ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR SOMERIES INFANT SCHOOL AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTRE
Parents are keen for their children to attend this school. This is due to the high levels of care that staff give to every pupil. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe.
Ofsted, November 2022
This page sets out the admission arrangements for Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education.
Since Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre is a Foundation School, the Governing Board is responsible for admissions to the school.
The school will comply with all relevant provisions of the Department for Education’s School Admissions Code (2021), the School Admission Appeals Code (2012) and the law on admissions. The school will consult on its admission arrangements as required and/ or necessary.
This page outlines the admission arrangements for Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre for the academic year 2024-2025.
For their child to be admitted to the Reception year at Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre in September 2024, parents or carers must complete Luton Council’s common application form by 15 January 2024. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered in the initial allocation of places except in exceptional circumstances. Where parents or carers have submitted an application form before the closing date but then seek to change their preference after the closing date, this late expression of preference will be treated as a late application. It will not be considered in the initial allocation of places.
Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre operates an equal preference system; applications will be considered according to the set admissions criteria regardless of any indicated preference ranking.
Decision letters will be sent to parents or carers on 17 April 2024 by Luton Council’s Admissions Team on behalf of the school’s Governing Board.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
In accordance with the Education Act 1996, children with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan are required to be admitted to the school named in their statement or education, health and care plan. Thereafter, the priorities listed below apply.
| 1. | A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order [see note 1], including those who appear to Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre to have been in state care [see note 2] outside of England and ceased to be in care as a result of being adopted. 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 (section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). |
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| 2. | Children of staff [see note 3] who are employed by Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre. |
| 3. | Children in the catchment area with a sibling or siblings [see note 4] already attending Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre or Someries Junior School at the proposed date of admission. |
| 4. | Children living in the catchment area of Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre. |
| 5. | Children who live outside the catchment area with siblings at Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre and/ or Someries Junior School who will still be attending Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre and/ or Someries Junior School at the proposed date of admission. |
| 6. | On the shortest distance, measured in a straight line, between the main entrance [see note 5] of the school site and the pupil’s home address [see note 6], with those living closer to the school being accorded higher priority. |
1. An adoption order is an order under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders). A ‘child arrangements order’ is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 as amended by section 14 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardian).
2. A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accompanied by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.
3. Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre regard children of staff as somebody employed to work at the school on a permanent contract for at least 15 hours per week, who meets one of the following criteria at the time of application: (1) has been in post continuously for at least 2 years; or (2) is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage. Children of staff that have given notice of resignation will not be considered under this criterion. For the purpose of satisfying these criteria, a member of staff is defined as a permanent member of the teaching staff or a permanent member of the non-teaching staff. The staff member must be the child’s parent or legal guardian and the child must be living permanently with the member of staff.
4. The terms ‘sibling’ or ‘siblings’ include natural, adopted and step brothers and sisters. It also includes fostered siblings, where foster care has been arranged by children’s social services. Other family relationships will not be considered under this criterion, including cousins.
5. The ‘main entrance’ to the school is the door used to access the school’s main reception.
6. The pupil’s home address is measured from a point at the address identified in the Local Land and Property Gazetteer. A pupil’s home address is where she or he spends the majority of the school week (Monday to Friday, including evenings) with her/ his parents or legal guardian. The address of a childminder or family member who looks after the children before or after school cannot be used. If there is any query on the home address, this will be checked against official documentation.
To allocate places in the normal admissions round for the Reception year, the child’s catchment area will be determined by their home address as of the closing date for applications.
Children who gain a place at a school because their parents or carers have stated a false home address will have their place withdrawn.
Catchment area details can be found here.
ALLOCATION OF PLACES
The admissions criteria will be applied separately and sequentially until all places are filled. Priority is not given within each criterion to children who meet other criteria. If Luton Council is unable to agree a place for all applicants meeting a specific criterion, the distance criterion (criterion six) will be used as a tie-breaker. In the event of (a) two or more children living at the same address point (for example, children resident in a block of flats) or (b) two addresses measuring the same distance from the school, the ultimate tie breaker will be random selection, witnessed by an officer of Luton Council who is independent of the Admissions Team.
MULTIPLE BIRTHS
Twins or children from multiple births will be considered in the same way as all other applicants and the admissions criteria will be applied to each application. In circumstances where one of the siblings has been allocated the last remaining place at the school, the other sibling(s) will also be admitted. This approach will also be applied to all applications made during the academic year (in-year admissions).
This approach will also apply to siblings in the same year group who live together at the same address.
INFANT CLASS SIZE LIMIT
The School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012 states that infant classes (reception, year one and year two) must not contain more than thirty pupils in a class with a single class teacher. Additional children may be admitted under very limited exceptional circumstances, for example, twins or children from multiple births (as above).
DEFERRED ENTRY
Children are admitted into the Reception year in the September prior to the child’s fifth birthday. Parents or carers can choose to defer their child’s entry to school or take up their allocated place on a part-time basis until she or he is of compulsory school age (providing this place is taken up within the same academic year and they are not on roll at another school).
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Children born between: |
can defer their allocated school place until: |
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1 September and 31 December |
January (spring term) |
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1 January and 31 August |
April (summer term) |
Parents or carers wishing to defer their child’s entry to school or request that their child attends school on a part-time basis until they reach compulsory school age must put their request in writing to the Head Teacher, ideally within 21 days of being offered a school place.
ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OUTSIDE THEIR NORMAL AGE GROUP
Parents or carers seeking a place for their child outside of their chronological age group should submit their written case to Luton Council’s Admissions Department. Parents or carers should include information relating to the child’s academic, social and emotional development and whether they have been previously educated outside their normal age group. If the child was born prematurely, parents or carers should include these details in their application. A decision will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and parents or carers will be informed of the reasons for the decision in writing.
Additionally, parents or carers of children who are summer born (those born between 1st April and 31st August) may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group and be admitted to the Reception year for the September following their fifth birthday rather than Year One. Parents or carers will be requested to make their request in writing to Luton Council’s Admissions Department and any such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the best interests of the child concerned. The final decision will be communicated to parents and carers in writing.
WAITING LIST
Once the number of pupils reaches the admission number in each year group, a waiting list if formed. Positions on the waiting list are organised in the order of priority of the school’s admissions criteria. A waiting list for Reception, Year One and Year Two places at Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre will be held as follows:
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‘In-year’ applications received during autumn term |
until the last day of the spring term (as defined by the school’s agreed academic calendar) |
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‘In-year’ applications received during spring term |
until the last day of the summer term (as defined by the school’s agreed academic calendar) |
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‘In-year’ applications received during summer term |
until the last day of the autumn term of the following academic year (as defined by the school’s agreed academic calendar) |
Parents or carers will need to reapply for a place after each of these dates if they wish their child’s name to be carried forward on the waiting list.
Waiting lists are organised in the order of priority of the school’s admissions criteria. It is important to remember that the position of your child on the waiting list may change as other children are added to – or deleted from – the school’s waiting lists.
APPEALS
ADMISSION NUMBER
Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre has a pupil admission number of 60 pupils in its September 2024 reception year intake.
VISITING THE SCHOOL
The school hosts a series of structured school tours for parents and carers applying for a Reception place for their child throughout the Autumn Term of each academic year. These are publicly advertised and can be booked online.
The school does not host additional tours outside of the published dates.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Please use the links below to view full details of our Local Authority's admission arrangements
