Admissions Policy 2026/2027

Policy Statement

The purpose of this policy is to make clear the admissions process to John Cabot Academy

The Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) adheres to the statutory requirements and the principles outlined in the School Admissions Code [DfE, 2021], which all academies are required to adhere to via the Funding Agreement between John Cabot Academy and the Secretary of State

The CLF has agreed that the admission arrangements will remain in line with the agreed arrangements for South Gloucestershire maintained non-denominational secondary and primary schools.

More information about the CLF can be found on the website as follows: https://clf.uk/

The policy covering admissions for Post 16 students is not contained in this Please visit the Cabot Learning Federation Post 16 website to view the Post 16 Admissions Policy: http://www.clfpost16.org/

The Admissions Timetable

Consultation

The Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) sets out admission arrangements annually. Where changes are proposed to admission arrangements, the federation will first publicly consult on those arrangements. If no changes are made to admission arrangements, the Academy admissions policy will be consulted on at least once every 7 years.

For admission arrangements for entry in September 2025 and all subsequent years, consultation will be for a minimum of 6 weeks and will take place between 1 October and 31 January of the school year before those arrangements are to apply. An illustration of these timeframes is contained in Table 1 below.

As their own admission authority, CLF academies are not required to consult on their Published Admission Number (PAN) where they propose either to increase or keep the same PAN; however where a PAN is increased the Academy will notify the LA and publish details on the Academy website.

When consultation is required, the CLF will consult the following parties on the proposed admission arrangements:

1. Parents/carers of children between the ages of 2 – 18;
2. South Gloucestershire LA;
3. The Admission Forum for South Gloucestershire LA (where this exists);
4. Any other admission authorities for primary and secondary schools located within the relevant area for consultation set by South Gloucestershire LA;
5. Any other governing body/Academy Council for primary and secondary schools (as far as not falling within paragraph c)) located within the relevant area for consultation;
6. Affected admission authorities in neighbouring local authority

Determination

Once feedback from the consultation has been considered the CLF must determine the admission arrangements and must notify the Local Authority (LA) of these and publish them on the relevant Academy website.

Offers and Acceptance of Offers

Offers are made and need to be accepted by the dates set out at Table 1

Table 1 Admissions Timetable

*National Offer Day is on the date specified or the next working day where the specified date is a weekend or bank holiday.

Process of Application

Applications for places at the Academy will be made in accordance with South Gloucestershire Authority’s co-ordinated admission arrangements, and will be made on the Common Application Form (CAF) provided and administered by the Local Authority. The CAF can be found by visiting https://www.southglos.gov/education-and-learning/schools-and-education/school-admissions/ Alternatively, parents/carers can contact the Academy who will provide them with a copy of the form.

Published Admissions Number

John Cabot Academy has a PAN of 180 places in Year 7 leading to a total number of 900 places across years 7-11 when at full capacity

The policy covering admissions for Post 16 students is not contained in this document. Please visit the Cabot Learning Federation Post 16 website to view the Post 16 Admissions Policy: http://www.clfpost16.org/

Consideration of Applications

The LA will consider all application for Where fewer than 180 applications are received, the LA will offer places to all those who have applied.

Students with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities

Children with an EHC Plan are placed in schools/academies through the arrangements set out in the SEND Code of Practice and not through these admission criteria. All admission authorities are required by Section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to admit to the academy a child with an EHC Plan that names the academy. Academies must admit such children whether they have places or not. Any appeal concerning the statement of the admission is to the independent First-Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber). Parents/carers of children with an EHC Plan should contact their child’s lead professional for any further information.

Oversubscription Criteria

Where the number of applications for admissions is greater than the Published Admission Number (PAN), applications will be considered against the criteria set out below. These are listed in priority order and will be applied to all applications received by the published closing date. Notes/definitions to the oversubscription criteria are set out in Annex A.

Children in care or children who were previously in care (see Annex A)

• To a Local Authority in England and immediately after being in care who became subject to an adoption, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order.
• 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.

Previously looked after children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order).

1. Local Siblings:
   • Where more applications are received from siblings than the remaining places, those living closest to the academy will be given priority (see Annex A)
2. 3a) Geographical considerations – those living closest to the Academy (see Annex A)
3. Tie breaker – where it is not possible to distinguish between applicants within a particular oversubscription criteria, places will be awarded by random This process will be supervised by an independent person to the Local Authority and the Academy.

Late Admissions

Late applications will not be considered until offers have been made to on time applicants and in accordance with the dates set out in the South Gloucestershire Admission Scheme.

