Admissions Policy 2021 - 2022 Capital City Academy - Brent ...
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Admissions Policy
2021 - 2022
Capital City Academy
Approved by: FGB Date: 28/02/20
Contents
1. Aims 2
2. Legislation and statutory requirements 2
3. Definitions 2
4. How to apply 2
5. Requests for admission outside the normal age group 2
6. Allocation of places 3
7. In-year admissions 4
8. Appeals 5
10. Monitoring arrangements 61. Aims
This policy aims to:
● Explain how to apply for a place at the school
● Set out the school’s arrangements for allocating places to the pupils who apply
● Explain how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place
2. Legislation and statutory requirements
This policy is based on the following advice from the Department for Education (DfE):
● School Admissions Code
● School Admission Appeals Code
The school is required to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set
out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
As an academy, the school is required by its funding agreement to comply with these codes, and
with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
This policy complies with our funding agreement and articles of association.
3. Definitions
The normal admissions round is the period during which parents can apply for state-funded
school places at the school’s normal point of entry, using the common application form provided
by their local authority.
Looked after children are children who, at the time of making an application to a school, are:
● In the care of a local authority, or
● Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services
functions
Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so
because they:
● Were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or
● Became subject to a child arrangements order, or
● Became subject to a special guardianship order
A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or
on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December,
31 March and 31 August.
4. How to apply
For applications in the normal admissions round, parents/carers should use the common
application form provided by the local authority (regardless of which local authority the schools
are in). This form can be used to express a preference for a minimum of 3 state-funded schools, in
rank order.
Parents/carers will receive an offer for a school place directly from the local authority.5. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Parents are entitled to request a place for their child outside of their normal age group.
Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made on the basis of
the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance
with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:
● Parents’ views
● Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
● Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
● Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
● Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born
prematurely
● The Principal’s views
Wherever possible, requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group will be processed
as part of the main admissions round. They will be considered on the basis of the admission
arrangements laid out in this policy, including the oversubscription criteria listed in section 6.
Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be
admitted outside the normal age group.
Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should
be admitted to. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but
it is not in their preferred age group.
6. Allocation of places
6.1 Admission number
The school has an agreed admission number of 180 p upils for entry in Year 7; the current year
8&9 are maintained at approximately 208. Other existing year groups will be maintained at 196.
Capital City Academy uses a transition test to ensure that pre admission a testing process is
undertaken in order to collect data which serves as the common thread in the transition process
and forms the basis for defining targets and services to be included in any Individualised
Education Plan that maybe required. This data is used to baseline and is set against national
benchmarks. The test used is adaptive and therefore offers a personalized experience for each
student, ensuring it’s accessible for those who are struggling and challenging for those who need
to be stretched. The school admits students of all abilities.
After the admission of LAC students, and students with an Educational Health Care Plan or a
Statement of Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) who name Capital City Academy.
Applicants who wish to be admitted by their aptitude for sport or arts will be interviewed during
the transition assessments, and then invited back in the first half of the autumn term to take a
relevant aptitude test.
