Primary co-ordinated admissions scheme for September 2024 intakes

1. Timetable for Primary Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme for September 2024 intakes

2. Elements of the Scheme

2.1 Regulations

The School Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations (2008) require all local authorities (LAs) to have a scheme to co-ordinate admission arrangements for all publicly funded schools in its area (excluding special schools). The purpose of a co-ordinated scheme is to establish mechanisms for ensuring, as far as is reasonably practicable, that every child living within the LA who has applied for a school place in the normal admission round, receives an offer of a single school place on the same day – National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day). All schools must comply with the agreed scheme.

2.2 Applying for a place in a primary, infant or junior school at the normal point of entry

The normal point of entry to primary or infant school is reception. The normal point of entry to junior school is year 3. The LA co-ordinates the process of allocating places at these schools in these year groups.

2.3 Information for parents

Please note that throughout this scheme, the term “parent” refers to both individual parents as well as those with parental responsibility for the child, e.g. carers.

The ‘Applying for a Primary School Place in West Northamptonshire 2024-25’ composite prospectus will be available in PDF format on the School Admissions pages of WNC’s website from September 2023. Alternatively a hard copy can be obtained by contacting the School Admissions team.

The prospectus contains information about:

• How to apply online
• Primary, infant and junior schools in each area of West Northamptonshire
• How to complete a common application form
• The Published Admission Number (PAN) for each school
• Each school’s oversubscription criteria
• Whether individual schools were oversubscribed in September 2023
• Key dates for the application and allocation process
• Children with special educational needs
• Home-to-school transport
• The process for late applications
• Contact details for the WNC School Admissions team

2.4 Application forms

The Common Application Form (CAF) allows parents to apply for a reception place at any primary or infant school, or year 3 at junior school, and to give reasons for their preferences. If parents apply directly to a school, the governing body/academy trust must inform the LA and parents should be advised to complete a CAF. All applications are co-ordinated by the LA (WNC) up to and including 31 July 2024.

Parents are encouraged to apply online wherever possible. Requests for paper application forms (for those who do not have access to the internet) should be made to the WNC School Admissions team and parents are recommended use recorded delivery when posting a completed application form to the School Admissions team. Please note, WNC does not accept responsibility for applications received after the closing date due to parents using insufficient postage.

Applications received after 15 January 2024 will be considered as late applications and will not be processed until after National Offer Day.

Parents can submit any additional paperwork (e.g. proof of a house move) electronically or by post to the School Admissions team at WNC, clearly stating the name of child, date of birth and the name(s) of the school(s) that are being applied for.

2.5 Applications for academies, foundation, voluntary aided and free schools

The School Admissions team will send a list of all applications received, including any additional information, to the relevant academies, foundation, free and voluntary aided schools (own admission authority schools).

Applications will be sent to own admission authority (OAA) schools by the date shown on the scheme timetable in Section 1 and schools will be asked to rank applicants as described in 2.11. Any parent who has not submitted a common application form to the LA by 15 January 2024, will not be considered in the ranking lists with on-time applicants. The LA will check all OAA school lists to ensure that this procedure is followed.

2.6 Residence in another LA

Parents resident in one LA who wish to apply for a reception place at a primary or infant school, or year 3 at a junior school located in a different LA, must apply using the CAF (online or paper) for the LA in which they live (i.e. their home LA).

2.7 Applications for schools outside the LA and for West Northamptonshire schools from families living in other LAs

Applications from residents in the West Northamptonshire Council area for schools in other LAs will be logged on the Admissions database and information relating to those preferences and any additional information will be electronically forwarded to the relevant maintaining LA by the date shown on the scheme timetable in Section 1.

Similarly, the School Admissions team will receive applications forwarded from other LAs for schools in West Northamptonshire. These will be recorded and passed on to OAA schools as appropriate. If the application is for a community or voluntary controlled school, the School Admissions team will process applications along with all other applications for WNC schools.

