HEADS UP

Pupil and Student Services

Introduction

I would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Pupil & Student Services.

Our function provides information and advice to Warwickshire parents and carers on School Admissions, Home to School Transport and Free Schools Meals Eligibility. We are open through the year and only close for bank holidays. In the last academic year we have taken over c 60,000 calls to our service this excludes any direct calls made to officers and answered c 50,000 emails.

We also offer support and advice to schools and colleges and offer facilities to carry out administrative processes on behalf of educational settings.

Please take the time to read the information provided and feel free to contact us to discuss further.

Admissions process for entry into Reception, Year 3 Junior transfer and Year 7 Secondary transfer - September 2018

Secondary Transfers – September 2018 entry

The coordinated admissions process, for entry into Year 7 in September 2018, is now underway. Parents can apply for secondary school places online using the Warwickshire Parent Portal: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions

Parents must only submit one application and this needs to be through their home authority, naming all of the schools they are interested in applying for on that one application. This includes any grammar school choices they may be interested in and schools across other counties, but does not include schools in the independent sector. If a parent wishes to enquire, and/or apply, for a private school then they are advised to contact that school for further information about their independent admissions process.

The national closing date for secondary school applications to be submitted is Tuesday 31 October 2017 (5pm). Applications made after this date may be classed as late and will not then be considered for places until after national offer day – 01 March 2018. We would therefore encourage all primary and junior schools within the county to reiterate this deadline to families, and assist parents with completing their application for a secondary school place, if it is felt that this may be required in certain cases.

Starting school in Reception and Year 3 Junior Transfers – September 2018 entry

The coordinated admissions process, for those due to start school in Reception, or those transferring to Year 3 as part of the coordinated scheme, is due to commence in September 2017. Again, parents will be able to apply for school places online (from September) using the Warwickshire Parent Portal: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions

However, the Junior transfer process will only be applicable to those children who currently attend a Warwickshire Infant school. Children who attend a Primary school will not be eligible to apply for a Junior school place as part of the coordinated admissions scheme as Year 3 is not a normal point of entry for Primary schools. Further information about this process can be found in the Warwickshire County Council Admission Arrangements for 2018 entry, accessible on our website at: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions

Parents must only submit one application per child and this needs to be done through their home authority, naming all of the schools they are interested in applying for on that one application. This includes any schools which they may wish to apply for across other counties, but does not include schools in the independent sector. If a parent wishes to enquire, and/or apply, for a private school then they are advised to contact that school for further information about their independent admissions process.

The national closing date for school applications for entry into Reception and Year 3 transfers to be submitted is Monday 15 January 2018 (5pm). Applications made after this date may be classed as late and will not then be considered for places until after national offer day – 16 April 2018. We would therefore encourage all infant schools, nurseries and other pre-school childcare providers within the county to reiterate this deadline to families, and assist parents with completing their application for a school place, if it is felt that this may be required in certain cases.

Deferred Entry Requests

Where a child has requested deferred entry for September 2018 (ie: those who were chronologically due to start school in September 2017), and this request has been approved by both the Local Authority and the schools concerned through the formal deferment request process, families have been advised that they must follow the admissions process in relation to the coordinated scheme for Reception entry in September 2018.

From September, schools may also begin to receive deferment requests from families where the child is chronologically due to start school in Reception in September 2018. Please refer these families to the guidance available on our website, where a copy of the formal deferment request form can also be found: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/startingschool

The deadline for families to submit their deferment request form, in order for their request to be considered in line with the coordinated scheme, is 01 December 2017.

General Information

Parents should be aware that different authorities offer a different maximum number of choices which can be named on the application for a school place. Warwickshire residents can name up to six school choices on their application, but they do not have to use all 6 if they do not wish to apply for that many schools. However, we would advise naming more than just one choice, and would also recommend that families name their catchment school as one of their choices as if they do not, and none of their other school choices can be offered, then there is no guarantee that they will then be offered their closest/catchment school.

