Primary and secondary schools coordinated admissions scheme 2021

Buckinghamshire Council will operate a co-ordinated scheme for admission that takes into account the different admission rules operated by individual admission authorities for some schools and Academies. The scheme will be an Equal Preference Scheme.

The application process will:

1. Invite the parent to express up to six primary school or academy or six secondary school or academy preferences in rank order of preference.
2. Invite parents to give reasons for each preference
3. Explain that parents will receive no more than one offer of a place
4. Explain that, where such an offer is made, it will be for the highest ranked school or academy possible at which their child is eligible for a place
5. Specify the closing date for applications and where the form should be returned; and,
6. Explain that parents must apply only once via the online portal or on a paper form.

Parents can apply online or, if they are unable to apply online, they can complete an application form. Online applications are the preferred method.

The application process will collect basic data such as:

• name
• address
• date of birth

The process must be used by parents whose children are resident in Buckinghamshire, wishing to express a preference for their child: 

• to be admitted to a school or Academy within the LA area; or 
• to be admitted to a school or Academy within the area of another LA.

The parents’ guide and school directories (including Find My Child a School Place) will also indicate where voluntary aided, Foundation schools, free schools and Academies provide supplementary forms to be completed in order to collect additional information that enables their particular rules to be applied.

Only parents applying for these Buckinghamshire schools may need to complete the supplementary forms, although schools and Academies in other LA areas may provide them.

All completed supplementary forms should be returned to the school, free school or academy concerned.

Where a school or academy receives a supplementary form it will not be regarded as a valid application unless the parent has also completed an application via their home LA and the school is given as one of their preferences.

Under the requirements of the scheme, parents will not be under any obligation to fill in an individual school’s supplementary form. The information collected on the supplementary form must comply with the limitations set out in the current Admissions Code.

Any application forms received by schools direct from parents should be forwarded to the relevant home authority in a timely manner.

The phased admission process is used for primary schools where they have points of entry (Reception and/or Junior transfer) and for secondary schools will be used for the purpose of admitting pupils into the first year of secondary education in the specified year.

For all Buckinghamshire secondary schools and Academies this is admission into Year 7.

Year 10 entry to the UTC is included.

Sixth form admissions are dealt with by schools and Academies separately.

The online portal will close at 3.00 pm (15.00 hours) on 15 January if 15 January is Sunday then the deadline will be at the same time on the next working day.

All written applications should be received by the Admissions Team at County Hall, by 3.00 pm on 15 January, if returning an application form to the child’s primary school, (Buckinghamshire maintained schools only), this must be received by 9.00 am on the Friday before 15 January.

Applications received after the closing date will be late subject to the late applications procedure.

The online portal will close at 3.00 pm (15.00 hours) on 31 October.

All paper applications should be returned to the Admissions and Transport Team at County Hall, by 3.00pm on 31 October or the following working day if 31 October is a Saturday or Sunday.

If returning an application form to the child’s primary school (Buckinghamshire maintained schools only), this must be received by 9.00 am on the last Friday before October half term. Applications received after the closing date will be late subject to the late applications procedure explained below.

As far as is reasonably practicable applications for places in the normal admission round that are received late for a good reason will be accepted provided they are received before:

• 21 November (secondary scheme) or
• 29 January (primary scheme)

Or the next working day, if this falls on a weekend.

Examples of what will be considered as good reason include:

• where a single parent has been ill or has been dealing with the death or serious illness of a close relative
• a family including service personnel or crown servants
• you have recently moved into the area or are returning from abroad

Other circumstances will be considered and each case will be decided on the basis of any independent evidence to support reasons for lateness and on its own merits.

Late preferences will be processed after the timely applications in accordance with the timetable in Schedule 2.

The LA will process all applications which will be treated as confidential information. Voluntary aided, free schools, foundation schools and academies will, however, be provided with a list of relevant details for those pupils for whom they are a preference.

The LA will share information provided on the application on request to assist schools and other public bodies in their task of preventing and detecting fraud.

Within Buckinghamshire, where a voluntary aided, foundation school or academy is listed on the application, the LA will forward the appropriate details to the Governing Body.

The admission authority for each school will then rank all pupils on that list and provide the LA with an ordered list of all pupils explaining which rule each child was deemed to be included on and the order in which places should be allocated under each rule (this list to include only those pupils for whom the LA has received an application).

The admission authority will provide the ranked lists to the LA by the specified date.

All preferences received by the deadline will be considered before any preferences received after this date and the ranking will reflect this.

After all on time preferences have been dealt with, the next stage will be to consider all the late preferences and where possible offer a place at a ranked school.

Finally all Buckinghamshire children whether on time or late where it was not possible to offer a place at a ranked school, will be allocated a school place (subject to paragraph 38 below).