School Admission Arrangements 2020/2021 Formal Consultation
Proposed Admission Arrangements 2020
Students Joining in Year 7
All transfers from Year 6 to Year 7 for residents living in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea are coordinated by the School Admissions Team at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. To find out more details about schools in general in the Southend area, please visit the following website: www.southend.gov.uk/admissions
Secondary School Admissions 2020/21
Applications for a September 2020 transfer to Year 7 must be submitted between 1st September 2019 and 31st October 2019.
The Secondary Admissions Booklet 2019 – 2020 is available here.
Our admission criteria is available here.
Our admission limit is: 168 per year group
Students will be admitted from age 11, whatever their ability, up to the number of places available. Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, priority will be given to the following:
- Looked After Children and children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order)
- Students who will have siblings at the School;
- Students living in the catchment area of the school on the basis of closeness to the School;
- Students living outside the catchment area of the School on the basis of closeness to the School;
In the case of over subscription in any one category, “straight line” distance will be used to measure the distance between the student’s home and the nearest student entrance to the School. If the student’s home is a flat the distance will be measured to the main external entrance of the building. If the same distance is shared by more than one student, and only one place is available, the place will be awarded on the basis of a computerised random allocation process (supervised by someone independent of the governing body).
Siblings are considered to be an older brother or sister, half-brother or half-sister, step-brother or stepsister, adopted brother or sister, living at the same address, who attends the School at the time of application with a reasonable expectation that he or she will still be attending at the time of the proposed admission.
In the exceptional situation where one twin or one or two triplets are refused a place, in order to keep family members together the additional student(s) will be admitted even if this results in the admission limit for the year group being exceeded.
Where the school is named in a child’s EHCP the School and the Local Authority have a duty to admit the child.
The duty to comply with parental preferences does not apply where a child has been permanently excluded from two or more schools (for period of up to two years following the second exclusion).
If it is not possible to offer your child a place, details of the appeals process will be forwarded to you by the School.
In-Year Secondary School Admissions
Click here to view the In-Year Admissions Application Form (Parent Section)
Click here to view the In-Year Admissions Personal Information Consent Form
The following Guidance Notes provide information on how to apply for a Secondary School place for your child during the school year. Applying for a school place during the school year is referred to as an ‘In-Year’ admission.
Applications are usually necessary due to:
- Moving or having moved to Southend on Sea
- Changing address in Southend on Sea
- Wishing to change school
Admissions for September each year to the Year 7 Group is not an In-Year admission. Admission is co-ordinated for this Year Group by the Pupil Access Team, Southend on Sea Borough Council. To find out more details about schools in general in the Southend area, please visit this website which includes links to school websites, together with a copy of the Secondary School Admissions Booklet.
The Admissions Booklet details the name, address, admissions limit and admissions criteria of all the Secondary Schools in the Borough.
If you are moving into the Borough (from either overseas or within the UK) or are moving house within the Borough and wish to change school you will need to provide Southchurch High School with a copy of either a tenancy agreement/exchange of contracts letter. These documents must be provided to the School before an offer of a school place can be given (tenancies for a period of less than 6 months will not be accepted).
Moving schools is a serious step to take. Before applying for a place at an alternative school in the Borough, please discuss the reasons for your request to move with your child’s current Headteacher. Your child must continue to attend their current school and you must ensure you do not remove your child from school before securing a place at another school.
Before you apply at Southchurch High School
It is advisable to find out about schools in the Borough by considering the details from various sources:
- Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk
- Admission Booklets/admissions criteria: www.southend.gov.uk./admissions
- Contacting the School directly
- The ‘Where I Live’ section on the Local Authority’s website: www.southend.gov.uk
- Check the location of the school to your home address and consider how your child will travel to school. In some cases, transport may be provided using specific criteria on distance and/or specific benefits. Full details can be found at www.southend.gov.uk
Many schools are already full which means that the nearest or catchment schools for your new home address may not be able to offer your child a place.
Please note if you have more than one child trying to obtain a place this can be very difficult. In some cases parents/carers may find that they can place one child into the school but not any others. Parents/carers should consider very carefully if there are sufficient places at their preferred school when making an application.
How to Apply for a School Place at Southchurch High School
- Please complete the Southchurch High School In-Year Application Form answering all the questions.
- Return the Application Form to Southchurch High School.
- If you are applying for more than one school, you may have to complete more than one Application Form. You will be required to contact the schools directly.
What Happens Next?
- All In-Year admissions will be dealt with as soon as they are received. Southchurch High School aims to process the application within 7-14 school days.
- Where there are more applications than places, Southchurch High School will apply the over subscription criteria to decide who has the highest priority. Those applications with the highest priority will be allocated a place at the School filling the available places.
- In very few cases, particularly for vulnerable children who may not have had a successful experience at previous Schools, the application may be referred by Southchurch High School to the Local Authority for consideration under the Fair Access protocol.
- If you are moving into the Borough and have been unable to secure a place at any of your preferred schools, you should contact the Fair Access Team, Southend on Sea Borough Council, who can advise you of alternative school places in the Borough.
- If you have applied to Southchurch High School and a place cannot be offered, you will be advised in writing of the reasons and you should contact the Fair Access Team, Southend on Sea Borough Council, who can advise you of alternative school places in the borough.
- If you are declined a preference you have a right to have your case considered by an Independent Appeal Panel. Details on how to appeal and where to obtain further information will be included in your correspondence.
Appeals
You can find our appeals booklet here.
Please click here to download a copy of our appeals form.
Southchurch High School commission the Local Authority to run the School’s Appeals. For further details please visit the Local Authority’s website below:
Waiting Lists
Southchurch High School maintains a waiting list. If a Year Group is full and you have been unsuccessful in gaining a place, you can request that your child be placed on the waiting list. Students’ names will be kept on the waiting list for approximately one school year.