2.8 Exchange of information

LAs and admission authorities in the area must exchange information on applications received and potential offers to be made by the dates specified in the scheme (see Section 1). A maintaining LA must inform the home LA if it intends to offer a place at one of its schools to an applicant living in a different LA area. LAs should exchange information on applications across their borders and seek to eliminate multiple offers across LA borders wherever possible. The exchange of data must, where possible, be carried out using secure data protection systems.

2.9 Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs)

If additional information is required by the admission authority of an academy, foundation, voluntary aided or free school in order to apply its oversubscription criteria, this will be detailed in their admission arrangements and in the specific section about that school in the LA’s composite prospectus. Links to SIFs for schools which require them will be available on the WNC website from September 2023. Alternatively, contact details for each school are included in the LA’s prospectus so parents may contact schools directly to obtain a SIF. SIFs must be returned to the preferred school by 15 January 2024 unless otherwise stated in the schools’ admission arrangements.

2.10 Multiple Applications

If more than one application is made for a child prior to the closing date, only the latest dated application form will be processed. Any previously submitted application forms will not be processed.

If an offer of a school place has already been made by the LA and the applicant has chosen to submit further applications to be processed in reallocation rounds, the latest-dated application will take priority over any previous applications. If it is possible to offer a place at one of the preferences on the latest-dated application, an offer will be made and the previous offer will be withdrawn without further reference to the applicant. Applicants must place any requests to withdraw applications in writing to the School Admissions team (by letter or email) prior to the reallocation round.

Where there may be multiple applications from parents who are separated, parents will need to refer to section 2.22 of this scheme for further guidance.

2.11 How the co-ordination process produces the offer of a single school place

All schools have a Published Admissions Number (PAN). This is the number of places available at the normal point of entry. Admission authorities must consider all the applications they receive and, if there are more applications than places available, they must apply their oversubscription criteria to all applicants. This process can be carried out by the School Admissions team on behalf of OAA schools as part of a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Any school wishing to use this service should inform the School Admissions team by 1 August in the year prior to the year of admission. School Admissions will always confirm any offer made with the school in question.

The LA must allocate a place at the highest preference school where the child can be offered a place. If a child is eligible for a place at more than one school, the applicant’s order of preference will be considered and the highest preference will be offered.

• If a child qualifies for a place at all 3 preference schools, the LA will offer a place at the school that is ranked highest on the CAF. The child’s name will then be removed from the ranked list(s) at the lower preference schools where they qualified for a place so that other children may be offered a place at these schools
• If a child can be offered a place at only one of their preference schools, they will be offered a place at that school regardless of the preference order on the common application form
• If a child cannot be offered a place within the PAN of any of their preferred schools, the LA will offer a place at the nearest school with a place available (i.e. the nearest school which has not reached their PAN and therefore has a place/places available at the time)
• If a child is offered a place at a school which wasn’t their first preference, they can request to be added to the waiting list for any of the schools which was a higher preference than the school offered
• Parents have the right to appeal against refusal of a place at any school for which they have applied, unless a higher preference has been allocated. Information about how to make an appeal is published on the LA’s website.

All OAA schools are responsible for returning a ranked list of all applicants to the LA by the date stated in the scheme timetable (unless they have an SLA with School Admissions agreeing they will carry out this process on their behalf).. Some schools will be oversubscribed, others undersubscribed. The surplus places at undersubscribed schools will be allocated to children who were unable to obtain places at their preferred schools.

Schools using random allocation as a tie-breaker, or as part of their oversubscription criteria, must send lists which include the names of all applicants in their randomised ranked order to the School Admissions team. The ranked list must include all children and not just those ranked up to the school’s PAN. This procedure will enable the School Admissions team to identify why a place has been refused.

For LA schools (community and voluntary controlled schools), the School Admissions team will be responsible for applying the oversubscription criteria if the number of applications exceeds the PAN of the school.

Where it is not possible to offer a place at any of the preferred schools, a place will be allocated at the school closest to the home address where places are available at the time of allocation. Some children in this situation will be eligible for assistance with transport costs. Parents will be referred to the school travel assistance pages of WNC’s website.

