THE ORCHARDS SCHOOL

ADMISSIONS POLICY 
2026 - 2027

APPROVED BY:	Governing Body	DATE:   12/09/24	
LAST REVIEWED ON:	12/9/24	
NEXT REVIEW DUE BY:	12/9/25 for 2027-2028	

The Orchards School is a member of the Black Pear Trust
The Black Pear Trust is a company registered in England and Wales.	Company number 08922754 Registered address Hollymount School, Holly Mount Road, Worcester WR4 9SG		Page 1 of 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION	3
LEGAL FRAMEWORK	3
RECEPTION ADMISSIONS	3
NURSERY ADMISSIONS	4
IN-YEAR APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSIONS	4
OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA	4
DEFNITIONS	5
LOOKED AFTER	5
SIBLING	5
LATE APPLICATIONS	6
WAITING LISTS	6
FAIR ACCESS PROTOCOL	6
ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OUTSIDE THE NORMAL AGE GROUP	6
APPEALS	7

INTRODUCTION

The Orchards School is an academy which takes children aged from 2 years-11 years. We welcome all pupils, irrespective of faiths, cultures, races, disabilities or family backgrounds. We admit our pupils in-line with the Equality Act 2010, School Admissions Code 2014, the School Admission Appeals Code 2012, Human Rights Act 1998 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all school places are allocated and offered in an open and fair way. The number of places available is determined by the capacity of the school and is called the ‘agreed admissions number’. Our published admissions number (PAN) is 60.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

■	This policy has due regard to the related statutory legislation, including but not limited to, the following: Equality Act 2010, Human Rights Act 1998, School Standards and Framework Act 1998
■	This policy also has due regard to statutory and non-statutory guidance, including, but not limited to, the following:
o	DfE (2014) School Admissions Code
o	DfE (2012) School Admissions Appeals Code

RECEPTION ADMISSIONS

Applications for a place in Reception should be made through the local authority in which your child lives. If you are a parent or carer and wish to apply for a place for your child, you will need to complete a common application form available on
http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions

and return it to your local authority which in the majority of cases will be Worcestershire. Please list the school you are applying for in order of preference. Put your preferred school first. Children are normally admitted in the September in the year in which they reach their fifth birthday without reference to colour, creed aptitude or ability. The Local Authority will admit children up to the Pupil Admissions Number which is presently 30 according to the criteria on their web site. All preferences are collated and parents then receive an offer from the LA at the highest preference school available.

FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions

The Orchards School as well as all other schools and academies, is required to comply with the Greenwich Judgement (1989), which states that maintained schools may not give priority to children for the sole reason that they live within the LA’s administrative boundaries. We do not treat pupils living outside the LA area in which the school is located less favourably just because they live outside the area.
When there are more applications than places, children are admitted in the order of priority according to Appendix A attached to this policy.
Applications for Nursery should be made directly to the School.

NURSERY ADMISSIONS

OUR PLANNED ADMISSION NUMBER FOR NURSERY IS 21 PLACES FOR EACH SESSION.

At The Orchards School children are offered a part time Nursery place for either morning or afternoon. The sessions are three hours long and funded by the Nursery Education Fund. The school also offers full time places. Further hours may be purchased on a termly basis if places are available.

IN-YEAR APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSIONS

The Orchards School aims to educate every child holistically and follows the Code of Admissions where all places are allocated in an open and fair way.
We fulfil the government’s requirement to restrict Early Years and Key Stage 1 classes to a maximum of 30 and prefer to keep our numbers below this if possible.
Requests for admission to Reception made after the normal round of admissions, from 1 September, or for places in other Year Groups should be made directly to school admissions. 
All applications for In Year places will be co-ordinated by the Local Authority. Parents/Carers completing an application form must forward the application form to School Admissions For more information, please click on the link below:

Apply for a school place | Worcestershire County Council

OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA

WHEN THERE ARE MORE APPLICATIONS THAN PLACES CHILDREN WILL BE ADMITTED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER OF PRIORITY:

