How to set your admission arrangements
Learn how admissions authorities set admissions criteria, how the consultation process works and the deadline for consulting on changes.
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Contents
Guidance in this article is taken from the School Admissions Code 2021.
Setting the arrangements
If one of your schools is undersubscribed, every child that requests a place will get one.
If one of your schools is oversubscribed, admissions criteria are used to help allocate places.
You can set the oversubscription criteria as you see fit, but there are certain requirements you must follow.
For example:
- Any child with special educational needs (SEN) whose education, health and care (EHC) plan names the school must be admitted before any oversubscription criteria are applied
- Looked after children (LAC), and post-LAC, are usually given highest priority
The rules for setting oversubscription criteria are on pages 10 to 18 of the admissions code, linked above. Make sure you're clear on these.
The admissions code allows you to name children coming from a feeder school as part of your
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- Admission appeals
- Admission to reception: deferring entry
- Challenging the placement of a pupil with SEND: guidance and checklist
- In-year admissions and fair access protocols
- Placing pupils in older or younger year groups
- Rules about admission application forms
- School admissions: communication with parents
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