Admissions September 2023
Southgate Primary School Admissions Arrangements
GLF Schools Trust is the admissions authority for Southgate Primary School.
Published Admissions Numbers (PAN)
The school has an admission number of 30 for entry in year Reception. (September 2023)
The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils each year if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number(s) for the relevant year group are received, the Academy Trust will offer places at the school to all those who have applied.
When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan or statement of special educational needs naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out in the oversubscription criteria below, in priority order.
Applications
The school is part of the local authority coordinated admissions process. Details of how to apply can be found on your child’s home local authority website. The closing date to send applications to the child’s home local authority is January 2023.
Appeals
Any parent refused a place at the school has the right to have their case heard by an independent appeal panel. Details of how to apply can be found at:
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/learning/schools_ages_4-16/school_places/school_appeals.aspx
Late Applications
West Sussex County Council manages the late application process if the application deadline has been missed. Further details can be found at:
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/learning/schools_ages_4-16/school_places/late_applications.aspx
Admission of children outside their normal age group
Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the Headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.
The process for requesting such an admission is as follows:•
Applicants can ask that their child is admitted to a higher year group than his/her chronological age group or a lower year group. If the governors agree the request, the child will be admitted into the agreed year group if the child has priority for admission when the admission criteria are applied. If the trust do not agree the request, the child will be considered for a place in his/her normal chronological year group.
Parents of summer-born children who will be aged 4 at the start of term (i.e. those children who were born between 1 April and 31 August) may defer their application for a place until the following year, at which point we will consider them to be reception-age children.
Alternatively, they could choose to apply for a reception place when their child is 4.
Apply for a place at the normal time;
• Request at the same time that the child is admitted to a year group other than their chronological year group;
• Provide any evidence you wish to provide in support of your request.
• The governors will then consider the request and inform the parent of their decision before offers of places are made in April.
Please note that:
• Parents can accept a place but choose for their child to attend part-time (hours to be agreed with the school) until their child reaches compulsory school age;
• Parents can defer entry until the start of the term after their child becomes 5 but cannot defer beyond the end of the school year;
• A child becomes of compulsory school age on the first prescribed day following his/her 5th birthday: 31 August, 31 December or 31 March (or on that day if any of these dates are the child’s birthday), and must then attend school full-time.
Waiting Lists
West Sussex County Council will operate a waiting list for each year group. 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 end of the academic year. This will be maintained by West Sussex 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.
Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.
Please note that waiting lists are held until 31st December 2023 when they will be cancelled. Parents wishing to remain on the waiting list after this date must write to West Sussex or email admissions.north@westsussex.gov.uk during December 2022.
