1. Secondary School Entrance Procedures for Sept 2018
A presentation for parents from Deal Parochial C.E.P School

2. You will soon be asked to choose a secondary school for your child.
All the secondary schools will be inviting you to book tours of their school. Please look at all the schools before you make any decisions.
The Secondary school admissions process consists of several stages starting with Kent Test registration, which begins in June, through to National Offer Day in March and then the final reallocation of places in April. After this point the In Year process will take over.
For further information please check the full admissions scheme which can be found at

3. The Kent Test
If you want to apply for a year 7 place at a Kent grammar school, you can register your child for the Kent Test. The test assesses whether grammar school is a suitable option for your child.
Parents can register their child online, by visiting , or they can fill in a paper form and return it through their primary school or direct to the Admissions Team at Sessions House.
If you want you child to take the Kent Test for selective education then it is vital that you register your child between 1 June and 3 July 2017.
To take the Dover Grammar test you need to apply by 3 July 2017(Boys) or 7 July 2017 (Girls) . Application forms can be downloaded from the Grammar school websites.
Coaching is not required or permitted to be done by the school.
How to register
Your child will take the test in year 6 at primary school.

4. The Kent Test dates for 2017 are:
7 September 2017 for children who go to school in Kent
9 September 2017 for children who go to school outside of Kent.
The Dover Boys and Girls Tests takes place at on Saturday 9 September 2017

5. PESE TIMETABLE
PESE TIMETABLE
2017 to 2018 Closing Date to register for tests
Monday 3 July 2017
Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) on paper and online
Opens on: 1 September 2017 and
closes on: 31 October 2017.
All Tests (pupils in Kent schools)
7 September 2017
Answer sheets to collection points
By 10 am
8 September 2017
PESE 3 printout to schools
Thursday 21 September 2017
HT Assessment requests lodged
By 5pm
Friday 22 September 2017
HTA Decisions returned to schools
By Friday 6 October 2017
Assessments ed / posted to parents
12 October 2017 (letters to arrive 15th October) Scores available from your primary school from 12 October 2017.
Holiday Mon 23 – Fri 27 October 2017 inclusive
National SCAF closing date
Tues 31 October 2017
Term Ends Wednesday 20 December 2017
National Offer Day
School offers ed / posted to parents
1 March 2018 (letters to arrive Fri 2 March)
Closing dates:
Waiting List Requests: Friday 16 March 2018
Acceptances / Refusals: Friday 16 March 2018
Appeals: : Thursday 29 March 2018
Term ends Thur 29 March 2018
Reallocation of places by KCC
Wednesday 25 April 2018
For advice call or

6. Pupils with Additional or Special Educational Needs
Most arrangements relating to the secondary school transfer of pupils with Statements of Special Educational Need / EHC Plans are handled by local AEN and Resources teams, but NB:
- Any child with a Statement of SEN/ EHC Plan who wants consideration for a grammar school place will need to register for testing by 3 July 2017, like other pupils.
Special arrangement requirements to take the Kent Test must be made by the school by 10 July 2017.
- The school will need to let the Admissions Team know by 10 July 2017 if they have a pupil with AEN or SEN who wishes to take part in PESE but has a disability which would make it difficult for them to attempt a test paper in standard format or within the prescribed time limit: do not assume that we know! We do what we can to give all children fair access to testing. There are no “blanket” concessions; each case is looked at individually on the basis of information collected via a standard form (see Appendix B). You will find more detailed guidance on the 11+ and disability on pages Because these are standardised selection tests, we agree comfort adjustments (such as changing the appearance of the papers or allowing for separate supervision or rest breaks) more often than we do additional time, but you should use the Appendix B form to request the adjustments you think are needed if any of your
candidates has a disability or a severe difficulty which means they cannot be expected to take the tests in the same way as other children.
- Children with a severe physical or sensory disability which effectively denies them access to the test format can be assessed without taking the tests, by prior agreement. Contact the PESE manager for further advice.

7. The Tests
The first test will be a multiple choice English and Maths paper with a separate answer sheet. The English test is the first section. The test will take an hour. Each section will involve a 5 minute practice exercise followed by a 25 minute test. The English section will involve a comprehension exercise as well as some additional questions drawn from a set designed to test literacy skills.
The second test will be a multiple choice reasoning paper. It will take about an hour, including the practice sections and questions. It will contain a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length, with the verbal reasoning first. The non-verbal reasoning will be split into four sections, administered and timed individually (as in the previous tests).
The multiple choice test papers are marked by an automated marking machine.
There will also be a writing exercise which will not be marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage of the process. Forty minutes will be allowed for the writing task, including 10 minutes planning time.
The Kent Test familiarisation booklet (PDF, 2.6 MB) gives a description of the different parts of the test and advice on approaching the types of questions asked.

8. Test results
The results for the Kent Test will be sent out on 12 October 2017
Assessment decision letters will be posted to parents on 12 October, to arrive by 15 October. Provided they have registered online and given a valid address, they will also be notified of their child’s assessment by an automatic after 4pm on 12 October. (The high volume of online applications means that s may take some time to arrive.)
Test scores are available from your primary school. We cannot give out test scores over the phone.
If you need further advice, please the secondary admissions team at quoting your child's Pupil ID for security purposes.
An explanation of score will be provided after the test has taken place.

9. How the scores are set
The score for a grammar school assessment is different every year. We set it depending on the range of results children achieve. If lots of children scored very highly on the test, the pass mark is set higher. If lots of children get low scores, the pass mark is set lower.
Marks are adjusted very slightly to allow for each child's age when they take the test. This is done through a statistical process called standardisation, to make sure that a child's results are compared with the performance of other children the same age.
A standardised score of 100 represents an average performance for a child of a given age, with the lowest standardised score normally around 69 and the highest around 141. The highest possible total score is 423.
Until Kent pupils have taken the tests, it is not possible to predict the threshold for grammar school in a particular year. However, it is usually set using a minimum overall score and a minimum score for a single section.
In 2016, to be given a grammar school assessment, children need to get a total score of 320 or more, with no single score lower than 106.
You can't appeal against your child's Kent Test results.