Different deadlines apply where a family is moving house. These are detailed in the admissions process timetable below. Families should be aware that documentary evidence of any new address must be submitted to the Admissions Service by the relevant deadlines. We would also strongly advise that parents consult the admission arrangements for the schools they are interested in applying for, as individual schools may have additional arrangements relating to house moves. This will also be the case for some schools who require additional information to support an application, for example, schools who allocate oversubscription criteria based on faith.

Further information about the 2018 entry admission arrangements for individual schools can be found on the following website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schoollacriteria

Timetable and Important Dates

ALL SCHOOLS

SECONDARY 2018

11+ 2018

PRI / INF / JUN 2018

 

May onwards

Information posted out to Warwickshire residents regarding the admissions process for Secondary school entry – September 2018

 

 

07 July

Deadline for registering for the 2018 entry Warwickshire 11+ Selection Test

from 01 September

Information posted out to Warwickshire residents regarding the admissions process for Reception and Junior transfer (where the child attends a Warwickshire Infant school) – September 2018 entry.

 

09 September 

Main test date for the 11+ test

06 October 

First reminder to families where no secondary school application has been received

w/c: 16 October

11+ results will be published to families

20 October 

Second reminder to families where no secondary school application has been received

31 October 

National Closing Date for on time secondary school applications, for entry in September 2018

10 November

Data exchanges with other authorities commence – Secondary school applications

w/c 20 November

Secondary school applications will be made available to schools who purchase the School Admissions Service for Coordination – ie: SAM, distances, criteria allocation.

Faith schools to commence allocation of criteria and ALL SCHOOLS (secondary) to begin sibling checks

01 December

Deadline for requesting deferred entry, for those chronologically due to start school in Reception in September 2018

15 December

Reminder to families where no school application has been received – Reception and Junior transfer – September 2018 entry

29 December

Deadline for proof of address to be submitted in respect of grammar schools and in respect of any other secondary school application where a house move has taken place since 31 October 2017

08 January 2018

Own admission authority secondary schools to have completed allocation of criteria (where this is required) and ALL SCHOOLS (secondary) to have completed sibling checks.

15 January 2018

National Closing Date for on time school applications - Reception and Junior transfer – September 2018 entry

w/c 22 January 2018

Data exchanges with other authorities commence – Reception and Junior transfer applications

w/c 05 February 2018

Provisional secondary school offers available to secondary schools

05 February 2018

Reception and Junior transfer applications will be made available to schools who purchase the School Admissions Service for Coordination – ie: SAM, distances, criteria allocation.

Faith schools to commence allocation of criteria and ALL SCHOOLS (Primary, Infant and Junior) to begin sibling checks

12 February 2018

Own admission authority schools to have completed allocation of criteria (where this is required) and ALL SCHOOLS (Primary, Infant and Junior) to have completed sibling checks.

14 February 2018

Warwickshire Admissions and SENDAR teams to liaise and confirm school offers based on EHC Plans

26 February 2018

Deadline for proof of address to be submitted in respect of school applications (Primary, Infant and Junior) where a house move has taken place since 15 January 2018

01 March 2018

National Offer Day for Secondary – September 2018 entry

19 March 2018

Provisional offers available to Primary, Infant and Junior schools

Monday 16 April 2018

National Offer Day for Reception and Junior transfer – September 2018 entry

Monday 19 March 2018

Reallocation commences – Secondary transfer – September 2018 entry

May 2018

Secondary transfer appeals commence, including grammar schools

Monday 14 May 2018

Reallocation commences – Reception and Junior transfer – September 2018 entry

June 2018

Primary, Infant and Junior transfer appeals commence

Monday 04 June 2018

In-year applications (all schools) can be submitted, for September 2018 start dates. Places will be allocated from Monday 11 June 2018

 

11+ process for entry in September 2018

The 11+ testing process, for consideration for Year 7 entry into one of Warwickshire’s six selective schools in September 2018, is now underway. Over 2000 families have registered their child to sit the test with us this year, with the main testing session scheduled to take place on the morning of Saturday 9 September 2017.

Candidates will sit two test papers on the same morning, each lasting just over an hour. Each paper will contain a mixture of Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning questions.

