Admissions

Jarvis Brook School

Admissions Arrangements 2024-2025

Introduction

Jarvis Brook School is an academy within the Tenax Schools Trust, which is the Admissions Authority for the school.

At Jarvis Brook School we know how important it is for you to choose the right school for your child. We welcome visits and we look forward to welcoming you at any time to enable you to see lessons and learning - and experience the atmosphere of our school on a normal day. To book a visit to the school, please contact the school office on 01892 653033 or email office@jarvis-brook.e-sussex.sch.uk and an appointment for a tour with our Headteacher will be booked for you.

School places other than in Reception (Years 1 to 6)

If you are looking for a place other than in the Reception class, please contact the school office on 01892 653033 or email office@jarvis-brook.e-sussex.sch.uk as there are occasionally spaces available in other classes. Where places are not available we will maintain a waiting list which will be rank ordered using the oversubscription criteria below and places offered as they become available.

Admissions number (Years R to 6)

The school has a published admissions number (PAN) of 30. This means that up to 30 children may be admitted into Reception (Year R) each September. There is one class in each year group. Class size for year R will be no more than 30, other than in the specific circumstances set out in the School Admissions Code.

The Local Authority Application

In September in the year before a child starts school, information is available from the Local Authority about admissions procedures and timescales. Our Local Authority is East Sussex County Council. Information for parents is available at https://new.eastsussex.gov.uk/education-learning/schools/admissions

To apply for a place at Jarvis Brook School, all applicants must complete an application form. This can be done online at via https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/education-learning/schools/admissions

Parents must name three schools in order of preference on the online application form which is then returned to the Local Authority (LA). This should be done by mid-January for starting in Year R the following September.

For more information, including deadlines for applications, please visit East Sussex County Council’s Admissions Website at https://new.eastsussex.gov.uk/education-learning/schools/admissions/apply-primary

Please ensure that you return your application and appropriate forms by the mid-January deadline as all applications received after this date are considered late and ranked below other applications.

Families find out which school their child has been successful in securing a place in during April.

If you have any questions or would like support completing the application form, please do not hesitate to contact the school office on 01892 653033 or email office@jarvis-brook.e-sussex.sch.uk

Oversubscription Criteria

These will be used to rank order applications if more than 30 are received, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school. As a result of this the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly.

1. Looked after children and all previously looked after children:

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) at the time of making an application to a school. A previously looked after child means such children who were adopted (or subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after and those children who appear to the admission authority 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 outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.

2. Siblings. Children who, when they start school, have siblings attending the school at the time of admission and who love at the same address within the community area**. A sibling is a full, half or step brother or sister living permanently in the same household, including an adoptive or foster brother or sister.

3. Children who need to attend for compelling medical or social reasons. Such applications should be accompanied by evidence from a doctor or social worker which demonstrate that the needs of the child can only be met by attendance at Jarvis Brook School.

4. Other children living within the community area**.

5. Other children.

** Community areas -

https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/education-learning/schools/admissions/find-my-community-area-primary

Tiebreaker

When deciding between applicants who have equal entitlement under any of the above criteria, priority will be given to those in order of distance from their home to the school measured by a straight line, the nearest being accepted first. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody.

Where only one parent/carer satisfies a criterion, the application will be treated equally with one where the requirement is met by two parents. Late applications are considered after all those applications received by the specified date. 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 a place. Where a tiebreaker/random allocation used, it will be independently supervised.

Deferred entry

Parents of Reception age children have a right to defer entry, or to take the place up part-time, until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age. Compulsory school age is set out in section 8 of the Education Act 1996 and the Education (Start of Compulsory School Age) Order 1998.

A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. Requests for admission outside of the normal age group should be made in writing to the Headteacher as early as possible in the admissions round associated with that child’s date of birth. This will allow the school and admissions authority sufficient time to make a decision before the closing date.

Parents are not expected to provide evidence to support their request to defer their application, however where provided, it must be specific to the child in question. This might include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede the school’s ability to agree to deferral.

Parents are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. This application can be cancelled if the school agrees to accept a deferred application for entry into Year R the following year. Deferred applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with the school’s oversubscription criteria.

Parents must not assume that the decision of one school will transfer with the child to a different school as the decision rests with the individual admission authority.

Waiting lists

Jarvis Brook School operates a waiting list for each year group. Where in any year the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate. Applications will be removed from the waiting list at the end of the academic year. The waiting list will be maintained by the Tenax Schools Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

Appeals

If you have not been offered a place at Jarvis Brook School, the law entitles you to appeal against the decision to an Independent Appeal Panel. This panel is completely independent of the school and Local Authority. Appeals are now being held remotely via video link. The school will make suitable arrangements for any appellants without access to the necessary technology.

If you wish to appeal, please notify the Tenax Schools Trust (which is the Admissions Authority for the school) via enquiries@tenaxschoolstrust.co.uk and further detail.