Admissions Policy

DETERMINED ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR LANGFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) is the admission authority for Langford Primary School. In accordance with the current Admissions Code and associated regulations, LBHF has determined its admission arrangements for its community schools.

The Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for Langford Primary School is 45.

Method of Application

Parents/carers must apply on the Common Application Form of the local authority where they live. This can be completed online via www.lbhf.gov.uk/schooladmissions  or on a paper form available from schools, libraries or their local council’s School Admissions Team.

LANGFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL ADMISSION CRITERIA

Applicants with a signed Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) which names one of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham community schools will be placed at that school via the SEN process as set out in Section 324 of the Education Act 1996.

If there are more applications to the school than there are places available, then Hammersmith and Fulham will allocate places in the following order of priority.

1. Children in Public Care*, also known as Looked After Children in care of the local authority and children who have been adopted or made subject to residence orders or special guardianship order immediately following having been looked after. The child’s social worker must submit a letter to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham confirming the legal status of the child and the local authority to which

the child is/was in care, and quoting the child's full name and current address.

*Children in Public care has the same meaning as in section 22 of the Children Act 1989, and means any child in the care of the local authority or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster carers)

2. The Director of School’s Services, as advised by senior officers, may on an individual basis give priority to applicants who can demonstrate that admission to a particular community school is necessary on the grounds of professionally supported medical or social need. Parent/carers must supply details of any such special factors at the time of the original application together with recent supporting documentation.

Such applications will not be considered without professional support, such as a letter or report from a doctor, consultant or social worker which must be no more than six months old and must name the school(s) requested. All information submitted will be regarded as confidential.

3. To brothers and sisters of children already on the roll of the school who will still be in the school at the time the applicant is admitted. This includes half brothers or half sisters, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or stepsisters or the children of the partner of the parent or carer provided that they live at the same address as the applicant. Please note sibling priority only applies to children with sibling(s) at the school in Years R-6 at the time of admission not nursery .

If in any of the categories 1, 2 or 3 there are more applicants than there are places available, priority will be given to applicants who live nearest the school on the basis described in 4 below. If there are two or more applicants in categories 1, 2 or 3 who live at exactly the same distance from the school, the offer of a place will be decided by random allocation.

4. To children who live nearest the school. Nearness to the school will be calculated using a straight line (as the crow flies) measurement from the child’s home ‘address point’ determined by Ordnance Survey Data to the main school gate, as determined by the Hammersmith and Fulham using its computerised measuring system. The child living closest to the school will receive the highest priority. Accessibility by car or public transport will be disregarded.

If applicants share the same address point (for example, those who live in the same block of flats or shared house) priority will be given to those who live closest to the ground floor and then by ascending flat number order. Routes will be measured to four decimal places (if necessary). If, in the unlikely event that two or more applicants live at exactly the same distance from the school; the offer of a place will be decided by random allocation.

Twins, triplets and multiple births – twins, triplets and multiple birth children will be

considered as individuals alongside all other applicants. Every effort will be made to accommodate twins or multiple birth children within the same school even if this means that the PAN will be exceeded.

Primary- Children attending nursery class at a school - Parents of children attending the nursery class at a school must reapply for a reception class place. There is no automatic transfer from the nursery class to the reception class at a school. The infant or primary school where a child attends a nursery class will not necessarily be able to offer a place in reception.

Split residence - Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, the address where the child spends the majority of the school week should be used for the school application. If there is a genuine 50/50 share agreement the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which is the residential address for the purpose of admission to school.

Primary - Date of admission/deferred entry - Children will normally be admitted to the reception year for community primary schools in the September following their fourth birthday.

In line with the Admissions Code, parents can defer their child’s entry to the reception year until later in the school year, where they have been offered a place at a school to start before they are of compulsory school age. Where entry is deferred, the school will hold the place for that child and not offer it to another child. However, entry cannot be deferred beyond the beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday, nor beyond the end of the Reception Year. In practice this means that parents could defer entry until January for children born between 1st September and 31st December, or until April for children born between 1st January and 31st August. Parents can also request that their child attends part time until he/she reaches compulsory school age.

Requests for admission outside of the child’s chronological year of entry will be considered in accordance with para. 2,17 (Admissions Code) The Council, as the admission authority for community schools, must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case, informing parents of their statutory right to appeal. This right does not apply if the child is offered a place in another year group at the school. Each case will need to be supported by a professional (e.g. GP, social worker) that provides the reason for admissions outside of the chronological year group.

Closing Date and Initial Notification Date

The closing date under the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham coordinated admission arrangements can be found here: www.lbhf.gov.uk/schooladmissions or by contacting the School Admissions Team on 020 7745 6432/36433/6434 or email: school.admissions@lbhf.gov.uk

Late applications

Applications received after the set closing date will be accepted but will not normally be considered for a place at the school until after the initial offer date.

Waiting List

Unsuccessful applicants (including any applications received after the closing date) will be included on the school’s waiting list ranked in order of priority under the published oversubscription criteria, without regard to the date that the application was received. Please note a child’s position on the waiting list can go down as well as up. For example, if a new application is received or if a child on the list moves nearer to the school, the waiting list may need to be revised. The offer of a place does not depend on the length of time your child’s name has been on the waiting list and there can be no guarantee that a place will be offered.

Appeals

Unsuccessful applicants have a right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. Further details will be included in the notification letter.