6.2 Selection and Transition Assessments (optional)
All applicants for Year 7 will be asked to attend the school on a specified day in December to take
the Transition Assessment. Based on the test scores, applicants will be placed in four bands:-
● Band A - Those with the best 25% of test scores.● Band B - Those with the second 25% of test scores. ● Band C - Those with the third 25% of test scores. ● Band D - Those with the fourth 25% of test scores. Applicants who do not take the transition assessment and cannot be allocated to a band will be considered after those allocated to a band. Within each band, places will be allocated using the following priorities: 1. Looked After Children and Previously Looked After by a local authority (i.e. Children in Public Care). 2. Up to 10% students will be admitted on the basis of aptitude in the specialisms of sport (performance and/or leadership) and Visual and Performing Arts using specified tests. Up to 20 students who meet the standards of the test will be admitted with priority to the highest performing students. 3. Students for whom it is essential to be admitted to a specific school because of special circumstances to do with significant medical needs or social needs. A letter from a doctor will be required in cases of medical need and a letter from a social worker or other appropriate professional in cases of social need. These letters must show how the need can best be met by a place at the academy and not at another school. 4. Students whose siblings (brothers, sisters, half-brothers and half-sisters who live at the same address) currently attend the school and who will continue to do so on the date of admission. a. In the event that the school has one place to offer and the next child on the waiting list is one of twins, triplets or other children of multiple births, the policy of the school is not to separate them even if this means that the school will temporarily go over the published Admissions Number. 5. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the front door of the child’s home address (including flats) to the main entrance of the school, using the local authority’s computerised measuring system, with those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority. a. In the case of a single address with more than one household, the ground floor is judged nearer than the upper floor(s). b. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which is the residential address for the purpose of admission to school. If the residence is not spilt equally between both parents, then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week. c. Where two or more students are tied by distance a draw will determine the order of preference. 6.3 Oversubscription Criteria All children whose statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, names the school and will be admitted before any other places are allocated. If the school is not oversubscribed, all applicants will be offered a place. In the event that the school receives more applications than the number of places it has available, places will be given to those children who meet any of the criteria set out below, in order until all places are filled
1. Highest priority will be given to Looked After Children and all previously Looked After
Children who apply for a place at the school.
2. Priority will next be given to children on the basis of aptitude in the specialisms of sport
(performance and/or leadership) and Visual and Performing Arts using specified tests.
3. Priority will next be given to children on the basis of social or medical need. The school
defines social and medical need as children for whom it can be demonstrated that they
have a particular medical or social need to go to the school. The school requires as
supporting evidence if you are making an application on the basis of social or medical
need.
4. Priority will next be given to children with siblings at the school. Siblings include step
siblings, foster siblings, adopted siblings and other children living permanently at the same
address. Priority will not be given to children with siblings who are former pupils of the
school.
5. Priority will next be given to children attending one of our partnership primary schools:
Brentfield Primary School
Donnington Primary School
Furness Primary School
Harlesden Primary School
Newfield Primary School
6. Priority will be given to children on the basis of distance, which will be measured in a
straight line from the front door of the child’s home address (including flats) to the main
entrance of the school, using the local authority’s computerised measuring system, with
those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority.
6.4 Tie break
In the case of two or more applications that cannot be separated by the oversubscription criteria
outlined above, the school will use the distance between the school and a child’s home as a tie
breaker to decide between applicants. Priority will be given to children who live closest to the
school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to the school’s
front gates on Doyle Gardens. A child’s home address will be considered to be where he/she is
resident for the majority of nights in a normal school week.
Where the distance between two children’s homes and the school is the same, random allocation
will be used to decide between them. This process will be independently verified.
7. In-year admissions
Parents/carers can apply for a place for their child at any time outside the normal admissions
round. As is the case in the normal admissions round, all children whose statement of SEN or
EHC plan names the school will be admitted where the school can best support and meet the
needs of the child.
Admission to Years 7-11 after the start of Year 7
Capital City Academy is heavily oversubscribed in all year groups. A waiting list is maintained in