Information regarding venue details, times, what to bring, etc. will be sent to candidates at least two weeks prior to the test day. They will also need to have a photograph of the child validated: we would be grateful if current class/head teachers could assist with this.

Where candidates have requested access arrangements – due to medical issues or special educational needs – these have now been considered by a specialist panel and parents will now be notified of which provisions, if any, will be put in place for their child for this year’s Warwickshire 11+ test. Please bear in mind that the access arrangements which will be put in place for 11+ testing may not necessarily correlate with any provisions which the child receives in school on a regular basis, or with any special testing arrangements which schools may be considering for the end of Key Stage 2 assessments. This is because the SATs papers and the 11+ test are very different and are not comparable in format, style or content.

Schools are reminded that no tutoring or coaching is required for the Warwickshire 11+ tests, and no practice papers or past papers are made available. The testing is designed to assess a child’s innate ability and, thus, cannot be prepared for.

Results from the 11+ testing will be sent out to families in mid-October. This will be via email, in most cases. An offer of a grammar school place is not made at that stage, and there is no guarantee that a grammar school offer will be made on national offer day in March, regardless of the score achieved by the child in the 11+ test. However, parents should be able to use the information which we will provide to them at that time to assess whether they would like to name one (or more) of the grammar schools on the secondary school application. Please note that the test results will not be distributed to primary and junior schools.

Parents must submit one application only to their home authority, naming all of the schools they are interested in applying for on that one application. This includes any grammar school choices they may be interested in, but does not include schools in the independent sector. If a parent wishes to enquire, and/or apply, for a private school then they are advised to contact that school for further information about their independent admissions process.

Parents should also be aware that different authorities offer a different maximum number of choices which can be named on the application for a school place. Warwickshire residents can name up to six school choices on their application, but they do not have to use all 6 if they do not wish to apply for that many schools. However, we would advise naming more than just one choice, and would also recommend that families name their catchment school as one of their choices as if they do not, and none of their other school choices can be offered, then there is no guarantee that they will then be offered their closest/catchment school.

The national closing date for secondary school applications to be submitted is Tuesday 31 October 2017 (5pm). Applications made after this date may be classed as late and will not then be considered for places until after national offer day – 1 March 2018. We would therefore encourage all primary and junior schools within the county to reiterate this deadline to families, and assist parents with completing their application for a secondary school place, if it is felt that this may be required in certain cases.

Requesting deferred entry to start school in Reception and requesting for a child to be educated outside of their chronological year group

 

All schools should now have received an email which contains website links to the process which parents should follow when making a request for their child to be educated outside of their chronological year group, or where a family is requesting deferred entry into Reception due to the child being  ‘summer-born’. The links refer to specific Guidance and a formal Request Form. These can be found on the following website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/startingprimaryschool

The Government has previously issued a White Paper in respect of such requests and, as a Local Authority, we expect formal legislation to be passed through Government on this particular matter in due course.

It is also the intention of the Local Authority to begin a consultation process which will formalise the current ‘Guidance’ into a formal policy, which we will then ask all schools to comply with as part of both the co-ordinated admissions process for transfer year groups, as well as in-year admissions.

Schools may be contacted in respect of such requests as part of the formal request form advises the parent to make contact with their preferred schools and gain consent from that school to confirm that they would be happy to accept a child who is asking to be admitted outside of their chronological year group, if a place could be offered as part of the normal admissions procedure. Parents are informed throughout the process that a place is not guaranteed at any of their preferred schools, even if the school agrees to a request for deferment.

If schools have any queries about this process, or would like further advice about any particular requests, then they should contact either: Amy Taylor - 01926 742038 or Collette Naven-Jones - 01926 742055.

Consultation on Admission Arrangement s for entry in September 2018

 

The consultation period for the Warwickshire County Council Admission Arrangements, for entry in September 2018, has now ended. Any comments will now be looked at and considered and the final, determined, arrangements will be published by the required deadline of 28 February 2017.