A single place will be identified for each child by the end of this co-ordination process. When schools have more applications than places available, places will only be allocated up to the limit of the school’s PAN. The admission authorities of OAA schools must notify their LA of their intention to increase the school’s PAN and reference to the change should be made on the school’s website. Where further capacity is required to provide every child with a school place, the LA will consult relevant schools to reach an agreement.

The LA will publish details of how places were allocated on its website after National Offer Day.

2.12 Protocol for children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans

Reviews of EHC Plans, discussions with parents about preference and placement enquiry procedures, will all be undertaken by the EHC team at WNC. Placement decisions will be made by the date shown on the scheme timetable in Section 1. The admission of children with EHC plans, where the school is named in the plan, will take priority over all other children.

The EHC team will inform parents of the school allocated for their child on or around or around the date shown on the scheme timetable in Section 1. There may be circumstances where parents have not been informed of the school allocated by this date and/or a school has not yet been named. In these cases, schools may be required to admit children over PAN if it is subsequently named on a child’s EHCP.

The offer of a school place will be made by the EHC team who will also amend the EHC plan accordingly.

2.13 Notification of offers to all schools or other Local Authorities

As part of the co-ordination process, other LAs will be informed electronically by the date shown on the scheme timetable in Section 1 of any offers of school places that WNC is able to make to their residents. All schools, including OAA school, will be informed of the final offers, which may include offers made to pupils living in other LAs by the date shown in the scheme timetable in Section 1. Schools must not communicate with parents until after the offer from WNC has been sent.

2.14 Applying for a place in a Junior School

The normal point of entry to Junior Schools is Year 3 and the LA co-ordinates the process of allocating places to these schools in this year group.

Parents of children who are in Year 2 at an Infant school and who want them to attend a Year 3 in a Junior in September 2024 need to apply for places in Junior schools using the Common Application Form.

Parents of children in Year 2 at an Infant school should not apply for a place in Year 3 at a Primary school on the Common Application Form as this form is only used for applications at the normal point of entry to a school. Year 3 is not the normal point of entry for a Primary school, any applications for a place in Year 3 in a Primary school for September 2024 should be made on an in-year application form in accordance with the LA’s In-year process.

In-year applications applications for a Year 3 place at a Primary school should be made from June 2024.

2.15 National Offer Day

The School Admissions team will notify all on-time applicants of their school offer on National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day) by email (for all online applicants) or by post (a first class letter will be sent to all applicants who submitted a paper application). This communication will include information about how to find out how school places have been allocated in the West Northamptonshire Council area and, if necessary, information about how to appeal. In addition, breakdowns of how places were allocated in accordance with each school’s oversubscription criteria will be published on the WNC website. Links to this page will be provided on all offer emails and letters.

The School Admissions team will assume that the place has been accepted unless communication from the parent is received to advise to the contrary.

2.16 Rejection of a school place

Parents will be required to notify the relevant admission authority and the School Admissions team in writing (by email or letter) if they do not propose to accept the school place offered. These places will then be reallocated following the process as set out above in 2.11.

OAA schools must inform the School Admissions team as soon as a place is rejected so that the School Admissions team has an accurate picture of the available school places prior to the reallocation dates.

2.17 Late applications

Every effort will be made to encourage parents to complete application forms by the closing date of 15 January 2024. If an application form is received after 15 January 2024, it will not be considered until all the on-time applications have been processed. Late applicants will not receive an offer of a school place on National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day). Late applications will be considered from the relevant reallocation date published in the scheme timetable in Section 1.

Parents will not be allowed to change the order or schools listed as preferences after the closing date. After this date, changes to preferences must be made on a late application form and will be processed in the further rounds of allocation (see Section 1).

For OAA schools, WNC will forward any late applications directly to the schools for their consideration (by the agreed timelines). If places are not available at the preferred school, the School Admissions team must be informed by the school so that a place can be offered at an alternative school with places available. If the alternative school is an OAA school, details of the applicant will be sent to the school before an allocation is made by the LA.

NB: The co-ordinated process in West Northamptonshire continues up to and including 31 July of each year. From 1 August, the in-year process commences.

