Admission to secondary school booklet 2014-15 - South ...

❚ they are children of the same household; and❚ the older sibling is already in attendance at theschool and will be in attendance in September2015 (statutory school age only).Not all siblings will be local siblings. To beconsidered under the local sibling criterion all ofthe above sub-criteria must be met.Nearest appropriate school (asdefined by South GloucestershireCouncil)This may be the nearest school, the school withinthe Area of Prime Responsibility serving the homeaddress, nearest school with a place available,or nearest school able to meet a child’s identifiedspecial educational needs.Nearest available walking route(including measurement ofdistance)For the assessment of transport entitlementdistances from home to school are measuredusing the nearest available walking route.Walking distances are determined using theSouth Gloucestershire Council Routes to SchoolGazetteer adopted by 1 September 2014. Seealso ‘Statutory walking distance’.Over-subscriptionWhere a school has a higher number ofapplicants than the school’s published admissionnumber.Over-subscription criteria (see also‘Admission criteria’)This refers to the published criteria that anadmission authority applies when a school hasmore applications than places available in orderto decide which children will be allocated a place.Parent (parental responsibility)Both a child’s parents will have parentalresponsibility for the child if they are married andare the child’s natural parents. If the parents ofa child are not married to each other, the motherautomatically has parental responsibility, but thefather does not. He can subsequently acquireparental responsibility by the following means:❚ a parental responsibility agreement;❚ becoming registered as the child’s father onthe birth certificate;❚ an order of the court granting him parentalresponsibility or a residence order.Other persons can acquire parentalresponsibility for a child in the following ways:❚ being granted a residence order;❚ being appointed a guardian or specialguardian;❚ adopting the child.A local authority can acquire parentalresponsibility for a child under a care order or anemergency protection order. Only the parent withlegal responsibility may complete and submit theschool place application.Parental/carer preferenceParents/carers have the right to express apreference for the school they wish their childto attend. This right to express a preference isset out in the School Standards and FrameworkAct 1998. South Gloucestershire Council, asadmission authority, must comply with parental/carer preference regarding parents’/carers’preference for school except:❚ when to do so would prejudice the provisionof efficient education or the efficient use ofresources; or❚ where to do so would result in exceedingthe limit on infant class sizes, as imposedby Section 1(6) of the School Standards andFramework Act 1998;❚ when a child has been permanently excludedfrom two or more schools and the most recentexclusion has taken place within two years;❚ when allocating places through the Fair AccessProtocol.Applications for places will be considered againstthe published admission criteria without referenceto the applicants’ order of preference. WhereGlossary of terms✆ 01454 868008 cis@southglos.gov.uk95