Oversubscription criteria

The oversubscription criteria for community, voluntary controlled schools and recently converted academies are listed first, followed by the oversubscription criteria for catholic schools.

The oversubscription criteria for schools and academies that set their own criteria can be found further on in this booklet with their school details.

Oversubscription criteria for voluntary and controlled schools

The following oversubscription criteria relates to these community and voluntary controlled schools in Medway:

School name	School type
Balfour Infant School	Community
Balfour Junior Academy	Academy
Barnsole Primary School	Academy
The Bligh Federation - Infants	Community
The Bligh Federation - Juniors	Community
Burnt Oak Primary School	Community
Crest Infant and Nursery School (formerly Delce Infant School)	Community
Fairview Community Primary School	Community
Featherby Infant and Nursery School	Academy
Featherby Junior School	Academy
Greenvale Infant and Nursery School	Community
Halling School	Community
Hempstead Infant School	Community
Hempstead Junior School	Community
Hilltop Primary School	Community
Horsted School - Infants	Community
Horsted School - Juniors	Community
Luton Infant and Nursery School	Community
Luton Junior School	Community
Maundene School	Community
Mierscourt Primary School	Academy
New Road Primary School	Community
Oaklands School	Community
Park Wood Schools Federation - Infants	Community
Park Wood Schools Federation - Juniors	Community
Riverside Primary School and Children's Centre	Academy
St Helen's CEP School	Voluntary Controlled
St Margaret's at Troy Town CE Primary School and Children's Centre	Academy
St Margaret's Infant School	Academy
St Nicholas CEVC Infant School	Voluntary Controlled
St Peter's Infant School	Community
Swingate Primary School	Academy
Thames View Primary School	Community
Wainscott Primary School	Community

Before the application of oversubscription criteria, children with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school will be admitted. As a result of this, the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly.

If the number of preferences for a Community or Voluntary Controlled primary, infant or junior school is more than the number of spaces available, places will be allocated in the following priority order:

1. Children in public care/looked after children and previously looked after children (see note 1)
2. Attendance at a paired infant school (see note 2)
3. Sibling - a brother or sister attending the named schools at the time of application and who will still be attending in September 2018 (see note 3)
4. Denominational preference for Voluntary Controlled church schools only. A supplementary information form is also required (see note 4)
5. Medical, health and special access reasons (see note 5)
6. Children of teaching staff (see note 6)
7. Nearness of children’s home and (for Halling Primary School only) ease of access to the school (see note 7)

Please note for children of multiple birth

In the event of a school being oversubscribed where the parent/carer for the final qualifying place(s) available is the parent/carer of twins, triplets or other multiple birth, the Council will give multiple birth applications a higher priority for place than other applications with the exception of children in public care. Parents/carers must tick the appropriate box on the application to indicate the children are of multiple birth.

Tiebreaker

In the unlikely event that two or more children in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the school, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.

Definitions and notes

Looked after children are children who are (i) in the care of a local authority, or (ii) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (as defined in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making the application for a school. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (under the terms of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, Section 46) or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order (under the terms of the Children Act 1989, Section 8 and Section 14A).
Please note that the Council may ask for a copy of the adoption/residence order and proof of the Looked After Child status to validate this criterion.

2. This criterion applies to applications for Year 3 in junior schools only. Where admission links (pairing) have been established between the infant and junior school concerned, children attending the infant school are given a higher priority for admission to the junior school.

3. We give priority to children who have a sibling at the named school. Sibling means children who live as brother/sister in the same house and includes natural siblings, adopted siblings, foster siblings and step siblings. Extended family, for example cousins, living in the same house do not qualify as siblings.

The sibling link also applies across ‘paired’ schools. This means if parents/carers are applying for Year R in the infant school and have an older sibling in the ‘paired’ junior school the sibling link will be considered and also if the parent is applying for Year 3 in the junior school and has a younger sibling in the ‘paired’ infant school the sibling link will apply.

Please note that if the older sibling is in Year 6 at the time of application, the link cannot be considered, as they will not be in the school when the younger child would start in September

4. When a parent/carer applies for a place at a Medway Voluntary Controlled Church of England School on the grounds of denomination, such application must be supported by evidence that either the child or at least one parent/carer is a regular worshipper (the level of attendance should be at least once a month) at a church affiliated to, or represented at “Churches Together in England” or the “Evangelical Alliance” and has been for at least 12 months prior to the application being made.

Parents/carers must ensure that they have also completed the supplementary information form (SIF) for Medway Voluntary Controlled church schools.

The SIF is available from and returnable to any Medway Voluntary Controlled church school (as listed below) and is also available on the council’s website.

The SIF does not constitute an application for the school and parents/carers must complete their home Local Authority application as well (either online or paper). The SIF on its own will not be processed unless there is also a valid application for the school. The SIF must be returned to the relevant school by the closing date for applications.

Medway Voluntary Controlled church schools:

St Helen’s CE Primary School
St Margaret’s at Troy Town CE VC Primary School
St Nicholas CE Infant School

5. Medical, health and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010, as follows:

For children whose mental or physical impairment means that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school, or

For children whose parent/carers mental or physical impairment means that they have a demonstrable and significant need for their child to attend a particular school.

Such claims must be clearly identified on the application and need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a specific connection between the needs of the child or parent/carer and the particular school. All evidence must be sent to the School Services Admissions Team by the closing date for applications.

6. A child can be considered under this criterion where a member of teaching staff has been employed at the school requested for two or more years at the time the application is made.

7. All distances and routes calculated are for the purposes of prioritising the application for admissions only and there is no expectation that a child should use this to walk to school.

Distances and routes calculated will represent the shortest route to school from the child’s home address using roads and paths that are known to the graphical information software (GIS) utilised by School Services Admissions Team.

The start point:

The centre point of the nearest road or footpath known to the GIS system to the seed point of the child’s home (as defined by Ordnance Survey).
This may not always be the postal address road, in circumstances where an alternative road or footpath is actually nearer to the seed point of the property.

The end point:

This will be either a pre-defined point within the school site or the centre point of the road adjacent the school site.
The same end point is used for all distance calculations to the school concerned.

Routes/Footpaths:

The distance calculated is the shortest available route known to the Medway GIS (using the centre point of the streets and other available routes.
Not all footpaths, cut-throughs, shortcuts and new roads are known to the GIS system. Where a route is not known to the GIS system an alternative route will be used.
Where a child’s home is situated on a new road the distance calculation will begin from the nearest available known road plotted in the GIS. New property developments may be subject to this.

Halling Primary School only –

This school will use the ease of access part of this criterion, which means:

places are first offered to children living in Upper Halling (as defined in the hatched area on a map which is available at the school), which includes Ladds Farm, and Clements farm areas.
secondly places are offered to those children living in Halling (as defined in the checkered area on a map which is available at the school) including Formby Cottages to the north and Ladds Lane area to the south.

Any remaining places at Halling Primary School will be offered on nearness of children’s homes to the school.