2.18 Right to appeal

Parents have the right to appeal against refusal of a place at any school for which they have applied. When an admission authority informs a parent of a decision to refuse a place, it must include the reason why admission was refused; information about the right to appeal; the deadline for lodging an appeal and the contact details for making an appeal. Parents must be informed that, if they wish to appeal, they must set out their grounds for appeal in writing. Admission authorities must not limit the grounds on which appeals can be made.

The admission authority must establish an independent appeals panel to hear the appeal. The panel will decide whether to uphold or dismiss the appeal. Where a panel upholds the appeal the school is required to admit the child.

2.19 Waiting lists

Parents who have been refused a place at a school (this could either be after National Offer Day, after an unsuccessful appeal or after making a late application) may wish to place their child's name on a waiting list. Parents must contact the School Admissions team in order to request that their child’s name is added to the waiting list. Following Primary National Offer Day, there will be no distinction drawn on school waiting lists between on time and late applications: all applications will be ranked in accordance with schools’ oversubscription criteria.

For OAA schools, parents need to contact the individual schools directly to ask for information on the waiting list policy for the school.

If a place becomes available, the school’s oversubscription criteria will be applied to the waiting list to determine who should be allocated the available place. Any places that become available after the main admissions round will be reallocated in rounds of reallocation (see Section 1) by the School Admissions team. The LA continues to co-ordinate the allocation of places at all schools up to and including 31 July. This requires all schools which are their own admission authority to ensure clear and up-to-date communications with the School Admissions team regarding the ranking lists for each round of allocations. No allocation will be made by the School Admission team without prior agreement with the individual admission authority.

For every over-subscribed community and voluntary controlled school, the School Admissions team will retain a waiting list until 31 December. Following this date, waiting lists will be ended. If parents still wish their child’s name to remain on the new waiting lists which will be established for the following term, they will need to request this in writing (via email) to the WNC School Admissions team. Waiting lists will be restarted every term, so if a parent wishes to remain on a waiting list for a whole academic year, they would make a request in writing to the School Admissions team during the Christmas and Easter breaks.

2.20 Child’s home address

Unless otherwise stated in a schools admission arrangements, the child’s home address is defined as the address at which the child normally resides with their parent/carer on the closing date for applications (15 January).

When we refer to a child’s home address, we mean the permanent residence of the child. This address should be the child’s only or main residence which is;

• owned by the child’s parents/carers, or
• leased to or rented by the child’s parents/carers under a lease or written rental agreement of not less than six months’ duration

Places cannot be allocated on the basis of an intended future change of address unless house moves have been confirmed through the exchange of contracts or signing of a formal lease.

Other admission authorities may have different definitions of a child’s home address. Parents are advised to check the school’s individual admission arrangements on their website or in the LA’s composite prospectus.

Documentary evidence of ownership or rental agreement may be required together with proof of actual permanent residence at the property concerned.

2.21 Parents who do not live together

WNC’s definition of a child’s address states that when parents live separately and the child spends time with each parent, the home address will be treated as the place where the child sleeps for most of the school week (i.e. Sunday night – Thursday night inclusive).

If the child spends equal amounts of time at two addresses, the parents must agree which address they wish to be the child’s main address.

The LA can only process one application. Where more than one adult shares parental responsibility and if the adults live at different addresses, it is important that an agreement be reached on which schools to apply for, prior to making the application.

If multiple applications are received for the same child with conflicting addresses and/or preferences, or the School Admissions team is made aware of a dispute between two parents, all applications will be placed on hold and will not be processed until:

• a new single application is made, signed by all parties; or
• written agreement is provided from both parents indicating which application they have agreed on; or
• a court order is provided confirming which parent’s application carries precedence

If no agreement can be made, parents are recommended to seek legal advice. If an agreement cannot be reached before the closing date, this may affect the chances of a child being allocated a place at their preferred school/s.

Further information on parental responsibility can be found on the DfE website.

