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Phoenix Infant Academy

Pupils' Admissions Arrangements


Our school is an Academy and it determines the admission arrangements in agreement with the local authority (LA). The Admissions Authority for our school is Slough LA, which publishes its entry regulations every year. Parents and carers can receive a copy of these regulations directly from the LA.

The LA's annual admissions prospectus informs parents and carers how to apply for a place at the school of their choice.

Parents and careers have a right to express their preference, but this does not, in itself, guarantee a place at that particular school. 

Applications must have been made direct to the Local Authority by 15th January 2024 at the latest.

Admission into Phoenix Infant Academy is allocated in accordance with, and by, Slough Borough Council who can be contacted in the following ways:

-Tuesday and Thursday Visits to My Council (Landmark  Place, High St., Slough) 12-5.30pm
-Wednesday and Friday By telephoning 01753 875728 from 10.00am-5.30pm
Email admissionshelpline@slough.gov.uk

Families will hear back from the Local authority on 17th April 2024

Please read the below sections (click on the heading and the text will appear below) for further information on our admissions policy, of which a copy can be found at the foot of this page for you to download should you wish. 

Introduction 

Phoenix Infant Academy is an Academy and the Thames Learning Trust is the admissions authority. The Board of Trustees has determined to operate admissions on the same basis as that used by the Local Authority.

Phoenix Infant Academy operates within an equal preference scheme and welcomes all children.

The planned admission number for 2024/25 and 2025/26 is 90.

Our Board of Trustees applies the regulations on admissions fairly and equally to all those who wish to attend this school. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 introduced a new framework for school admissions as of September 2000. This was later revised in the Education Act of 2002. Our admissions policy conforms to the regulations that are set out in that Act and are further explained in the statutory School Admissions Code of Practice and the statutory Appeals Code of Practice. These were revised in January 2003 and came into force in September 2004 which was revised in February 2012.

aims and objectives 

We seek to be an inclusive school, welcoming children from all backgrounds and abilities. All applications will be treated on merit, and in a sensitive manner.

The only restriction we place on entry is the number of spaces available. If the number of children applying for entry exceeds the places available, we adopt the procedure set out below to determine whether a child is to be accepted or not. It is our wish for parents and carers to find a place for their child at the school of their choice. However, this is not always possible, due to excess demand on the places available.

We treat applications for children coming from overseas in accordance with European Union law or Home Office rules for non-European Economic Area nationals.

application procedures 

Our school is an Academy and it determines the admission arrangements in agreement with the local authority (LA). The Admissions Authority for our school is the LA, which publishes its entry regulations every year. Parents and carers can receive a copy of these regulations directly from the LA.

The LA's annual admissions prospectus informs parents and carers how to apply for a place at the school of their choice.

Parents and careers have a right to express their preference, but this does not, in itself, guarantee a place at that particular school. Application should be made on a form that can be obtained from the local Education Department's admission team, and should be returned by the date stipulated on that form. The school will notify parents and carers of the decision as soon as all the applications have been considered.

In this area, children enter school at the start of the academic year in which they become five. There is one admission date per year, early September (i.e. when the autumn term begins.) Therefore, parents and carers who would like their child to be admitted to this school during the year their child is five should ensure that they return the necessary application form by the fixed end of year by the Local Authority.

Applications must be made using the Common Application Form which will be made available by the Local Authority’s School Admissions Team. Applications can also be made online via the Local Authority’s website www.slough.gov.uk/admissions

Applications must be made direct to the Local Authority

no later than 15th January 2023.

All places will be offered by the Local Authority’s School Admissions Team on behalf of the Governing Body, within the primary admissions operational in the Local Authority’s area on 17th April 2023.

You must apply to the authority where you live. If you are unsure, for example if you live near council boundaries, it is whichever Local Authority you pay your council tax to. You can apply for a primary school in any area, but you must apply to your home authority. If you live outside the local area, please contact your home authority to request an application.

infant class size 

The Education (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1973) as amended by SI 2006/3409 prescribed that infant classes must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single qualified teacher. (The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012 – introduces certain exceptions relating to children of multiple births and children of UK service personnel).

Admission outside of year group 

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

In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1.  (The term summer born children relates to all children born from 1 April to 31 August. These children reach compulsory school age on 31 August following their fifth birthday (or on their fifth birthday if it falls on 31 August). It is likely that most requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group will come from parents of children born in the later summer months or those born prematurely.