10. Applications for secondary school will open in early September 2017.
If your child took the test and was successfully grammar school assessed, the school will consider your application. However, this does not guarantee your child will be offered a place. If more children qualify for places than the number of places available, the school will use its admissions criteria to decide which children to offer places to. If you are not offered a place at a grammar school you can appeal to explain why you think grammar school is a suitable option for your child.
If your child was not successfully grammar school assessed or did not take the test, the school will turn down your application, and you'll be offered a different school. You have the right to appeal to explain why you think grammar school is a suitable option for your child.

11. Choosing a school
There are lots of different types of school in Kent, and it's important that your child goes to a school that's right for them.
Find out about a school
To find out if a school is suitable for your child:
visit the school - most schools have open days you can go to
ask other parents what they think about the school
check the school’s admissions criteria - this sets out how schools choose which children to offer a school place to
read the school’s Ofsted reports
check school league tables
think about what school transport is available
find out how the school can support your child if you are choosing a school for a child with a special educational need.

12. Applying for Any School Place – Key Information about the Kent Scheme
The scheme applies to children without Statements of Special Educational Need / EHC Plans: different legislation governs school transfer arrangements for Statemented children, and they must not complete Secondary Common Application Forms (SCAFs). Provided they are registered for testing, though, they will be included in PESE.
Kent parents will be asked to complete the Authority's Secondary Common Application Form (Kent SCAF), online at or on paper, naming up to four secondary schools in order of preference, by Tuesday 31 October Paper forms may be returned via the primary school or direct to the LA. Note: This is a national date, imposed centrally on all Local Authorities.

13. Useful background:
A significant number of Kent’s grammar schools are their own admission authority and set their own oversubscription criteria, which can change year on year
Transport assistance to grammar schools and faith schools is discretionary, not automatic. Transport arrangements will be set out in the “Admission to Secondary School 2018” booklet, (to be undated Sept 2018)
Kent’s SCAF has space for 4 preferences. There is no benefit to parents in putting fewer than 4 preferences, and not using all four makes it more likely that they will be offered a school they do not want, as the LA is obliged to offer a place by default if we can’t offer any of the schools named on the form.
If parents don’t apply for schools by the SCAF deadline they may miss the first allocation of places and reduce their chance of getting a local school. A parent who has successfully submitted an online application will be able to print off a confirmation to show you. If they only have an which says they have registered with the website, they have not completed the process. Kent allows until 8 November for “lates”, so checking before this will help children and administrators!
Once SCAFs have been processed, Kent LA will pass secondary schools the details of all children who have named them as a preference without indicating whether they were a first, second, third or fourth preference.
All oversubscribed schools are required by the School Admissions Code to keep waiting lists, at least until 31 December in the admission year (SAC 2014, para 2.14). Children who named the school on their SCAF but were not offered a place there on 1 March will be included on this list on request, ranked according to the original oversubscription criteria (unless the school is a grammar school and the child has not been assessed suitable for a grammar school). The LA will send secondary schools details of late applicants, who applied after the closing date but by 16 March 2018 and these will also be included on the waiting list, prioritised in accordance with the school’s oversubscription criteria.

14. Appeals:
The waiting list is separate from and additional to the appeals process. Parents have a statutory right to appeal for any school which they have been refused, even if they have been offered a school they named higher on their SCAF, or if the school they want is a grammar school and their child has not qualified for a place on grounds of ability.

15. Applying for and choosing schools if your child has special educational needs
Most children with special educational needs can be taught in mainstream schools. If your child has more severe or complex needs they may need to go to a special school or school with a special unit.
Applying for schools
If your child doesn't have a statement of special educational needs you apply for a primary school place in the same way as other parents.
If your child has a statement of special educational needs the school named in their statement must offer them a place.
If your child is being assessed for special educational needs you should follow the standard process. If you don't apply for a place and your child doesn't get a statement you may miss out on a place at one of your preferred schools.
Choosing a school
Every school publishes details about how it supports pupils with special educational needs.

16. Choosing a mainstream school
You should find out:
whether the school has experience of children with similar needs and what strategies have been effective
what the school's special educational needs policy is
how the SENCO passes information about children to teaching staff
how your child would be supported in class
how you'd be involved in your child's progress and development.
If your child has a statement and you're unsure if a school is suitable for them, you can talk to your named officer.
Find a mainstream school
Choosing a special school or school with special unit
Special schools only take children who have a particular type of educational need such as visual impairment or physical disability. Some mainstream schools have special units to deal with particular needs.
Our special schools and specialist units in mainstream schools only admit children with statements whose needs are very severe and complex.
Find a special school or school with special unit.

17. Choosing a secondary school for a statemented child
Your child's statement must name a secondary school by 15 February in the year that they're due to start secondary school.
If the school you want your child to go to is a grammar (selective) school, then you must speak to your child's primary school about taking the Kent Test.
Read more about naming a school on your child's statement.
Someone from your child's new secondary school will come to your child's year 6 annual review meeting to discuss what will need to happen when your child transfers.
Starting school
When you know what school your child will be going to you can speak to the headteacher or SENCO about your child’s needs. This will help the school to decide how to best support your child.

18. Thank you for your attention, I hope this has been useful
Thank you for your attention, I hope this has been useful. If you would like this presentation ed to you please sign your name and address on the paper provided. Remember that you can always find help from the Local Authority Admission Team, or directly from staff here at Deal Parochial C.E.P School.