Park Lane Academy

Admissions 

Park Lane Academy

Map Of Catchment Area

Admissions Policy 23/24

Admissions Policy 24/25

In-year transfers | Calderdale Council

Admission Arrangements for entry 2024-2025

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Introductory Statement 

The academy will be non-selective, taking in mixed, multi ethnic students of all abilities and serving the local community first. The academy is part of South Pennine Academies. The local authority will coordinate normal round applications for entry at age 11. The academy will coordinate their own in-year applications and will participate with, in-year fair access protocols. 

When considering applications, children with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be admitted first, and under different regulations before the oversubscription criteria is applied. 

 

Admission number(s) 

The school has an admission number of 120 for entry in Year 7. 

The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number(s) for the relevant year group are received, the Academy Trust will offer places at the school to all those who have applied.  

 

Application process  

a) Arrangement for applications for places at Park Lane Academy will be made in accordance with Calderdale local authority coordinated admission arrangements, information can be found at  https://calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/schools/admissions  

b) In order to be eligible for a place parents must make the Park Lane Academy one of their five preferences in the local authority. Please note that this is now an online ONLY form within the Calderdale local authority. 

c) If the number of preferences received is less than the Published Admission Number (PAN) then all preferences will be met.

d) If there are more applications than places available at the academy the oversubscription criteria will be applied.

e) It is very important that the form is returned by the closing date because forms received after this date will be treated as ‘late’.  Late applications are not dealt with until all those received on time have been through the application process.

The application form can be obtained from

https://calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/schools/admissions  

 

Oversubscription criteria

The criteria in this section apply to entry at Reception phase of the school.  

When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order: 

  • Children in public care (looked after children) or a child who was previously looked after including those children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), immediately following having been looked after and those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. 
  • Pupils living within the defined priority (catchment) area who have a brother or sister (including step/half brothers and sisters) permanently resident in the same household and currently attending the school (excluding pupils in their final year).  
  • Other pupils living within the defined priority (catchment) area.  
  • Those pupils who do not qualify under Categories 1-3 who have a brother or sister (including step/half brothers and sisters) permanently resident in the same household and currently attending the school (excluding pupils in their final year).  
  • Other children. 

 

Tie-break

If in categories 2-5 above a tie-break is necessary to determine which child is admitted, the child living closest to the school will be given priority for admission. Distance is measured from the child’s home to the front gates of the school in a straight line  

Random allocation undertaken by the local authority will be used as a tie-break in categories 2-5 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy/free school is equidistant in any two or more cases. 

Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twins and triplets etc.) from the same family tied for the final place. We will admit them all, as permitted by the infant class size rules and exceed our PAN. 

 

Late applications

All applications received by the Local Authority after the deadline will be considered to be late applications. Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants the school is oversubscribed, parents may request that their child is placed on the school’s waiting list. 

 

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group.  To do so parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested and the year group in which they wish their child to be allocated a place. 

When such a request is made, the Academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the Principal and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.  

 

Waiting lists

The school will operate a waiting list for each year group. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the end of the academic year. This will be maintained by the Academy Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. 

Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.  The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list. 

 

Appeals

All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code.  

Appellants should contact, the Admissions officer, Adult and Children's Services, Westgate House, Halifax HX1 1PS. 

 

Home address: 

The home address is where a child normally lives.  Where a child lives with parents with shared parental responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which residential address should be used for the purpose of admission to school. If no joint declaration is received where the residence is split equally by the closing date for applications, the home address will be taken as the address where the child is registered with the doctor. If the residence is not split equally between both parents, then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week. 

 

Sibling: 

‘Sibling’ means a natural brother or sister, a half brother or sister, a legally adopted brother or sister or half-brother or sister, a step brother or sister or other child living in the same household as part of the same family who, in any of these cases, will be living at the same address at the date of their application for a place. 

 

Apply for a place after the school year has started.

 Also known as In Year Transfers. This normally applies if you:

  • Have moved into the area and do not currently have a school place for your child.
  • Have moved within the area and would like to transfer your child to a closer school.
  • Want to move your child from their current school to another school for any other reason.

In general, the Authority does not encourage transfers between schools for reasons other than a house move. The evidence shows that it is rarely in the best interests of the pupil. This is because of the disruption that is caused to their learning.

Applications are taken through the Calderdale Council Website  click the link below to apply.

 

Calderdale Council - Applications