1.	"Looked after" and “previously looked after” children.
2.	Siblings (*see below for definition) of pupils attending the school and living within the catchment area of the school. 
*In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must already be attending the school at the time of application and still be attending at the time of admission. Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed in schools.
In the event of a school catchment area change being approved, pupils who would still have a sibling connection (see below for definition) at the time of admission and who are living at the same address in the previous catchment area for a school, (but not within the revised catchment area), at the time the change was approved will be considered as living within the catchment area.
3.	Pupils living within the catchment area of the school. Copies of catchment area maps, if required are available from the LA, or can be viewed in schools.
4.	Pupils living outside of the catchment area but who would still have a sibling connection (*see  below for definition) at school at the time of admission. 
*In order to qualify for a place on the grounds of a sibling attending the school, the sibling must already be attending the school at the time of application and still be attending at the time of admission.
5.	Children of staff at the mainstream school, where that member of staff has been employed for two or more years, and/or is recruited to fill a post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage
6.	Pupils who live nearest to the school by the shortest straight- line distance. The measurement will be taken using the Geo-Code Points for each property and the Geo-Code point for the School. The Governing body will utilise the Local Authority software package called ArcView GIS to determine distance. Ordnance Survey supplies the co-ordinates that are used to plot an address within this system. (In the event of equi-distance applicants, any place will be allocated by random selection (lottery). Someone totally independent of the Governing Body will supervise this process).
In accordance with legislation, a child with an Educational Health Care Plan will be offered a place at the school named in the plan.
Where there are too many applications from within the catchment area, priority will be decided in the following order. i.e., sibling connection then children of staff then according to distance, each assessed as indicated above.
In the event that one or more but not all children from a multiple birth can be allocated a place(s), all of the children from that multiple birth will be admitted even if this takes the school over PAN. These children are exceptions to the Infant Class Size legislation. 
There are a number of additional limited exceptions to the Infant Class Size legislation, including:
•	children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round.
•	children with EHCPs, looked after children.
•	children with special educational needs who are normally taught in a unit attached to the school, where a procedural error has occurred.
•	children admitted following successful appeal.
•	children admitted outside of the normal admissions round where no other place is available.

DEFNITIONS

Looked After:
means all those currently in the care of a Local Authority or accommodated by a Local Authority under  the terms of the Children Act 1989 and children who were previously in the care of or accommodated by a Local Authority but immediately after being looked after, became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order and includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. By children previously in state care outside of England, we mean children who have been looked after outside of England by a public authority, a religious organisation or another provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. The care may have been provided in orphanages or other settings. Independent supporting evidence will be required to be provided with the application.

Sibling:
The sibling connection, as well as brother and sister will include half-siblings, adopted children, stepsiblings or a child of the parent/carers partner. They must also be living at the same home address. Children who are brought together as a family by a same sex civil partnership and who are living at the same address, are also considered to be siblings.

LATE APPLICATIONS

The Governors have agreed to accept late applications, within the timeframe set out in the co- ordinated scheme, and treat them as being on time, only in the following circumstances:
1.	Where a family have just moved address, (refer to Information for Parents booklet)
2.	Where it is agreed by the Governing Body, that individual circumstances apply, and the delay was reasonable given the circumstances of the case
IN EACH CASE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE WILL BE REQUIRED.

In all other circumstances, or if the application is not received until after the date set out in the scheme, late applications will receive a lower priority, and will only be considered after the applications received (or deemed to be) on time.

WAITING LISTS

The school will maintain a waiting list, and parents need to apply, in order to be included. This waiting list will be maintained until 31st December. At that stage parents will need to reapply at the start of the following term if they wish to be included.

FAIR ACCESS PROTOCOL

As part of the Worcestershire Fair Access Protocol, incorporating the 'Hard to Place Protocol', all schools with Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 classes can be required to exceed the published admission number to admit pupils covered by the Protocol.

ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OUTSIDE THE NORMAL AGE GROUP

Parents may seek a place for their child outside  of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health, effectively in the year group below or above their chronological age group. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group - to Reception rather than Year 1.
The Orchards School and the Black Pear Trust must make the decision based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. They will request the Headteacher to take account of the parent's views; information about the child's academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely in order to reach a decision as to whether or not it is appropriate for the individual child to delay or accelerate their entry into school and be taught permanently behind or ahead of their chronological age group. The reasons for the decision must be clearly set out. Please be aware that even if delayed or accelerated entry is agreed, the normal admission arrangements apply and there is no guarantee of a place. You should therefore consider requesting delayed or accelerated entry.
This process must be completed in advance of the closing date of 15th January prior to the child's usual start date.

A DECISION WILL BE MADE, AND PARENTS/CARERS WILL BE INFORMED.

APPEALS

Parents have the right to appeal an admission authority's decision. An independent appeals panel must hear the appeal and our school must act according to the panel's decision.
A letter will be issued to parents which includes the details of how a person can appeal against the decision to refuse a place, the refusal letter will 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.
Should you wish to exercise the right to appeal please notify in writing our Chair of Governors at The Orchards School, Perryfields Rd, Bromsgrove, B61 8QNwithin 20 school days of the date of the refusal  letter. Further details can also be found on the LA's website.
Where an academy is to be closed, the LA must collaborate with all schools in the area to consider the best way to secure provision for children in other local schools.
The Orchards School is required to offer all pupils refused admission the right to an appeal in front of an independent appeals panel. We are responsible for setting up the appeal and must do so in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. The panel must be independent of the school.
Any person or body who considers our arrangements unlawful, or not in compliance with the Code or relevant law relating to admissions, can make an objection to the schools’ adjudicator. The schools’ adjudicator must consider whether the referred arrangements comply with the Code and with the law relating to admissions.
The Code on School Admission Appeals sets out the appropriate deadlines for appeals and includes:
1.	for applications made in the normal admissions round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals (the deadline is set annually in co-ordinated scheme).
2.	for late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
3.	for applications for in-year admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Any appeals submitted after the appropriate deadline must still be heard, in accordance with whatever timescale is set out in the timetable published by the admission authority.