Where a school is its own admission authority, and currently still going through a consultation period, you are reminded that this must be completed by 31 January. All schools must then publish their determined arrangements for 2018 entry – whether these have been consulted on or not – by the deadline as set out in the Code of 28 February 2017.

Determined arrangements should be clearly visible on both the school’s own website and on the relevant WCC website pages.

In-Year Admissions and Fair Access

In-Year Admission refers to any change of school which happens outside of the coordinated scheme, so applies from Reception (once they have been in school from the September following the offer), through to Year 11 and happen throughout the Academic Year.

In this current academic year so far we have processed 3944 applications including 784 requesting a new school place for September 2017.  Most of these are for children moving into the area.  Over the last 3 months the In Year Team has received 4082 calls and around 50 emails a day through the main Admissions line and email inbox, this does not included calls taken on direct lines and individual emails.

This academic year saw a change in our processes whereby we send across a cover sheet to schools which asks for a more detailed response including current numbers on roll in the year group requested, and if a school is refusing a place, whether it is because the year group is full or because they consider the application to fall under the Fair Access Protocol.  If the application is considered to be FAP then schools must detail which criteria the child falls under and then this is verified once the form is received back into the In-Year team.

We also introduced an escalation system whereby if schools do not respond within the 7 day timescale then a letter is sent to the Head Teacher for escalation, this is to ensure we stay within the 10 day turnaround for placing students who apply for an in-year transfer.  Some schools respond almost immediately and there is a good rapport and working relationship between the school and the admissions officer responsible for that area, however, some schools do need to be chased several times for a response and this obviously leads to applications going over this timeframe. 

We encourage schools to return the form as soon as possible either so that we can process it with the next preference listed on the application if the first school is full, or to start the process of placing through the Fair Access Protocol.

The In-Year Team also deals with placement of all permanently excluded children, with a dedicated officer for Primary Fair Access placements, including PEX students.  These obviously take longer to process as they involve meetings with the school and other agency involvement to ensure the right placement of a child back into mainstream school.  There have been around 150 Fair Access placements so far this year across all year groups.  We are working on more informative ways to report on in-year movement and also Fair Access placements so that schools will not only be aware of how many students they have taken, but also their neighbouring schools.

Exclusions

In April 2017, Exclusions were relocated to the Admissions team. Nikki Daly, Jessica Waterhouse & Claire Thornicroft are now dealing with queries from schools and parents and with the recording of exclusion data.

“We are focussing on providing accurate, up-to-date advice to schools and parents as well as aiming to reduce the number of permanent exclusions in Warwickshire”

Since April, the Exclusions team have been notified of 14 permanent exclusions of Warwickshire children.

The team are working with schools around the County to provide advice and support. As well as aiming to reduce the number of permanent exclusions, the team will be challenging and reporting schools found to be issuing unlawful exclusions. There is a guide to unlawful exclusions below, as well as a refresher on making a decision to permanently exclude.

There is work underway to implement a more efficient way of recording exclusions data through the Synergy system, this is due to go live in September.

The DFE have recently consulted on new exclusions guidelines to be published later this year. Whilst there are no significant changes, the new guidelines will clarify certain aspects of the process. The consultation has now closed, but schools can still view the proposed guidance document on the following website: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-absence-and-exclusions-team/statutory-exclusion-guidance/

It is important to remember that Ofsted will consider exclusions during a school inspection, please take the time to familiarise yourself with the Ofsted document ‘Schools Use of Exclusion’.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-use-of-exclusion

Contact Exclusions

Phone: 01926 738353

Email: exclusions@warwickshire.gov.uk

 

 

What is an unlawful exclusion?

There are only two types of exclusion which are lawful: permanent and fixed-period. Anything else is unlawful.

Any exclusion of a pupil, even for a short period of time, must be formally recorded and only the Headteacher of a school can exclude a pupil.

