Admissions

Admission arrangements are the responsibility of Liverpool Education Authority. Parents can express a preference on forms which are sent to them when their children are in year 6 and must be returned by November. Gateacre has provision for 300 places a year, but if it is oversubscribed, it may not be possible for all applicants to have a place. If there are more applications than places then Liverpool City Council for community secondary schools will make the final decision.

All admissions to Gateacre School are co-ordinated by Liverpool City Council Admissions Team

www.liverpool.gov.uk/gateacre-school

Gateacre School follows the coordinated admission arrangements determined by Liverpool LA. If Gateacre School is not oversubscribed all children who apply for a Year 7 place will be admitted. Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs, where the school is named in the Statement, will be admitted. Some schools receive more applicants for places than they have places available. When this situation occurs it may not be possible to meet all requests for places. If Gateacre School receives more applications for places than the school has available, places will be allocated in the following priority order:-

Priority 1

• Looked after children in the care of the local authority
• Children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).

Priority 2

• Children with exceptional medical / social needs.
• Applicants wishing to be considered under this criterion should submit documentary evidence with the preference form by the closing date. Senior Council Officers will review the evidence and if necessary take advice from educational professionals, the Local Authority’s medical officer, social workers etc. If your circumstances change after the closing date or you require further advice or assistance please contact Liverpool Direct Limited.

Priority 3

• Children who will have a sibling at the school when they are due to start the school.

Priority 4

• All other applicants who have expressed a preference for the school.
• In priorities 1 to 4, if there are more applicants than there are places available, distance from the child’s permanent home address to the main entrance of Gateacre School will be used to determine which children are admitted. In all cases where distance from home to school is used to determine admission, those children living nearest to Gateacre School will be given preference. The distance will be measured by straight line distance between the child’s permanent home address and Gateacre School using the local authority’s computerised measuring system.
• Parents will be required to provide proof of address e.g. council tax bill, utility bill, tenancy agreement or exchange of contracts if the property has recently been purchased.
• If two or more children live the same distance from the school and there is only one place available, random allocation will be used to decide which child is admitted.

Students wishing to transfer from an existing Liverpool School should contact their current school. Gateacre School follow Liverpool Admissions procedures for In Year Transfers

www.liverpool.gov.uk/school-admissions

Students wishing to transfer from outside of the local authority should apply via their home authority or contact Liverpool Admissions 0151 233 3006

Determining Applications

For Gateacre School, the Local Authority, as the admitting authority, will determine In Year admissions applications in conjunction with the school.

If the year group is full, applicants will usually be refused admission and if parents wish their child’s name will be added to the waiting list and they will be informed of the right of appeal.

If the governing body refuse to admit a child they must include an explanation of their decision e.g. the year group is full or on the grounds of “challenging behaviour”. In their decision letter to the Local Authority the governing body has to give the reason for refusing admission. For Governing bodies refusing on the grounds of “challenging behaviour” then please refer to the following section, ‘Schools Refusing Admissions to a Child’, for further information.

If there are more applicants for places than there are places in a year group the school’s In Year Transfer admission policy will be used to decide which children are admitted. For Community Secondary Schools the Local Authority In Year Transfer admission policy will be applied.

Schools Refusing Admission to a Child

In exceptional circumstances, Paragraph 3.12 of the School Admissions Code below, allows schools to refuse to admit children with challenging behaviour.

LAs must have a Fair Access Protocol to ensure that unplaced children are placed quickly. Section 3.12 of the School Admissions Code outlines, “where a governing body does not wish to admit a child with challenging behaviour outside the normal admissions round, even though places are available, it must refer the case to the local authority for action under the Fair Access Protocol. This will normally only be appropriate where a school has a particularly high proportion of children with challenging behaviour or previously excluded children. This provision will not apply to a looked after child, a previously looked after child or a child with a statement of special educational needs naming the school in question, as these children must be admitted.”

Consideration has been given to some of the circumstances in which this might apply to Liverpool schools and academies and it has been agreed that this will normally only be appropriate where a school has a particularly high concentration of pupils with challenging behaviour, or previously excluded children and one or more of the following exceptional circumstances exist, namely that the school:

• requires special measures or has recently come out of them (within the last 2 years)
• has been identified by Ofsted as having serious weaknesses or requiring significant improvement and therefore given “notice to improve”
• is subject to a formal warning notice
• where a large number of referrals have already been made by the Fair Access Panel

The Fair Access Protocol will be revised to take account of paragraph 3.12 and these locally agreed arrangements.

Allocating Places and Starting Dates

The offer of a place will be made as soon as possible after the school has agreed to admit the child. However, Admissions Authorities within Liverpool will aim to start the student in the term during which they apply, however this may be subject to the school’s own induction/enrolment procedures. Please note if applicants apply at the end of a term it may not be possible to offer a place until the beginning of the next term due to schools not being available during school holiday periods to determine applications.

If a child is refused a place the decision letter sent by the Local Authority will advise parents why their child has not been admitted and inform them of their right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. The letter will have the relevant contact details if parents require further assistance.

Important Notes

• The admission policy for In Year Applications is used if a situation occurs where School has places available in a year group but receives more applicants than it has places available.
• Gateacre School will admit children up to the school’s admission number – currently 240 in year groups 7 to 11.
• If the year group is oversubscribed i.e. the admission number has been reached or exceeded, it may not be possible to allocate a place to the child.
• The issue of a statement of Special Educational Needs may override your right to a place under the Local Authority’s admission arrangements or may result in the withdrawal of the offer of a school place. This is because the school may not be able to cope with the child’s individual needs. Parent(s) / guardian(s) will be consulted about a school placement via the statement procedure.