2.22 Children who are part of a multiple birth group

Under paragraph 2.16 (g) of The School Admissions Code (2021), infant class size restrictions may be exceeded where a child who is part of a multiple birth group is allocated as the 30th pupil. For community and voluntary controlled schools, the admission number will be exceeded to accommodate the other children from this birth group. These children will remain as ’excepted pupils’ for the time they are in an infant class (reception, year 1 and year 2) or until class numbers fall back to the current infant class limit. Own admission schools may have another policy in place.

2.23 Random allocation

Random allocation, when used as a tie-breaker within an oversubscription criterion for a community or voluntary controlled school, will be observed by an independent person (not employed by the LA or with a connection to the school). This is to ensure that the process is administered correctly.

If a place is allocated from the waiting list after the initial round of allocations, and the tie-breaker is used, a new round of random allocation will be performed but not observed.

2.24 Definition of Looked After and Previously Looked After Children

The highest priority in the oversubscription criteria for all schools must be given to ‘looked after children’ and ‘previously looked after children’.

A ‘looked after child’ is a child who, at the time of making an application to a school, is:

a) In the care of a local authority, or 
b)being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989)

Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they:

a) were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see Section 12 adoption orders) or the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see Section 46 adoption orders), or 
b)became subject to a child arrangements order (as defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014), or 
c)became subject to a special guardianship order (see Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

This includes children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.

2.25 Summer born children

Children born between 1 April and 31 August (inclusive) are known as summer born children. These children do not reach Compulsory School Age (CSA) until a full year after they would normally have started school in reception, the point at which other children in the age range are beginning year 1.

If a parent has made the decision that they feel it is not in their child’s best interests to start school before s/he reaches CSA, they may be happy for their child to enter straight into year 1 to join his/her peers. In this case they would need to apply for a year 1 place at their preferred schools at the end of the academic year in which the rest of their child’s normal year group are finishing reception.

If a parent feels it would be in their child’s best interests to enter reception at this point however, the School Admissions Code (2021) allows parents/carers of summer born children to request that they are admitted outside their normal age group, in order to start in reception rather than year 1.

Please note, this is a “request” and parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular age group. Each school’s admission authority is responsible for making the decision on which year group a child should be admitted to.

Paragraph 2.19 of the School Admissions Code (2021) requires that, in any circumstance where a parent/carer requests their child is admitted out of their normal age group, the admission authority of the preferred school must make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will require the admission authority to take account of the child’s individual needs and abilities and to consider whether these can best be met in reception or year 1. It will also involve taking account of the potential impact on the child of being admitted to year 1 without first having completed the reception year. The views of the head teacher will be an important part of this consideration.

Please note: The admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools is WNC, whereas the admission authority for academies, voluntary aided (VA), foundation and free schools, is either the Governing Body (VA and foundation schools) or the Academy Trust (academies and free schools).

Parents/carers of summer born children who could start school in September 2024, but wish to delay applying for a reception place to start in September 2025, should make their application for a reception place for their child’s normal year of entry before the deadline on 15 January 2024. They should also make their request for admission to their preferred schools out of the normal age group by the same date: 15 January 2024. This is to enable sufficient time for requests to be processed prior to National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day). Requests will still be considered after this date however. If an admission authority agrees to the parent’s request, their application for the normal age group will be withdrawn before a place is offered for their normal year of entry and they must make a new application for that school as part of the normal admissions round the following year.

One admission authority cannot be required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group. Parents/carers should therefore request admission out of the normal year group at all their preferred schools, rather than just their first preference school.

The following steps will be required depending on the type of school they are applying for.

