Admissions Policy
John Ruskin School
Admissions Policy
Where there are more applications than places available at John Ruskin School, applications will be prioritised using the criteria below. They will be applied in conjunction with explanatory notes 1 – 5 which form part of the policy. As a community school the local authority is responsible for our admissions. Please contact Cumbria County Council to find out more information about our admissions criteria.
1. Children looked after, ie in public care, giving priority, if necessary, to the youngest child(ren) – see note 1 below.
2. Children living in the catchment area who have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) at the time of their admission – see notes 2 and 3 below.
3. Children living outside the catchment area who, at the time of their admission, have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) who were directed to the school by the Local Authority either (a) in the absence of a place being available in the catchment area school due to oversubscription and the school was identified by the Local Authority as the next nearest with a place available or (b) in their Statement of Special Educational Need – see notes 2, 3 and 4 below.
4. Other children living in the catchment area giving priority to those living closest to the school, measured by the shortest walking route by road – see note 6 below.
5. Children living outside the catchment area who have brothers or sisters in the school (or associated infant or junior school) at the time of their admission – see notes 2 and 3 below.
6. Children living outside the catchment area, giving priority to those who live closest to the school, measured by the shortest walking route by road – see note 6 below.
Applications will be prioritised on the above basis. An exception will be made under the Authority’s policy for the education of children with special needs (i) where a child holds a Statement of Special Educational Needs, or (ii) is currently undergoing a statutory assessment, and in either case it is considered that attendance at a particular school is necessary to meet the identified needs of that child.
Explanatory Notes
[These notes are part of the policy]
Note 1
A child looked after, i.e., in public care, is defined as a child who is looked after by a local authority within the meaning of Section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
Note 2
To prioritise in criteria 2, 3 and 6, priority will be given to those children with the youngest siblings. Brothers and sisters are those living at the same address and includes step and foster children. Priority will only be given where it is known at the time of allocating places that a sibling will be attending the school [excluding a nursery class] at the time of admission.
In circumstances where there is an application for more than one child in the family, and it is not possible to offer a place to all of the children concerned, it will be up to the parents/carers to decide whether they wish to accept the place[s] offered. This will also be the case in relation to twins, etc.
Note 3
Where reference is made to associated infant and junior schools this is to describe those situations where infant and junior schools share the same catchment area.
Note 4
If parents/carers believe they qualify for consideration under criterion 3, they should indicate this on their preference form in the place provided for this purpose. In relation to a child with a Statement of Special Educational Need, the Statement must state that the child is directed by the Local Authority to attend a particular school which is necessary to meet his or her identified needs. It does not include those situations where the Statement indicates that the Local Authority considers a mainstream school of parental choice to be appropriate.
Note 5
Distance measurements will be undertaken using the Local Authority’s computerised Geographical Information System [GIS] and will be to the nearest entrance on the school site which is available to pupils at the time of undertaking the assessment. The route used will be the shortest walking route by road as identified by GIS at that time.