Oversubscription Criteria 

If your child has an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names Phoenix Infant Academy, then our school must give your child a place. In the event of the school being oversubscribed the Board of Trustee's criterion gives priority to the following children:

Looked After or previously looked after children

Prerequisite of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Education (Admission of Looked After Children) (England) Regulations 2006.

A looked after child is a child who is

(a) In the care of a local authority, or

(b) Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

In the case of previously looked after children, Slough admission authority may request a copy of the adoption order, residence order or special guardianship order and a letter from the local authority that last looked after the child confirming that he or she was looked after immediately prior to that order being made.

Medical Conditions

Priority will be given when a child or their parent/carer has a serious medical condition. Supporting evidence will be required and this must set out the particular reasons and the level of risk to the child or family’s health as to why this school is the most suitable and only school and the difficulties that would arise if the child had to attend an alternative school.

If you are applying onā€line you must send the supporting document(s) to the School Admissions Team with your child’s name and date of birth clearly stated.

Social or welfare reasons for admission

Where there are exceptional sensitive individual and compelling family circumstances, which are directly relevant to Phoenix Infant Academy these may also be considered at the time of application.

Requests for consideration within this criterion will require appropriate professional reports e.g. from a social worker, police officer or educational psychologist.

The report must demonstrate exact reasons and the impact on the child or family’s circumstances as to why this is the only suitable school compared to other schools available. Only exceptional reasons directly relevant to this school will be considered.

The higher priority of social or welfare reason will be given to the child for the preferred school only if the submitted report unequivocally proves the circumstances and why an alternative school is unsuitable.

If supporting evidence is not provided, it will not be possible to consider the application under the social and welfare criterion.

All information which is submitted will be considered as being confidential.

Siblings

Priority is given to children who have siblings attending Phoenix Infant Academy at the time of application and who will be attending at the time of admission. This includes full brothers and sisters who may not live at the same address. Stepchildren or foster children who live at the same address are also classed as siblings.

You must give full details of all siblings in the application.

Distance

The address you state on your application must be the current one at the time of application. If your address changes after you have submitted your application, you should notify the School Admissions Team immediately.

Distances are measured using the Council’s Geographic Information System.

If the Local Authority is unable to determine eligibility on distance, i.e. two or more addresses are equal distance from the school; a random allocation will be carried out.    In the event of a random allocation, someone independent of the Children’s Services Department and of the school would supervise the process, and parents would be invited to attend.

NB. The shortest safe walking route continues to be a consideration for assisted transport purposes.

Where there are more preferences than there are places available, the Board of Trustees employs its oversubscription criteria to objectively determine which children should be offered a place at Phoenix Infant Academy.

In the event of the admission number being reached within any one of the oversubscription criteria in the order listed, the distance criteria will be used as a ‘tie breaker’.

Children of UK service personnel (uk armed forces)

For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to their area, or crown servants returning from overseas to live in that area, admission authorities must:

a) Allocate a place in advance of the family arriving in the area provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address.

b) When considering the application against our oversubscription criteria. We accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for a service child. We will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area, or reserve blocks of places for these children;

c) We whole-heartedly support the Government’s commitment to removing disadvantage for service children.

Late Applications 

Applications received after the published closing date will be treated as late applications.

Only in exceptional circumstances, and where appropriate evidence is provided, will those applications received after the closing date (but before offers of places have been made) be considered concurrently with those applications received on time.

The circumstances which might justify a late application include, but are not restricted to, the illness of a single parent/carer which might have reasonably impinged upon their ability to submit an application on time or where a family has just moved into the area.

Fraudulent Applications 

If it is found that a child has been allocated a place due to misleading information having been provided, for example an incorrect address, then the offer of a place may be withdrawn and the offer of an alternative school will be made by the Local Authority.

Waiting Lists 

Waiting lists will be set up in the week following the letters being sent to parents. As places become available, the child highest on the waiting list will be offered the place. This is not dependent on whether an appeal has been submitted.

The School Admissions Team will maintain the waiting list until the end of the Autumn Term.

How to appeal 

All appeals will be coordinated by the Democratic Services Section of Slough Borough Council on 01753 875317. For further information on:

  • Appeal Arrangements
  • How to submit an appeal
  • Who sits on an appeal panel
  • Who attends the appeal
  • What will happen at the appeal
  • How the decision is made

Please refer to the Admissions Policies below for further information.