Co-op Academy Swinton (the academy) is part of The Co-op Academies Trust (the Trust). The Trust is the admissions authority for the Academy, and is therefore responsible for ensuring that these arrangements are compliant with the Admissions Code 2021.

This document aims to provide information on how to apply for a place at the academy, how places are allocated, and how to appeal against a decision not to offer your child a place.

This document is based on the following documents from the Department for Education:

→ School Admissions Code 2021

→ School Admission Appeals Code

As an academy, the school is required by its funding agreement to comply with these codes, and with the law relating to admissions as set out in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Consultation

These arrangements were consulted on between 17th December 2021 and 31st January 2022. During this consultation, we asked for feedback from governors, parents, staff, the local authority, neighbouring local authorities and other key stakeholders.

In-line with the requirements set out in the Admissions Code, unless any changes are made in the interim, these arrangements will next be consulted on in December 2028.

Education, Health and Care Plan

All children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) names the school must be admitted. These children will be admitted ahead of any oversubscription criteria being applied.

How to Apply for a Place

The next section of the document is separated into the following sections:

Year 7 Admissions
In-year Admissions

Year 7 Admissions

General Information

Our Published Admissions Number (PAN) is 215.

This means that we admit 215 children into year 7 each year.

Application Forms

Our academy is part of Salford City Council coordinated admissions process, and as such, allocation of places for year 7 is completed by them according to the criteria set out below.

All parents/carers are required to apply to their home Local Authority (LA) regardless of where the academy they are applying for is situated.

For example Salford residents will apply to Salford City Council, whilst Manchester residents will apply to Manchester City Council. The LA will liaise with other Admissions Authorities in Manchester and other LAs where required. The home local authority will inform parents/carers in writing of the outcome of their application on 1st March or the next working day.

Information on how to apply can be found here:

Salford City Council

Manchester City Council

If you live in another area find your local council here

All children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names our academy will automatically be given a place before any other applications are considered.

Late Admissions

If you apply after the national closing date (usually early November each year), we cannot guarantee to consider your preferences at the same time as those received on time. For applications submitted or changed after the national closing date, we will follow any dates set by the home local authority in their coordination scheme.

Oversubscription

If we receive more applications than the PAN, places will be allocated according to the following criteria:

Looked after Children and all previously Looked after Children.

This includes children who have ceased to be looked after because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order. (Parents/carers of previously looked after children will need to provide a photocopy of the relevant order with the application form).

A looked after child is a child who is in the care of a local authority in England, or is being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England in the exercise of their social services functions.

Children adopted from outside of England.

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.

A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. Parents/carers of children adopted from outside of England will need to provide a photocopy of the relevant order or proof of the child’s adoption from care direct to the local authority with the application form.

Children in Need as defined by the Children Act (1989).

E.g. those who are unlikely to achieve or maintain or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of health or development or a child/children whose health or development would be further impaired without the provision of services by the Local Authority. Applications under this criterion would need to be supported by an appropriate professional stating that attendance at the Co-op Academy Swinton is essential.

In Salford, children who would be eligible for this criterion are those who are at level 3 and have ongoing social worker involvement, and all at level 4 on the ‘Thresholds of needs and response in Salford’. For children resident in other local authorities, contact will be made with the child’s social worker to confirm that the child’s level of need falls within these boundaries of the Salford thresholds. The Co-op Academy Swinton must have confirmation of an applicant’s level of need from an appropriate professional before they will be considered under this criterion.

Brother or sister in attendance at the school at the date when the pupil is to be admitted (Year 7-10 only; Year 11 pupils will only be considered for in-year applications).

This includes stepchildren and foster children living with the same family at the same address. Other children may be considered under the sibling criterion provided proof is available to demonstrate that the children are permanently resident at the same address and part of the same family unit. (The Co-op Academy Swinton accepts that in some family units the children may not be natural brothers and/or sisters).

Children living nearest to the school.

The distance will be measured in a straight line using LLPG (Local Land and Property Gazetteer) information to measure the distance between the address point (including flats) of the child’s home address and the centre of the Co-op Academy Swinton in miles. Those children whose home address is closest to the Co-op Academy Swinton will be those who get priority for places.

Tie Breaker

In any category, if multiple children meet the same priority but there are not enough places left for all of them, the places will be allocated based on distance from our school. For example, if there are 4 places remaining at our school and 5 children all live in the priority catchment area, the 4 priority catchment children living closest to the school will be allocated those places.

The distance will be measured in a straight line using LLPG (Local Land and Property Gazetteer) information to measure the distance between the address point of the child’s home address and the centre of the school in miles. Those children whose home address is closest to the school will be those who get priority for places.

In the event of a tie, where two or more pupils’ home address is the same distance (including flats) from the preferred school and only one place is available, random allocation will be used as described below.

Where random allocation is used, this will be carried out by an independent person. Eligible names will be placed in a hat. The required number of names to fill the remaining places will be drawn from the hat and the remaining places will be offered to those applicants.

This process for random allocation also applies to the waiting list where two or more pupils are eligible for one vacancy and live the same distance from the preferred school.

We will not draw lots for twins or other multiple birth siblings from the same family. Where they are tied for the final place we will admit them all, exceeding the Published Admissions Number for our school.

