The following Articles of the Education (Jersey) Law 1999 have relevance to the Minister's Admissions Policy for Secondary Schools:

2 Compulsory school age

  1. For the purposes of this Law, a child is of compulsory school age throughout the period beginning on the first day of the school term in which the child's fifth birthday falls and ending on 30th June in the school year in which the child attains the age of 16 years, and the terms "below compulsory school age", "upper limit of compulsory school age" and "over compulsory school age" shall be construed accordingly.
  2. For the purposes of this Article, the following periods in any school year are school terms –
    1. the period beginning on 1st September and ending on 31st December;
    2. the period beginning on 1st January and ending on 30th April; and
    3. the period beginning on 1st May and ending on 31st August.
  3. The States may by Regulations amend paragraphs (1) and (2) for the purpose of altering the period of compulsory school age. 11 Duty of Minister with respect to child of compulsory school age

11 Duty of Minister with respect to child of compulsory school age

The Minister shall ensure that there is available to every child of compulsory school age full-time education appropriate to the child's age, ability and aptitude.

15 Parental right to choose school

  1. The parent of a child aged below or of compulsory school age shall have the right to express a preference as to the provided school at which the parent wishes education to be provided for his or her child in the exercise of the Minister's functions.
  2. Subject to paragraph (3), the Minister shall comply with any preference expressed pursuant to paragraph (1).
  3. The Minister shall not be required to comply with a preference if to do so would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
  1. Scope

The scope of this policy is concerned with the allocation of Year 7 to Year 11 secondary school places at Grainville, Haute Vallée, Le Rocquier and Les Quennevais Schools.

This policy applies to children moving from Year 6 to Year 7 and for all pupils who are new to Jersey in Years 7 to 11.

  1. Responsibilities and distribution

CYPES (rather than schools) is responsible for allocating all school places at the 4 aged 11 to 16 Government of Jersey secondary schools (Grainville, Haute Vallée, Le Rocquier and Les Quennevais).

This policy must be kept in a central location and distributed to relevant staff.

  1. Policy/Standards

Admissions Criteria

If a school is oversubscribed, places will be allocated in the following priority:

  1. children looked after and children who were previously looked after
  2. have a special educational need and must attend a specific school
  3. live in the school catchment area
  4. have siblings in Years 7 to 10
  5. attended a feeder primary school in the secondary school catchment area
  6. have parents who live or work in the catchment area
  7. have siblings in Year 11
  8. have a good educational reason for attending a specific school

If a school is oversubscribed by pupils living in the catchment area during the annual Year 7 admissions, criteria 1 - 5 will be applied for in-catchment pupils and any remaining in- catchment places will be allocated based on distance from home to the closest school with available space.

Class / Form Sizes

Secondary school year groups are allocated based on multiples of 25 but can be exceeded by 1 child per 25 specifically for children living in catchment (this is referred to as stretch capacity'). The number of forms in Year 7 is agreed with the Head teacher of the secondary school once the number of children living in catchment and requiring school places is known.

Out of catchment requests

Decisions about out of catchment requests are agreed annually, per year group, by the CYPES leadership team. Decisions are based on the number of places available vs the demand and allocated according to the priority detailed in the admissions criteria. These decisions are then considered when in year' places are allocated.

Applications Procedures

All applications for in-year' places must be made by using the approved form available from Applying for a school (gov.je) or on request from CYPES.

 In Year' Admissions to Secondary schools

  1. Where a family moves home address from one catchment area to another (or arrives in the Island from overseas), parents must complete the online form. In Year admission procedures will then be applied.
  2. Where  a  Record  of  Need  (Statement  of  Educational  Needs  /  Education,  Health  and  Care  Plan) indicates an alternative school would be beneficial for a child, then a place should be offered even if this exceeds the maximum for that year group as agreed above.
  3. Transfers from the fee-paying sector to the non-fee paying sector will follow the normal procedure for in- year admissions.
  4. Wherever possible, in the interests of the schools involved and the student, transfers should take effect from the beginning of a term or half-term to minimise disruption. (It is recognised this will not be possible where a student arrives in the Island during term time, when they should be admitted to school as soon as possible).
  5. In order to meet the legal obligations, the Director General for CYPES may direct a Head teacher to admit a student, even if by doing so the number in the year group exceeds the planned intake for that group.

Schools are closed for admissions during school holidays. Applications for admissions during this period are managed by CYPES and places allocated once schools have re-opened.

CYPES allocates places as soon as they are able. The maximum delay is within 5 days of all documents being received[1].

Schools are expected to contact parents within 2 school days of receiving admission documents from CYPES[2].

For children transferring between Government of Jersey schools, records will be transferred between schools as soon as practical (and within a maximum of 15 days of the child starting).

5.  Further information and related documents External links: School admissions

List of primary schools

List of secondary schools

Education (Jersey) Law 1999

CHANGE HISTORY

 

Version

Date Issued

Issued by

Reason for change

1.0

2003

Head of Projects and Planning

 

2.0

TBA

Project Manager

Review of school admission policies, procedures and processes. Criteria amendment – priority 5 removed have siblings in Y11'.

2.1

6 Feb 2015

Project Manager

Information about stretch capacity' added to section Class / Form size'.

 

2.2

11 Feb 2015

Project Manager

Footnote added to allocation living in catchment allocation criteria within section 4.

2.3

30 July 2015

Project Manager

Names redacted for external publication. Appendices 2 & 3 removed.

2.4

27 July 2016

Project Manager

ESC changed to Education Department

2.5

27 November 2019

Project Manager

Minor amendments to language and team names

2.6

23 November 2020

Project Manager

Minor amendment made to clarify operational procedure in the event that a school is oversubscribed by children living in the catchment area

2.7

7 November 2022

Service Manager

Re-clarification of admissions criteria should a school be oversubscribed with children in catchment.

 


[1] The allocation of a place is dependent on pupil information being accurate. There may be instances, particularly if a child has additional learning needs, when more than 5 days is required to allocate a place.

[2] If admission documents are sent to schools by CYPES during school holidays then schools must contact parents, to arrange admissions, before term starts.