All Admissions to the school and waiting lists are handled by the Admissions Office at Southampton City Council
http://www.southampton.gov.uk/schools-learning/find-school/apply-school/default.aspx
Admission Policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant/Primary Schools
Southampton City Council is the admission authority for all Community and Voluntary Controlled infant and primary schools in the city. Voluntary Aided and Trust and Foundation school are their own admission authorities and set their own admission arrangements. As required in the School Admissions Code the authority will consider all on-time preferences at the same time for September admissions.
Parents may express up to three (3) preferences, listing them in the order in which they would accept them. All preferences will be considered and where more than one school could be offered, the parents will be offered a place for their child at the higher ranked of the schools that could be offered.
Children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) that name the school
Children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) that name a school must be admitted to that school under the Education Act 1996 and with regard to the SEN Code of Practice. These children will be admitted to the named school, even if it is full, and are therefore outside the normal admission arrangements. As required by the Code these children will count as part of the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the school.
Oversubscription criteria
Applications submitted by deadline date issued by admission team will be dealt with first. If the number of applications submitted by deadline date is greater than the Published Admission Number (PAN) for a school, admissions to the school will be decided according to the following priorities:
1. Children in public care (looked after children) and previously looked after children as defined in paragraph 1.7 of the School Admissions Code 2014
2. Children subject to a child protection plan or deemed to be vulnerable by the Senior Officer with responsibility for safeguarding in Southampton City Council
3. Children who have a brother or sister already on the roll of the school who will continue to attend that school for the following year. (This includes children living as siblings in the same family unit.) In the case of applications for places at infant schools a sibling at the linked junior school will count as a sibling at the infant school.
A sibling is defined as a brother or sister including half, step, or foster or adoptive brother or sister, living within the same family unit at the same address
4. Children who live within the school's designated catchment area and whose parents have satisfied the Local Authority that their child has a significant medical or psychological condition which means they must attend the preferred school rather than any other. Applications must be supported by appropriate written evidence from a doctor or psychologist
5. Children who live within the school's designated catchment area.
A “designated catchment area” for a school is the area set out in the definitive catchment area map for each school. This map is held by Southampton City Council, Civic Centre, Southampton SO14 7LY. A schedule of addresses, to be read in conjunction with the map, is also kept by the Council.
Parents wishing to know if their address is in a particular catchment area can contact the Admissions Team, or log on to the council website www.southampton.gov.uk and enter their postcode in the ‘Where I live’ box at the bottom of the page. The My Nearest page will allow you to view the nearest schools.
If the school is oversubscribed from within these criteria, priorities (ii) to (iii), as set out at 6 below, will be used to determine which children will be offered places.
6. Children who live outside the school’s designated catchment area, in the following order:
(i) Children whose parents have satisfied the Local Authority that their child has a significant medical or psychological condition which means they must attend the preferred school rather than any other. Applications must be supported by appropriate written evidence from a doctor or psychologist.
(ii) Children whose parents are applying for their child to attend a Church of England voluntary controlled school on denominational grounds. Evidence of regular church attendance at services held by the Church of England or a local ecumenical partnership (as defined in the school’s prospectus) must be certified by the vicar or someone else of authority in the church. “Regular” is defined as “attending worship services at a Church of England church or local ecumenical partnership at least twice a month for the previous two years before the deadline for admissions set by Southampton City Council.”
(iii) Children who live closest to the school based on the shortest practicable walking distance using public roads and footpaths. Distances are measured from home to school for all children Distances from home to school are measured as shortest walking distances. These are calculated using a computerised mapping system that uses data supplied by Ordnance Survey. Distances are measured from the point designated in the system as the home address to the point designated in the system as the mid-point of the nearest open gate to the school, using public roads and footpaths.
Should a school be oversubscribed from within any of the criteria 6(i) to 6(ii) above, then distance as defined in 6(iii) will be used to prioritise applications within these categories. Should there be two or more identical distances requiring prioritisation, this will be done by casting lots. Lots will be drawn by the Principal Officer Education and Early Years, Children and Families Services, Southampton City Council.