Unlawful exclusions could include:

  • Sending a pupil home to “cool-off”
  • Encouraging a parent to sign a document stating that their child will be 'home educated' and taken off the school roll
  • Requesting that a pupil be collected early
  • Putting pressure on a parent to withdraw a child from a school under threat of permanent exclusion
  • Reducing a pupil’s timetable “to prevent exclusion”
  • Simply telling a pupil not to return to the school
  • Placing a child in an alternative provision schedule during their GCSE year

If a school is found to be excluding informally/unlawfully, the Exclusions team will take steps to report the school in question to higher authorities.

Taking the decision to permanently exclude

A decision to exclude a pupil permanently should only be taken:

  • in response to a serious breach, or persistent breaches, of the school's behaviour policy; and
  • where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

Headteachers should, as far as is possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with an EHCP or who is Looked After and should consider what additional support is necessary for those more at risk of exclusion:

  • Pupils with SEN;
  • Pupils eligible for Free School Meals;
  • Looked After Children; and
  • Pupils from certain ethnic groups

There are teams within Warwickshire County Council who can help schools with challenging pupils. It is important to explore all options before taking the decision to permanently exclude; if you’re unsure what help is available call the Exclusions team for advice.

If a permanent exclusion is given, Headteachers must complete the LIF and send to the Exclusions team on the same day that the decision is taken.

Transport & FSM

The Education Transport Team is made up of Beckie Love, Sarah Clarke and Lindsay Stanford; we work closely with Nikki Daly, Lead Officer for Education Transport and Appeals and Claire Thornicroft, SEN Funding Officer and colleagues from Transport Operations in Barrack Street.

The team support parents and schools regarding eligibility for Free School Meals. We provide advice to parents/carers on eligibility requirements and we also support schools in updating information so they can access Pupil Premium for their school. Currently we have 7000 children who are in receipt of the Pupil Premium.

We assess eligibility and provide transport for around 6000 entitled mainstream entitled travellers, 2000 mainstream paying travellers and 1500 students with a statement or EHCP both over and under 16 across the whole of Warwickshire every year.

We provide transport for those who are entitled to free transport assistance due to meeting the criteria as defined by the DfE and transport for those who are not eligible under the paid Vacant Seat Scheme, these travellers help to assist towards the cost of running our Warwickshire County Council services and ensure that we maintain an easily accessible network or transport for students across the county and even those coming from over the boarders.

We are currently taking applications for all types of transport for September 2017 so if you have a family that you know needs to apply for transport please provide them our contact details below:

Education Transport

Saltisford Office Park

Ansell Way

Warwick

CV34 4UL

 

Website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schooltravel

Email: educationtransport@warwickshire.gov.uk

Phone: 01926 412929 (Option 1, Option 1)

Systems Update

Within Pupil and Student Services, we are continually looking to improve our service to the families of Warwickshire and beyond.

2017 has seen the introduction of online application for the 11+ test on the same platform as applying for a school place.

We have also worked hard to create one data base of our children's information for our council creating a system used currently by the Family Information Service, Early Years Team and Admissions. We are also planning for this system to be used by our SEN Team and other related teams within our Education Service.

We are looking to enhance our on line application system (parent portal) looking at Free School Meals and Transport Modules. This will enable parents to log into one account for their family and apply for a variety of services including applying for Nursery Funding. We will keep you posted!

To date we have received 1402 applications for starting Secondary School in 2018 and 2115 registrations for the 11+test!

We go ‘Live’ on 1st September 2017 for children starting Junior and Reception schools with all parents of children in Warwickshire receiving a letter and leaflet on how to apply. Spread the word, all parents/carers need to have applied by 31st October 2017 for a Secondary School and 15th January 2018 for Reception and Junior Schools!

For children starting school this September we have helped;

  • 1425 children obtain places on the Junior Round
  • 6574 children obtain places on the Reception Round
  • 6596 children obtain places on the Secondary Round

We are still processing applications all the time helping families moving into the area or who have applied past the closing date.

We are an extremely busy service and our help line in the last 3 months received 17,414 calls!!

We received over 7500 emails in the last 3 months - an average of 84 emails a day into our main admissions Inbox!

Staff structure - Admissions, Home to School Transport and Free School Meals Service

Click here to view the staff structure of Admissions, Home to School Transport and Free School Meals Service. 

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