Secondary Application Meeting 30th September 2019 Welcome

Key Dates Kent Test Assessment Results Thurs 17th October 2019 by email after 4pm. Online: after 5pm to view your results and scores online. (letters to arrive Fri 18th October) National SCAF closing date Wed 31st October 2019 National Offer Day Mon 2nd March 2020 by email after 4.00pm. You can also log on after 5.00pm to view which school you have been offered. (letters arrive Tues 3rd March) Closing dates Waiting List Requests 16th March 2020 Acceptance/Refusals Appeals 27th March 2020 Reallocation of places by KCC Wed 22nd April 2020

Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) To apply use the Online Admission Website www.kent.gov.uk/ola Very useful website is the KCC Admissions pages: www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places Primary schools will be sent a few blank paper SCAFs. Or you can print one. Kent parents are invited to express up to four preferences in priority order. Put the schools in the order you want them. Putting down one school only will not improve the chance of getting a place.

How do I know which schools to apply to? If your child entered the Kent Test you will know the outcome and their scores. The email or by logging on should tell your child’s test outcome and scores. If you have your child’s test outcome but not their score please contact the school office. You can name a grammar school on your application form even if your child has not passed the test. This then entitles you to a parental appeal later in the year. Please visit schools with your child. This process is about trying to find the right school for your child. Try to create your own opinion based on your child’s needs. Look at school websites and any reports. Look at the admission rules called the ‘Oversubscription Criteria’, especially faith schools such as Trinity School and St. Gregory’s School. Speak to us and other parents, especially parents of children who are currently attending schools you are interested in. Visit schools!

Allocating Places The LA operates an “Equal Preference” scheme. The LA tells schools who has applied for places, not whether they were named first, second, third or fourth, and the schools place their applicants in a rank order based on their oversubscription criteria. All applicants must be ranked, even if the school is very oversubscribed or undersubscribed. The published criteria determine which children can be offered places. The order in which a parent named the schools on the SCAF only matters if more than one of the schools could offer a place. In that case, the LA looks back at the original order and offers a place at whichever of them the parent named highest on the form.

Waiting Lists and Appeals Children can only go on the waiting list of a grammar school if they have passed the Kent Test. You can only go on the waiting list of a school that you applied for. You can only appeal for a school that you have applied for. You can appeal to a grammar school even if your child didn’t pass the test. This is a parental appeal which takes place in May/June.

Transport As a general rule, your child will get free home to school transport if the secondary school they will be attending is: The nearest appropriate school for transport purposes and Is more than three miles from home Assessment for eligibility for free transport to the nearest appropriate school does not normally take account of parents’ preference for a particular type of school like a grammar school or a school with a specialism. There isn’t really any free transport! Young Person’s Travel Pass: £250 a year www.kent.gov.uk/youngpersonstravelpass

Where can I get advice? From your child’s Year 6 class teacher, Miss Jones, Mrs Barratt and Mr Reid. Secondary Admission Team: 03000412121 Kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk Kent Parent Partnership Service: 03000413000 kentparentpartnershipservice@kent.gov.uk

Remember we are here to help so please always ask. Any questions? Remember we are here to help so please always ask.