A. If the preferred school is a community or voluntary controlled school

1. Parents/carers make a formal written request (with reasons for the request) to School Admissions at WNC (as this is the admission authority for these schools)
2. Parents/carers can supply School Admissions with supporting information from a professional and/or Early Years practitioner, if available, at the point of request
3. School Admissions will consult with the Head teacher of the preferred school and take into consideration any evidence supplied in order to make a decision on the best year group for the child at the point at which they start school
4. WNC will inform parents which year group it has been decided their child should start school in

B. If the preferred school is an academy, voluntary aided, foundation or free school (or your preferred school is a community or voluntary controlled school outside West Northamptonshire)

1. Parents/carers make a formal written request (with reasons for the request) to the preferred school
2. Parents/carers can supply the school with supporting information from a professional and/or Early Years practitioner, if available, at the point of request
3. The preferred school will then approach their admission authority with the reasons and evidence supplied by the parents/carers so that a decision can be made (by the admission authority) in consultation with the Head teacher of the school
4. Following their decision, the admission authority should then inform the parents/carers of their decision in which year group the child should start school, in writing, giving detailed reasons if the request is refused
5. If they agree with the parent that reception would be the best group in which the child should start school, a copy of this should be sent to the School Admissions team at WNC so the Admissions database can be adjusted to accept a reception application for the following year.

What happens next?

A. If the admission authority of a school agrees to the parents/carers request to delay applying for a reception place for a year

• Parents/carers will need to make an application for a place in reception in the normal round of admissions in the following academic year and if an application for the normal reception year has been submitted, this can be withdrawn
• Please note – this does not mean that a child has been, or will be, offered a place in the reception year at their chosen school. If, in the following normal admissions round, the school is oversubscribed, all applications (including applications for children who are starting reception out of the normal age group) for the school will be ranked in accordance with the school’s oversubscription admission criteria and places offered up to the school’s published admission number
• Parents/carers should only apply a full year later for a reception place at schools whose admission authorities have agreed to a delayed application for their child
• If it is not possible to offer a place at one of the preferred schools, the LA will make every effort to allocate a reception place (rather than a year 1 place) at an alternative school. However, because WNC is not the admission authority for all schools, a school approached as an alternative school would have to agree to the delayed entry. If the LA is unable to find another school that will offer a place in reception, the child will be offered a place at a school in year 1 at the nearest school to their home address with a place available.

B. If the admission authority of a school rejects the parents/carers request to delay applying for a reception place for a year

• Parents/carers will receive a letter from the admission authority of the preferred school providing reasons for refusal
• Assuming an application for a reception place for the normal year of entry was submitted on time (by 15 January 2024), parents/carers will receive an offer of a school place on National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day)
• Parents/carers then need to decide if they will accept the place offered for their normal year of entry on National Offer Day, or decline that place and apply for year 1 place for the following September when their child is compulsory school age. If a parent/carer chooses to decline the place, they must put this in writing to the School Admissions team (information about how to do this will be included in the offer email)
• Parents/carers who have not applied for a reception place in their normal year of entry will need to apply as soon as possible if they decide that they would prefer their child to start in reception rather than waiting until they reach Compulsory School Age and start school in year 1. Applications received after the deadline on 15 January 2024 will be classed as late applications (see our website for more information on late applications).

2.26 Summer born children continuing at current nursery setting

Parents/carers have the option for their child to stay in an Early Years setting. Children can attend an Early Years setting until the end of the Funding Block (Term) in which they turn 5. In order to ensure that the Early Years setting can secure the funded place for your child/children for September 2024, parents/carers must notify their Early Years setting before the end of the Spring Funding Block (31 March) of the year in which they would normally be starting school. The Early Years setting can then take into account the number of children at the setting when allocating places for September 2024. If parents/carers do not notify their Early Years setting until after nursery allocations have been released, nursery schools and classes will be under no obligation to offer a place above their normal intake number. Children can, of course, be considered for a place through the normal waiting list process.

2.27 Sharing information with schools

When sharing information regarding the co-ordinated scheme with schools, WNC will:

• Supply information about what is required in the co-ordination process
• Provide useful tips to schools
• Be clear about the dates when information should/must be returned to the LA.

If schools already have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the School Admissions team, the team will carry out the agreed work and will share with the school the outcome of applications made to the school by sending out lists of successful applicants.

Schools wishing to establish an SLA for elements of the co-ordination process should contact the School Admissions team as soon as possible to discuss their requirements.

2.28 Relevant Area

The relevant area for schools in West Northamptonshire is the area comprising West Northamptonshire and all adjoining local authorities.

Last updated 28 December 2023