All school admission authorities are required to consult on their admission arrangements in accordance with provisions within the School Admissions Code where there is a change to the arrangements or at least once every seven years if there are no changes.  It is important to ensure that school admission arrangements meet the needs of all parents and children and consultation is an important part of the process in formulating and setting school admission arrangements. Plymouth Local Authority hosts the consultation arrangements on behalf of Austin Farm Academy and Westcountry Schools Trust.

 

At the normal point of entry, where there are fewer applicants than the Planned Admission Number (for Austin Farm Academy this is 30 pupils in each year group), all children will be admitted unless they can be offered a higher ranked preference. For in-year admissions where there is space in the school, all children will be admitted unless the school can demonstrate that admission would prejudice provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources.

 

In the event that the School is oversubscribed, the admission authority will apply the following oversubscription criteria in order of priority:

1.  A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after A 'looked after child' 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 the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. 
2. A child with exceptional medical or social need Applicants will only be considered under this heading if the parent/carer or their representative can demonstrate that only the preferred school can meet the exceptional medical or social needs of the child. This can be in the form of a testimony from a medical practitioner, social worker or other professional who can support the application on an ‘exceptional’ basis. Exceptional medical or social grounds could include, for example: a serious medical condition, which can be supported by medical evidence; a significant caring role for the child which can be supported by evidence from social services.
3. Children with a sibling already attending this school at the time of admission. Children will be classed as siblings if they live in the same household in a single family unit. This includes for example, full, half, step, or adoptive brothers or sisters;
4. A child home address is within the designated school catchment area. A child’s home address is defined as the address at which the child is normally resident or, where a child lives at more than one address, the address at which the child lives for the majority of the time.
5. Children whose parent/carer is a member of staff employed on a permanent contract at this school 
6. Other children not shown in a higher oversubscription criteria