Admissions

Starting Year Three

MOVING TO YEAR 3 / STARTING AT WILLESBOROUGH JUNIOR SCHOOL

At the end of the children’s third year with Willesborough Infant School (Year Two), the majority of children move on to Willesborough Junior School. Willesborough Infant and Willesborough Junior Schools officially federated on the 15th January 2019 to form The Willesborough Schools.

Our transition programme throughout May, June and July offers the following;

Year Three Welcome Sessions for parents and children
Informal learning walks for parents and children
Learning Cafés, incorporating parent and child workshops and class visits for children
A joint Parent/Teacher meeting with your child’s current year two teacher and new year three teacher.
Team teaching experiences where year two children are taught core lessons by their current year two teachers and new year three teachers together.

We work in partnership with you throughout your child’s learning journey and transition process.

The Year Three Admissions process in managed by Kent County Council. Entry to Willesborough Junior School is still not automatic; an application will need to be made via the on-line process available at www.kent.gov.uk/ola, using the on-line Junior Common Application Form (JCAF).

The on-line application process opens from the November before your child is due to move on.

Children from any school are eligible to apply for a place at Willesborough Junior School by using the JCAF.

Places will be allocated using the subscription criteria below:

Children in Local Authority Care– a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act. This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the local authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989).
Current Attendance at the Linked School – Willesborough Infant School. Current Family Association – a brother or sister who will be in Willesborough Infant or Junior School at the time of entry. In this context, brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step-brother or sister or foster brother or sister.
Health and Special Access Reasons– medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally, this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical, or other practitioner, who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.
Nearness of children’s homes to school- we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, as provided by Kent County Council. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody.

SEN - Before the application of over-subscription criteria, children with a statement of special educational need (SSEN) or Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names the school will be admitted. As a result of this, the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly.

The staff and governors of The Willesborough Schools work together to ensure the best possible outcomes in the continued learning journey of our children.

After you get your school offer:

You will then need to inform the school in writing as to whether you will accept the place or not.

At this point, you will also need to come to school with proof of address as to the only or main residence of you and your child.

To provide evidence showing that you are resident at the address given please supply one of the documents:

Utility bill
Bank statement
Credit Card statement
Council Tax Bill
Recent payslip showing address

To provide evidence of your child’s main address as given on your child’s application form, please supply one of the following documents:

Child Benefit letter
Child Tax or Working Tax Credit letter that gives you child’s name and address
Child’s medical card
Child’s Hospital/GP or clinic appointment letter
Statement of savings account in the child’s name

To provide evidence of your child’s date of birth please supply your child’s original birth certificate.

Admissions Policy

By clicking on the link below you will be taken directly to the Kent County Council website where you can find out more about how to apply for a school place.

www.kent.gov.uk/education_and_learning

Appealing for a Year 3 Space

If your child is due to start year three in September 2024, you can appeal if you are refused a place at one of your preferred schools on National Offer Day (Tuesday, 16 April 2024). You need to submit your appeal before Tuesday 14 May 2024 for it to be considered by Tuesday 16^th July 2024. Any appeals received after this time will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline, or where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

In Year Admissions

Admission for children already attending a Junior/Primary School - Determined Admissions Arrangements 2023/2024

From time to time, we are able to admit children into different year groups at different times if places become available.

Please contact the school office to enquire whether a place is available for your child by emailing admissions.1@willesborough-js.kent.sch.uk

By clicking on the link below you will be taken directly to the Kent County Council website where you can find out more about how to apply for a school place.

Application Process

If you contact the school office, they will be able to arrange a time for you to come and visit our school. On your visit, one of our Assistant Headteachers, Andrea Cooper or Felicity Eastwood, will take you around our school and will be able to answer any questions that you may have.

If you are a parent wishing to apply for a place for your child at our school, you will need to complete the In Year Casusal Admission Form from this link or by collecting a paper copy from the school office. Please send the completed form back to our Admissions Officer on admissions.1@willesborough-js.kent.sch.uk or send it via the post or in person to our school office. You will need to fill in a separate form for each child.

You will hear from us within ten (school) days. If we are unable to offer a place, you can request your child’s name be added to our waiting list. You have the right to appeal against the refusal of a place.

In the event of over-subscription for in year admissions or at the start of a school year, the Governors will allocate places to children according to the following criteria:

Children in Local Authority Care– a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who is the subject of a care order under Part IV of the Act. This applies equally to children who immediately after being looked after by the local authority became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. (As defined by Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or Section 8 or 14A of the Children Act 1989).
Current attendance at Willesborough Infant School orWillesborough Junior School. Current Family Association – a brother or sister who will be in Willesborough Junior School or Willesborough Infant School at the time of entry. In this context, brother or sister means children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step-brother or sister or foster brother or sister.
Health and Special Access Reasons– medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally, this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical, or other practitioner, who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school.
Nearness of children’s homes to school- we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, as provided by Kent County Council. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody.

Notes:

In the event of over-subscription for in year admissions or at the start of a school year, the Governors will allocate places to children according to the criteria stated above.

Where the school has two identical applications that cannot otherwise be separated using the admissions criteria, the application received first by date will be ranked highest.

Published Admissions Number for year of entry (Year 3) is 120.

The school's Waiting List will be re-ranked, in line with the published over-subscription criteria, every time a child is added to the list.

Requesting admission outside of the normal age group - We work in partnership with Willesborough Infant school and we do not routinely consider admitting children outside of their normal age.

To request admission outside of the normal age group, you should contact the Executive Headteacher as early as possible during the application period for the child's date of birth. You are not expected to provide evidence to support your request to defer your application, but 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, but failure to provide it may impede any decisions made.

Moving on to Secondary Education

To ensure the best possible outcomes for your child as they move on to their secondary education we work closely with the schools we feed. Some of these include: The North, Towers, Highworth, The Norton Knatchbull School, Brockhill, Homewood, Wye School, John Wallis Academy etc. There are several opportunities for year six children and their families to experience and find out about secondary school transition.

School to school transition activities include:

Visits to year six classes by secondary teachers
Our school’s Secondary Timetable week
Secondary taster days

For entry into Year 7 for September 2024, you need to complete apply online by Tuesday 31^st October 2024. Please apply using the following link…

Applying for a Secondary School Place