In Year Admissions

Applications for Academy places from parents/carers resident in, or with a confirmed move to the local area must made on the Academy application form available from the following website johncabotacademy@clf.uk of the Academy. The Academy will consider each application at the time it is made. Parents/carers whose application is turned down are entitled to appeal.

Waiting List

Where the Academy has been oversubscribed in the normal admissions round and places have been refused to some applicants, a waiting list will be maintained for any vacancies which subsequently occur in the Academy.

The waiting list will be prioritised according to the admission criteria and not by reference to the date of joining the waiting list.

Any waiting list will be maintained and reviewed on a regular basis.

Admissions of children outside their normal chronological year group (delayed or accelerated entry)

Applications for delayed or accelerated entry in cases where parents would like their child to be admitted to a year group that is not the chronological age year group, will be considered. The admissions authority for the school will make the final decision.

Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. This will include taking account:

• 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;
• whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born

The admissions authority must also take into account the views of the head teacher

Parents will need to write to the school to request that their child starts a year later or earlier than their chronological Parents will need to give reasons for the request and details of the child’s particular needs. Any reports or evidence to support your request should also be enclosed.

Where the admission authority agrees to a parent’s request for their child to be admitted out of their normal age group the parent must apply according to the timescales of the agreed admission cohort. The application will be processed as part of the main admissions round (including applying the oversubscription criteria where applicable), unless the parental request is made too late for this to be possible. Parents have a statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which they have applied and been This right does not apply if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.

Feeder Schools

The CLF does not operate a feeder primary academy policy for admissions to a secondary academy and therefore attendance at a federation primary academy does not guarantee a place at a particular federation secondary academy. The exception to this King’s Oak Academy which is an all-through provision.

Appeals

When an offer of a place is not made, the reasons for the decision will be set out, together with details of how the parent/carer can lodge an appeal against the decision by the deadline for doing so. The Academy must establish an independent appeals panel to hear the appeal. The panel will decide whether to uphold or dismiss the appeal. Where a panel upholds the appeal the Academy is required to admit the child.

The arrangements for appeals will be in line with the Code of Practice on School Admission

Parents will normally have 20 school days after notification of a place not being offered to lodge an appeal.

Parents/carers wishing to appeal against an admission refusal should send a completed appeal form to the address detailed on the offer letter. Other documents may be submitted in support of an appeal and should be lodged not less than 5 school days before the appeal

Parents/carers will be given 10 school days’ notice of the appeal hearing, unless they agree to a shorter period of notice.

The decision of the Appeal Panel will be communicated in writing as soon as possible after the hearing has been concluded and within 5 school In the case of unsuccessful appeals the Appeal Panel will give the parents/carers their reasons for not upholding the appeal.

Annex A Notes/definitions to the oversubscription criteria [South Gloucestershire]

1. Children in public care* are those who are in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (as defined in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. In South Gloucestershire, these children are referred to as children in public care.

• Children previously in public care* are those who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted¹ (or became subject to a residence order² or special guardianship order³), 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

• Documentation will need to be provided to South Gloucestershire Council as proof of care
  • Under the terms of the Adoption Act 1976 and the Adoption and Children’s Act
  • Under the terms of the Children Act 1989 and Children and Families Act
  • Section 14A of the Children Act

2. Local siblings: Children are defined as local siblings if:
   • they are full or half brother or sister; or
   • they are adoptive brother or sister; or
   • they are children of the same household

AND

• the older sibling is already in attendance at the preferred school and will be in attendance in September 2024 (statutory school age only). This includes siblings who attended JCA in years 7- 11 and are in year 12 in the CLF Post-16. It does not include siblings of CLF Post 16 students who did not attend JCA in years 7 – 11.

3. Geographical considerations: Priority will be given to applications from within the defined area who live closest to the preferred Distances from home to school are measured in a straight line between the address point of the child’s home and a central point within the main school building using the local authority’s computerised mapping system.

Home address – Where a child regularly lives at more than one address the Local Authority will have to reach a conclusion about which should be counted as the main address when allocating places, taking relevant evidence into account. Normally this will be the address where the child is registered with a medical GP. Where parents or carers are living separately and do not agree on the child’s home address, they are urged to reach an agreement. If this does not happen evidence may be required by providing court documents or other legally binding documentation such a sworn affidavit confirming where the child resides for the majority of the school week. Where satisfactory evidence cannot be provided the Local Authority will determine the address be used for allocating a school place.

4. Tie breaker: Where it does not prove possible to resolve allocations to an over-subscribed school by the application of criteria 1-3, any remaining places will be awarded by random allocation. This process will be supervised by an independent person to the Local Authority and the academy.