Cheam High School

Admissions Policy

Please note that these admission procedures do not apply to applicants with Education, Health and Care Plans. In addition, those students that the school is directed to take by the Local Authority and students admitted to the school under the Fair Access protocol will take precedence over any students on the waiting list.

Admissions For September Entry Year 7

Procedures for September Entry

Cheam High School is part of the Pan London coordinated admissions scheme for secondary admissions. Parents must complete their home Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) available from their Local Authority and return it to their Local Authority by the closing date. Sutton’s CAF is also available online at www.sutton.gov.uk/admissions. If you wish to apply for a place at Cheam High School you must name the school as one of your preferences on the CAF.

Open Evening information and admission criteria are published in the Sutton Admission Information available on-line. The school also produces a prospectus which is available at the Open Evening held in the first half of the Autumn Term or from the school’s website.

Oversubscription

Places for September Year 7 entry to be allocated so that the total number allocated under criteria 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, including any statemented children offered places, is no more than 260 unless further spaces are released as described in criterion 6. Criteria 6 & 7 only applies to September Year 7 entry, and will not apply after the end of December in the year of admission.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school will be allocated a place before other applicants are considered. In this way, the number of places to be offered, as set out below, will be reduced by the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans that have named the school.

The school has 320 places available in Year 7. In the event of over-subscription, the following admission criteria will be applied in the following order:

• To those children designated as looked after children or 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 definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously looked after child is a child who was adopted, or subject to a residence order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after).’
• To those with exceptional circumstances i.e. social welfare reasons or medical grounds which should be supported by written evidence from a doctor, educational social worker or educational welfare officer to demonstrate that Cheam High School is the only secondary school suitable for the student. A letter from your GP will not normally be sufficient medical evidence. It should be noted that all mainstream schools can support children with the more common medical illnesses or stress related symptoms. (Refugees and Asylum Seeking children may be included under this criterion, depending on individual circumstances.)
• To those with siblings^^ attending the School at the time of allocation unless (1) the sibling is in Years 13/14 and expected to leave the School by September or (2) confirmation has been received that siblings will leave the school by September or the date of admission. ^^ (Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner, and in every case, who is living as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday).
• To children of staff currently employed on permanent contract by Cheam High School where one (or more) of the following applies:
  • The member of staff has been employed by Cheam High School on permanent contract for two or more consecutive years before the time of application for a school place
  • The member of staff has been recruited to fill a post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
• To children on the basis of proximity to the school, as the crow flies, of the home where they reside* (measured^ from the highway of the Chatsworth Road entrance) with those living nearer the school being given the higher priority.
• Up to 30 places to be allocated to children who live within 1.6 km (measured^ as the crow flies) from the junction of Ruskin Drive and Morningside Road in Worcester Park with those living nearer Dorchester Primary School, Worcester Park**, being given the higher priority. (**Distance from the school of the home is measured^ from the main highway entrance to Dorchester Primary as the crow flies.) In the event of places remaining unfilled, these will be allocated according to criteria 1 – 5.
• Up to 30 places*** to be allocated with priority given to those who live closest to Nonsuch Primary School, Surrey. (*** In the event of a local primary school joining the Trust, it is intended to consult upon giving this school feeder school status and thus 30 priority admission places as a result) In the event of places remaining unfilled, these will be allocated according to criteria 1 – 5.

Tie-breaker arrangements

Please note that in instances where two or more applicants share priority for a place eg where two children live equidistant from a school and when there is only one place remaining, the rank order will be determined by drawing lots. This will be done in the presence of three from the following list: Headteacher, Clerk to the Governors, Members of the Governing Body Admissions Committee. The three present will sign the results to validate that the process has been used correctly; this will be kept for 2 years from the date of the lot drawing.

Where a parent applies for entry into the same year group for more than one child and it is not possible to offer a place to all of them, the names of the children who were unsuccessful will be added to the waiting list, in accordance with the published admission criteria, in the same way as for other children.

• ^ Distances will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address using the GIS system maintained by Sutton’s School Admissions team.
• * The child’s home address excludes any business, relative’s or childminder’s address, and must be the applicant’s normal place of residence. If there is a genuine equal share custody arrangement between the two parents, the address that will be used will be the address of the parent who is claiming Child Benefit for the child. All distances will be measured by the computerized Geographical Information System maintained by Sutton’s School Admission Team. Any offer of a place under this criterion is conditional on the child being resident at the address provided. The address to be used for the initial allocation of places to Year 7 will be the child’s address at the closing date for application. Changes of address up to the date specified by the Local Authority may be considered if there are exceptional reasons behind the change, such as if a family has just moved to the area, or has returned from abroad. The address to be used for waiting lists, after the initial allocation, will be the child’s current address. Any offer is conditional upon the child living at the appropriate address on the relevant date. Parents have a responsibility to notify the Local Authority of any change of address.

Notification and Acceptance of offers

Notification of offers of places will be sent to parents/carers by the relevant LA on the National offer date. Written acceptance of the offer of a place should be received by the home LA by the closing date, as determined in the offer letter.

Waiting List For Year 7 until the end of December

Unsuccessful applicants to the school may opt to go onto the school’s waiting list. Children will be added to the waiting list automatically (on receipt of the information from the home Local Authority) where Cheam is a higher preference choice than the current school offer held by parents. In the case where Cheam is a lower preference to the school offered, parents will need to specifically request to go on the waiting list by contacting the school. Late applications will be added to the waiting list on receipt of the application information from the home Local Authority.

Waiting lists for Year 7 admission will be kept open until the end of the Autumn Term. Parents wishing to remain on the list after this date must write to Sutton Local Authority by 31 December stating their wish and providing the child’s name, date of birth and the name of their current school. After 31 December, parents whose children are not already on the waiting list but wish them to be so, must apply for mid-term admission through Sutton Local Authority.

