Admission Number
Tree Tops Primary Academy has an agreed Published Admission Number (PAN) of 45 pupils for entry in reception. The Academy will accordingly admit at least 45 pupils in the relevant age group each year if sufficient applications are received. All applicants will be admitted if 45 or fewer apply.
Requests for admission outside of the normal age group should be made to the Principal as early as possible in the admissions round associated with the child’s date of birth. This allows the academy and admissions authority sufficient time to make a decision before the closing date. Parents are not expected to provide evidence to support their request, however where provided it must be specific to the child in question and may include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede the academy’s ability to agree to a request for admission outside of the normal age group Parents are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. This application can be cancelled if the academy agrees to accept a deferred application for entry into Year R the following year. Deferred applications must be made via paper CAF to the Local Authority, with written confirmation from the academy Principal. Deferred applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with the academy’s oversubscription criteria.
Oversubscription Criteria
If the Academy is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs where the school is named in the Statement, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order:
- Children in care and previously children in care – a child in care is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously looked after child is a child who was adopted or subject to a residence order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after.
- Child of a teaching staff member – The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the academy is made, or who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. For this criteria son or daughter means a child who lives in the same house as the member of staff, including a natural son or daughter, an adopted child, stepson or daughter, or foster child. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be eligible under this criterion. If children come from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) and the Academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those children, the Academy will offer a place to each of the children, even if doing so takes the academy above its PAN. If the admissions are to Year R, and so result in a breach of class size legislation, the additional pupil(s) will be treated as “excepted” for a period of one year, in line with the School Admission Code.
- Current Family Association – a brother or sister in the same school at the time of entry where the family continue to live at the same address as when the sibling was admitted – or – if they have moved – live within 2 miles of the school, or have moved to a property that is nearer to the school than the previous property as defined by the ‘Nearness’ criterion’ (below). In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters. If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc) apply for a school and the school would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the LA will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the school above its PAN. If the admissions are to Year R, and so result in a breach of class size legislation, the additional pupil(s) will be treated as “excepted” for a period of one year, in line with the School Admission Code.
- Health and Special Access Reasons – medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’, physical or mental health or social needs means that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can.
- Nearness of children’s homes to school – we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a defined point within the child’s home to a defined point within the school as specified by Ordinance Survey. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. These straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school with those living closest being given priority.
Tie Breaker
If it is necessary to use a tie-breaker to distinguish between two or more applications, a distance criterion will be used. We will give priority to the applicants who live nearest to the school as measured by a straight line from the front door of the home of the applicant to the front door of the main reception of the school site that was on the original application for a place.
Operation of Waiting Lists
Subject to any provisions regarding waiting lists in the coordinated admission scheme, the Academy will operate a waiting list. Where in any year the Academy receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the end of the first school term. This will be maintained by the Academy and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Places from the waiting list will be offered in the priority order set out above, not in order of the date applications are made.