order of the admissions criteria above. All students who apply for Year 7 but are not allocated aplace will be placed on the waiting list. In addition, the academy will support Brent Council’s fair access protocol which gives priority to students new to the area that do not have a school place and allows for the reintegration of students previously excluded from another school. All in year applications should be made via Brent. All applications will be considered in line with our published admission arrangements. Admission to Capital 6 A total of 180 places are available for Year 12 students, although this may be limited by the capacity on the level 3 vocational pathway. Selection to Capital 6 is based on the achievement of GCSE or equivalent grades which endorse the suitability of the applicant for the chosen course. The Academy will review the criteria on minimum entrance requirements on an annual basis and publish these in the Capital 6 prospectus. All students, internal and external, must meet the entry requirements to gain a place on a course. Course offers will be made in March and confirmed in August for a September start. Students must accept a course offer in writing. Where there are more applicants than the stated admission number places will be offered using the following priorities: a. Students Looked After and previously Looked After by a local authority (i.e. Children in Public Care); b. Capital City Academy Year 11 students applying before the deadline; c. Capital City Academy Year 12 level 2 students (wishing to follow level 3 courses) applying before the deadline; d. External students applying before the deadline; e. Those applying after the deadline but before 1st September; and f. If there are still unallocated places on 1st September (and, in extenuating circumstances) those wishing to retake year 12. In the case of oversubscription within any of the above, distance will be applied as the tie break using the process outlined for year 7. Warning Capital City Academy reserves the right to make its own enquiries to verify any information supplied on applications. If subsequently we find that a place has been offered in reliance on information that was materially incorrect or misleading (e.g. the parental address) and the place would not have been offered if the information had been correct, the Admissions Committee may withdraw the offer. If that happens, parents/carers have a right of appeal to the Independent Appeal Panel. 8. Appeals Parents of students not allocated a place will be able to appeal to an Independent Appeals Committee arranged by the school. A timetable for the appeal process will be published by 28th February. Appeals must be lodged within 20 school days of the notification of the decision not to allocate a place and must be set out on an appeal form available from the school. Other documents may be sent in support of an appeal but must be received no later than seven days before the hearing. Parents will be given ten school days’ notice of the appeal hearing and be sent
the school’s reason for not allocating a place at least seven days before the hearing. Appeal hearings held to consider cases arising from on time applications for a place at secondary transfer will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for appeal. The appeal panel will give its decision in writing, together with the reasons, to parents within ten school days of the hearing. *See Appendix A 9. Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Inclusion At Capital City Academy, we believe that all students are of equal worth and that all can be successful. All students will be given every chance to realise their potential regardless of ethnicity, faith, gender, ability or disability. The Academy has been designed to be fully accessible. The SEND policy at Capital City Academy seeks to support its students with SEN and disabilities, so far as is reasonably practical and compatible with the student receiving the special educational provision and the efficient education of the students with whom they are educated, by: a. Ensuring transition arrangements are smooth and well informed; b. Providing a warm, secure, caring and welcoming environment meeting all educational and social development needs of all students; c. Making early identification and intervention to improve learning; d. Promoting positive self-esteem for all students; e. Ensuring fairness and equality of opportunity for all f. Communicating effectively with parents, carers and students. 10. Monitoring arrangements This policy will be reviewed and approved by the full governing body every year. Whenever changes to admission arrangements are proposed (except where the change is an increase to the agreed admission number), the governing board will publicly consult on these changes.
Appendix A
Admissions Appeal Timeline for September 2021
Admissions Appeal Timeline for September 2021
If you have been unsuccessful in being offered a place at Capital City Academy on 1 March 2021
(National Offer Day), you have the right to appeal against this decision to an independent appeals
panel.
How to lodge an appeal
Please send a written request for an appeal marked for the attention of Miss C Rowthorn, or email
chowson@capitalcityacademy.org
A ‘Notice of Appeal’ form will be sent to you upon receipt of your request. You will need to return
your completed Notice of Appeal by Friday 26th March 2021. Appeals received after this
deadline will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals, where possible,
or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged with the school.
The appeal hearing
The appeal hearing for applications made as part of the normal admissions round, our appeals will
be held in two stages:
Stage 1
Academy’s case (Tuesday 18th May 2021)
All parents who have lodged an appeal will be invited to attend Stage 1 of the appeal hearings.
The meeting will take place at 6.00pm at Capital City Academy, Doyle Gardens, NW10 3ST. This
will allow the school to present its case and to take questions based on its case from both
parents and the independent appeals panel.
Provided the independent appeals panel is satisfied that prejudice has been proven, your
individual appeal will then take place as follows:
Stage 2
Parent’s case (Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th May 2019)Parents will be notified of the date and time for their individual appeal no less than 10 days before the hearing. Individual appeal hearings will take place throughout the day at Capital City Academy. Parents will be notified in writing of the outcome of their appeal by Thursday 10th June 2021
Appendix A Pupil ID Name of Pupil Date of birth Address Telephone contact numbers Email address Name of school appealing for Reasons for Appeal Please continue on a separate sheet if you wish If you believe that your child has a disability that is relevant to you appeal, please tick this box If you intend to send a more detailed letter after you have returned this form, please tick this box Signed (parent) Print name (parent) Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Date
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