Waiting List

A waiting list for year 7 children is maintained by Salford local authority as part of their co-ordinated admissions process. If your child is not offered a place in year 7 at our academy, you can ask Salford LA to add your child’s name to our waiting list. Your child’s name will remain on the waiting list until:

You are offered a place at a higher preference school,
You are offered a place at our academy,
The waiting list closes (usually on 31st December).

After the 31st December, you may re-apply for an in-year admission place - please see below. If no spaces are available at the time of application, you will be added to the in-year admissions waiting list for the appropriate year group.

Please note:

Your child’s place on our waiting list is decided by the oversubscription criteria listed above.
Each time a child is added or removed, the waiting list is ranked again and your child can move down if another child meets higher criteria.
Looked after children, previously looked after children and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol take priority over those on a waiting list.

In-Year Admissions

Application Process

You can apply for a place in any year group at any time. This might happen because you are moving to the area and your child has already started school elsewhere, or because you feel our academy would be a better fit for your child.

You can contact us to find out if we have spaces in specific year groups before you apply. If we don’t have space in the requested year group, you can still apply. If you apply for a place and there are currently no places available, your child’s name will automatically be added to the waiting list. Your child’s name will be kept on the waiting list until the end of the academic year.

To make an ‘in-year’ application for years 7 -11, you should complete an ‘in-year’ application form online via Salford Local Authority (you can do this here). You can apply for a place at multiple schools at the same time. Your application will be sent to all schools you have applied to at the same time.

The local authority will contact us directly regarding your application, and we will contact you in writing within 15 days to let you know the outcome of your application. Our Academy Governing Council is responsible for making decisions regarding in-year admissions.

Children with an EHCP that names our academy will be given a place regardless of whether the year group has spaces or whether there is a waiting list.

In-Year Waiting List

The academy and its governors may decide to admit above the stated PAN in any year group, as long as the admittance of additional children does not prejudice the education of those children already in the academy, and as long as those admitted are done so in accordance with the oversubscription criteria shown in these admissions arrangements.

A waiting list for each year group is maintained by the academy in-line with the oversubscription criteria outlined above. If your child is not offered a place at our academy, your child’s name will automatically be added to our waiting list. Your child’s name will remain on the waiting list until

You are offered a place at our academy,
The waiting list closes (end of summer term),
You request, in writing, to be removed from the waiting list.

After the end of the academic year, you may re-apply for an in-year admission place for the following year. If no spaces are available at the time of application, you will be added to the in-year admissions waiting list for the appropriate year group.

You will automatically be added to our in-year waiting list if you make an in-year application.
Your child’s place on our waiting list is decided by the oversubscription criteria listed above.
Each time a child is added or removed, the waiting list is ranked again and your child can move down if another child meets higher criteria.
Looked after children, previously looked after children and those allocated a place at the school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol take priority over those on a waiting list.

Further Information

Which address to use

When you apply you must use the child's permanent address, where they usually live with their parent(s) or carer(s). You must not use any other address on your application.

Using the address of a childminder, a relative or renting a property for a short period of time in order to secure a school place is considered as a fraudulent application. We will investigate all queries about addresses and could change the school place offer.

If we find out that an intentionally misleading or false address has been given to get a school place, the school place may be withdrawn even if the child has already started at the school.

Only one address can be used on your application for a school place, and this should be the address where the child lives for the majority of the week. In cases of equal shared care, both parents must agree which address will be used on the application.

Admission of Children Outside Their Normal Age Group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.

We will make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social, and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. Our headteacher’s views will also be considered in this decision making process.

If you wish to make an application for your child in these circumstances, please contact the school and arrange a meeting with the headteacher to discuss this further. Following this meeting we will encourage you to apply for a place via the normal application process (via your home local authority) and we will work closely with them to carefully consider your application. Your application, regardless of whether your child is offered a place in their chronological year group or another year group, will be offered based on the criteria used for all applications (e.g. our oversubscription criteria).

Parents/Carers have a statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which they have applied. This right does not apply if they are offered a place at the school, but it is not in their preferred age group.

Making an Appeal

If your child’s application for a place at the school is unsuccessful, you will be informed why admission was refused and given information about the process for hearing appeals. Salford City Council operates an appeals process for Co-op Academy Swinton, full details of which are available here.

You can find details of the school’s appeals timetable on our website.

Challenging behaviour

We will not refuse to admit a child on behavioural grounds in the normal admissions round or at any point in the normal year of entry. We may refuse admission in certain cases where the specific criteria listed in the School Admissions Code (paragraph 3.8) apply, i.e. where section 87 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 is engaged.

We may refuse admission for an in-year applicant for a year group that isn’t the normal point of entry, only in such a case that we have good reason to believe that the child may display challenging behaviour that may adversely affect the provision we can offer. In this case, we will refer these pupils to the Fair Access Protocol. We will not refuse admission on these grounds to looked-after children, previously looked after children and children with EHC plans listing the school.

Fair Access Protocol

All schools have an active role in admitting pupils under the Fair Access Protocol. The protocol operates outside the boundaries of the Admissions policy. It is a statutory requirement. The aim is to make sure the most vulnerable children are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible, and that no school, including those with places, is asked to take a disproportionate number of vulnerable children.

More information can be found here.