In-Year admissions

Making an in-year application

Where a vacancy is created through a planned move by parents to coincide with the start of an academy term/half-term, the academy will make an offer to the first child on the waiting list as soon as written notice of intention to remove the child from the academy has been received from the parents. (If there is a change of circumstance for the student on roll at the academy, e.g., the family wish to continue to educate their child at the academy, then this will be reviewed at the Trust’s discretion, appreciating that this may mean going above the capacity). The offer will be made for the child to be placed on roll at the start of the following term / half-term or sooner.

In all other circumstances where a place becomes vacant, for example, permanent exclusion, a place will be offered to the child in the first position on the waiting list, as soon as the student currently holding the place has been removed from the academy’s roll. Such formal removal will only take place after all appropriate procedures have been completed.

Admission outside the normal age group

On very rare occasions, you may feel it is in your child’s best interests for them to be admitted to the academy outside of their normal age group.

For example, you may feel it is better for your child to start in year 7 when other children their age are starting in Year 8. This may perhaps be due to your child’s:

• ill health; or
• premature birth

You can apply for your child to start the academy outside of their normal age group, but you cannot insist that your child is admitted to a particular age group.

Any applications you make will be reviewed by the academy. The academy and the Trust will look at the:

• circumstances of your case
• best interests of your child; and
• views of the headteacher at the academy.

To apply for an admission outside of the normal age group for your child, you will need to apply within the admissions timescale to Birmingham City Council and send the academy:

• a letter outlining the reason for the request
• any supporting evidence.

The academy will make sure that you receive a response to your application before the National Offer Day – the date when parents are told which school their children will be going to as long as the letter and supporting evidence is received within in the timescales for applying for a place with Birmingham City Council – 31 October the year before the entry year the application is being made for.

You should still apply for a school place for your child’s normal age group at the usual time: you can withdraw your application later if you need to.

If your application for a place outside of your child’s normal age group is approved, you must apply for a place as part of the usual process and timescales for that age group.

If your application is refused, you must decide whether to:

• accept the offer of a place for your child’s normal age group when the offer is made
• refuse the offer of a place and instead make an in-year application for admission to the expected year group.

The application under this criterion must be made at the same time as applying to Birmingham City Council for a place at the academy within the usual admission timescales. An application does not guarantee a place for the child at the Academy and the application will be considered in the new cohort. Where the Academy agrees to a request in principle, they will write to the parents confirming their agreement. A request for admission outside the normal age group is not an application for admission, and parents will need to submit a separate application in the usual way at the appropriate time.

All applications

Where a request for admission to a different year group has been agreed in principle, the letter from the Academy confirming the decision to the applicant, must be submitted to the Birmingham City Council with the application for admission.

Appeals process

Appeals are administered by the Local Authority for this school. Parents who wish to appeal against the decision to refuse their child admission should visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions to complete an online appeal form. Appeals will be heard by an independent panel.