Late applications
The closing date for applications will be on given by Admissions office and can be found on their webpage (see link above). Applications received after that date will be late applications and will dealt with after all on time applicants have been offered a school place. If a school has places available after admitting all on-time applications, late applications will be considered in accordance with the priorities set out above.
Unplaced children
Any child who remains unplaced after their application has been processed, because either they could not be offered a place at any school requested or their parents did not complete an application, will be offered a place at their catchment school if there is one and if places are still available. If there are no places available at their catchment school, they will be allocated a place at the nearest school to their home address with places available that is prepared to offer a place. Distance to their home address will be measured by public roads and footpaths.
Waiting lists
If a place cannot be offered at a higher ranked community or voluntary controlled school, unsuccessful applicants will automatically be placed on the waiting list for the school. If places become available, children on the waiting list will automatically be offered them according to the priorities set out above and any previous offer of a school place will be withdrawn.
The length of time on the waiting list cannot be taken into account. Unsuccessful late applications will be treated in the same way as unsuccessful on-time applications and placed on the waiting list according to the priorities set out above.
Waiting lists will be maintained by the Admissions Manager at Southampton City Council for all community and voluntary controlled schools. Waiting lists will be maintained until the end of the autumn term.
Entry into Reception Class
The offer made to parents for reception class on the initial offer date is of a full time place from the start of term after 1 September . Schools normally stagger entry into school from that date and arrange for some initial part time attendance to ensure a smooth transition from pre-school into school or from home to school.
Parents can request part time education for their child in the reception year until the child is of statutory school age if it is in the child’s best interests.
Parents have the right to defer their child’s entry into reception class to any point up the time the child is of statutory school age (the term starting after their child’s 5th birthday) Parents of children born between 1 September and 31 March CANNOT however defer entry until the start of year 1 i.e. the reception class place cannot be held open over the summer holidays. The child must start school at some point in the reception year. If a parent does not enrol their child at the offered school at some point in the reception year they must make an in year application for a year 1 place.
However, the parents of a summer born child, that is a child born between 1 April and 31 August, may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday. They may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1. All requests will be considered on their merits.
Appeals
Southampton City Council will arrange any appeals. Their appeals timetable is available on their website – www.southampton.gov.uk
Maytree Nursery and Infants School (Nursery admissions)
Nursery admissions are handled directly by the school and not by Southampton City Council.
Applications
At Maytree Nursery there are up to 60 part time places, for families to access the free entitlement. The free entitlement is offered over five sessions in each week with each session lasting the statutory three hours, either morning or afternoon.
To be eligible for the free entitlement children must have had their third birthday before August 31st in the academic year they begin school. Eligibility will be verified by families providing proof, namely the birth certificate and confirmation of address. A copy of which will be retained on file.
Applications may be made in the September after the child’s first birthday. A record will be kept on file but these following priority factors will be taken into account when allocating places.
Applications are dated as they enter the admissions process. Priority factors which will be taken into account when dealing with applications.
1. Places will be allocated to pupils who have an Education Healthcare plan that names the Nursery as appropriate provision, in the first instance
2. Children in public care or previously in public care but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order
3. Children who live within the catchment
4. Children who have a brother or sister and live within the catchment and will on the school roll and still be attending Maytree School, the following academic year
5. Children who have a brother or sister at Maytree and live out of catchment
6. Children who live out of catchment
Dated priority order
Where places remain unfilled by December 1st according to the above criteria, places will be offered to children on the waiting list who have had their third birthday between September 1st and December 31st. If there are still places by the end of the spring term, places for the summer term can then be offered to children who have had their 3rd birthday between January 1st and March 31st.
Reserve and Waiting Lists
The school maintains a waiting/ reserve list for Free Entitlement places. All lists clearly identify the date at which the application was received and the priority factors relevant to the application.
Transfer to schools
It is the family’s responsibility to apply for and obtain a school place. Attendance at Maytree Nursery does not guarantee admission to the main school. A separate application to the Local Authority must be made to transfer from any Early Years setting to an Infant or Primary school. Please see the above School admissions criteria.
Reviewed 2023