Appeals

Parents/Carers have a statutory right of appeal if a place is not offered.

Appeals for September entry must be received by the date published by the school each year, which will also be placed on the school website. Appeals will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline date. An appeals form is available from the school.

Admission to Years 7 – 11 During Academic Year

Cheam High School is part of Sutton’s admissions scheme for Mid-Term admissions. Applications for admission to Year 7 after 1 September and for admission into Years 8 to 11 during the academic year can be made by contacting Sutton Admissions by visiting www.sutton.gov.uk/admissions to enquire about the application process. If you wish to apply for a place at Cheam High School, you must name the school as one of your preferences on the application form. Details of any application listing Cheam High School as a preference will be sent to the school and the applicant, if a place is not available, will be placed on the waiting list according to the Mid-Term Admissions criteria.

Students with Education, Health and Care Plans that name the school will be allocated a place before other applicants are considered.

Waiting Lists

Where there are more applicants than places available, waiting lists will operate for each year group according to the oversubscription criteria 1 – 5 except for Year 7 during the Autumn term (see para 1.3). Criterion 6 and 7 will not apply, save for the Autumn term of Year 7 for those on the Year 7 waiting list (see para 1.3)

Waiting lists will operate without regard to the date the application was received or when a child’s name was added to the waiting list.

Waiting lists will be reviewed at least twice a year for Years 8 - 11. Parents/Carers have a statutory right of appeal if a place is not offered. An appeal form is available from the school.

Admission to the Sixth Form

Candidates for the Sixth Form may be in Year 11 at Cheam High School or following courses at other schools. All candidates, both internal and external, will be invited to discuss course options in the sixth form. For acceptance on to a particular course, candidates would be expected to meet the minimum requirements for the course (see separate prospectus). For some courses, there is a limit on the number of students that can be accepted on them.

Up to 60 places are available for external candidates; more places may be available depending on the uptake of places by internal candidates. Applications may be made by Parents/Carers or by students of sixth form age. Parents/Carers and/or students of sixth form age have a statutory right of appeal if a place is not offered. An appeal form is available from the school.

Internal Candidates

Cheam High School pupils notify the school during Year 11 of their wish to stay on to follow courses in the Sixth Form and fill in the application form.

External Candidates

Applications for places from external candidates are considered on receipt of the completed application form. For acceptance on to a particular course, candidates would be expected to meet the minimum requirements for the course (see separate prospectus), and a report from their previous school indicating predicted grades would be sought to provide information on the suitability of such a course. For some courses, there is a limit on the number of students that can be accepted on them. In these instances, alternative course options that have available places will be offered.

Oversubscription

In the event of over-subscription, the criteria below will apply to those students whose course options can be met i.e. places on chosen courses are available. For those whose intended programme of study can not be met and where the student does not wish to change course choices to those alternatives offered, a place will not be offered.

Sixth Form Admission Criteria For External Applicants

Priority will be given to:-

• Those children designated as looked after children or 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 definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously looked after child is a child who was adopted, or subject to a residence order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after).’
• Students with social welfare reasons or medical grounds supported by written evidence from a doctor, social worker or educational welfare officer.
• Those with siblings (including step/half siblings living at the same address) attending the School at the time of allocation unless (1) the sibling is in Years 13/14 and expected to leave the School by September or (2) confirmation has been received that siblings will leave the school by September or the date of admission.
• Students on the basis of proximity to the school, as the crow flies, of the home where they reside (measured from the highway of the Chatsworth Road entrance) with those living nearer the school being given the higher priority.

Entry to the PEP group additionally requires acceptance by the PEP group admissions panel. Applications must be routed through the LA (see separate prospectus for procedures)

Applications From Children Outside of the Normal Age Group

Children are educated in school with others of their age group. However, parents may request that their child is exceptionally admitted outside their age group. The school will decide whether or not the individual child’s circumstances make this appropriate, taking into account of the child’s individual needs and abilities and considering which year group these needs can best be met. Such requests will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances. The school will respond within 15 working days of any such request assuming that all evidence is provided.

Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parents'/carers’ views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional and whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group. All requests should include recent professional evidence of the child’s circumstances which make education outside the age group necessary. Evidence must be of the individual child’s need

Appeals Against Admission Decisions

Children are educated in school with others of their age group. However, parents/carers may request that their child is exceptionally admitted outside their age group by adding Additional Information on the Mid-term Application form or Transfer to High School application form. If this is omitted then the additional information should be provided direct to the school together with clarification as to the year group requested. Such an application i.e. for outside the normal age group would then be considered for the year group requested, and no other.

The Additional Information should:

• Make clear that the admission request refers to a non-chronological age group, and state the year group that is being requested for admission
• Provide recent professional evidence of the child’s circumstances which make education outside the age group necessary. Evidence must be of the individual child’s need
• Provide any other relevant information e.g. parents’/carers’ views.

Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of information provided and made available that includes: the parents'/carers’ 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 and if so, whether this was from the start of their education in the UK e.g. summer born children deferring entry to Reception.

The school will respond within 15 working days of any such request for either mid-term admission or for year 7 admission post the national Offer Day. For those requests for a Year 7 place received after the Transfer to High School application deadline but prior to offer day, responses will be made prior to the offer day.

The school will decide whether or not the individual child’s circumstances are so exceptional that such a request should be agreed. Otherwise, the request will be declined and the parent can then decide whether they wish to apply for admission to the relevant chronological year group. To do so, they should notify the school and home Local Authority in writing; their application will then be processed in line with this policy.

Appeal Forms and Advice Booklet

Please call Mrs Logan, Admissions Officer on 020 8644 5790 or email admissions@cheam.sutton.sch.uk to request these documents.