May 2015

Key Dates for Parents

Registration For Kent Test 1st June to 1 st July 2015 Only register your child if you want them to sit the 11+ test Please choose carefully Register on line if possible LA number is 886 and DCSF number is 3718

11+ Tests Standardised – Age is taken into consideration The school is not allowed to coach or prepare children for tests Currently unaware of the format of the tests

Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) sent out in September 2014 All parents of children transferring to secondary school in September 2016 will receive a SCAF. Info will all be online. Go to St Augustines School – LA number = 886 DCSF number = 3718 Parents are invited to express four preferences in priority order. Putting down one school only will not improve the chance of getting a place. Parents are advised to attend secondary school open evenings. Click on Kent Test 11+ and look under ‘Secondary School Open Day Information’ Parents are encouraged to submit their application online. SCAFs must be returned to primary schools by the closing date – Friday 31 st October 2015.

Supplementary Information Form Academies/VA/Foundation High Schools can require parents to provide additional information (on a supplementary form) but only where this is necessary to apply their oversubscription criteria (e.g. religious affiliation). Those schools requiring a supplementary form are clearly identified in the information booklet. The form should be collected from and returned to the secondary school. No school shall allow a child to undertake any selection test (whether of ability or aptitude) unless the school is named on their SCAF.

Allocating Places The LA will effectively operate an “Equal Preference” scheme The LA tells secondary 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 by the high school, even if the school is very oversubscribed. The school’s own published criteria determine which children can be offered places. For example: 1. LA care 2. Siblings 3. Health and other special reasons 4. Distance from school The order in which a parent named the schools on the SCAF only matters if more than one of them 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.

Determining the offers January 2015 The LA will match ranked lists provided by schools and allocate places. Where a child is eligible for a place at only one of the nominated schools, that school will be allocated. Where a child is eligible for a place at two or more of the nominated schools, they will be allocated a place at whichever of these is the highest ranked preference on their SCAF. Where a child is not eligible for a place at any nominated school, the child will be allocated a place at the nearest appropriate school with a vacancy.

Offers The LA sends Kent children offer letters on behalf of all admissions authorities. Tuesday 1st March s and decision letters will be sent to parents by the LA. Letters will include an appeal form and a waiting list form. 17th March 2016 By this date parents must let the school they have been offered know whether or not they are accepting the place.

Appeals Headteacher referral Parents have the right to appeal for any school which refuses them a place. Parental Appeals – 13 th April 2016 If your child has not passed the 11+ test but you intend to appeal you will need to put a grammar school down on your SCAF. You can also ask for your child’s name to go on a school’s waiting list (provided, if it is a grammar school, that your child has been assessed suitable for grammar school).

Kent Online School Admissions Parents will be able to apply for their Year 7 place using the Kent Online Admissions System Provided parents register on the website, parents can use a password which lets them log on to: edit their application at any time until the closing date for applications view their application online at any time view their offer prior to receiving the formal letter from the LA. Note: Parents who apply online should not submit a paper SCAF as well but please can you let Mrs Knight know that you have applied on line and give us your registration number for reference. Parents will be able to print off confirmation that a successful online application has been made.

The processes for determining Admissions and for determining Entitlement to Transport Assistance are quite separate. Children will not automatically get transport assistance to any school they are offered. The Secondary transfer booklet will explain entitlement and will indicate the parishes from which transport assistance is normally provided. This will be a critical piece of information in helping you decide which schools to name on the form. It will be less upsetting for parents and their children if transport entitlement is checked before they complete the SCAF. If parents have any questions, please contact the Transport Team Home to School Transport