Determined policy from September 2023
Primary admissions policy 2023/2024
Community and voluntary controlled primary schools
Below are the determined allocation/over subscription criteria for 2023/2024 and thereafter for Boundary Primary School; Kincraig Primary School and Children’s Centre; Layton Primary School; Stanley Primary School; Bispham Endowed C of E Primary School and Moor Park Primary School.
When setting the Published Admission Number, the local authority has due regard to the available space within the school as defined by the school's net capacity. Where a school is oversubscribed, the local authority's determined admission arrangements must specify how it will determine the allocation of places.
Oversubscription criteria
Each school’s Published Admission Number (PAN) determines the number of available places.
Where there are more preferences for a particular school than there are places available, the council uses its oversubscription criteria to objectively determine which children should be offered a place at that particular school.
In the event of the admission number being reached within any one of the oversubscription criteria in the order listed below, the distance criteria will be used as a ‘tie breaker’. In the event of equal distance measures, a random allocation will be used to determine who takes priority for an available place.
Children with an education, health and care plan (formerly a statement of special educational needs)
When a child has an education, health and care plan that names a particular school, all admission authorities are required by Schedule 27, Section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to admit the child. Schools and academies must admit these children whether they have available places or not.
The over subscription criteria will be applied in the following order:
1) Looked after children
Blackpool Council gives the highest priority to Looked After Children (LAC), as required by the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Education (Admission of LAC) (England) Regulations 2006.
A looked after child is a child who is in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by that Authority, as defined in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989, at the time of application and allocation.
Under legislation, children who leave public care through adoption, a residence order or special guardianship order, will continue to be given the same priority although they are no longer looked after by the state.
Also children who were previously in state care outside of England and have ceased to be in state care as they have been adopted. These are children who were looked after outside of England by a public authority, a religious group or another provider of care whose sole purposed is to benefit society. Parents and carers will be expected to provide evidence of previous looked after status.
2) Medical/Social/Welfare reasons
Children for whom the council accepts that there are exceptional medical social or welfare reasons associated with the child and/or family which are directly relevant to the school concerned.
Only exceptional reasons which are directly relevant to a particular school will be considered. If you feel that there are exceptional medical, social or welfare reasons associated with your child and/or family which support admission to a particular school you must indicate that this is the case on your application.
All applications will be considered but supporting professional evidence will be required to demonstrate exceptional or compelling reasons why only a specific school can cater for a particular child’s needs. This must set out the reasons and the level of risk to the child or family and why the school in question is the only suitable school; plus any difficulties which would arise if the child had to attend an alternative school.
It should be noted that all schools can make provision for special educational needs, and can also manage common conditions e.g. asthma, epilepsy, diabetes.
Only exceptional reasons directly relevant to a particular school will be considered. Priority will be given to the child for the preferred school only if the submitted evidence unequivocally proves the circumstances and demonstrates why any alternative schools would be unsuitable.
3) Siblings
Priority will be given to brothers and sisters of children already attending the school at the time of application and allocation (the national statutory offer date).
This includes full brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters, step brothers and sisters and adopted and foster brothers and sisters who are living within the same family at the same address.
Full brothers and sisters who do not live at the same address will still be given priority as siblings. Half, step, adopted and foster brothers and sisters who do not live at the same address will not be classed as siblings.
4) Distance
Blackpool Council determines the distance from the applicant’s home address to the school with the nearest to a preferred school having priority for a place.
The distance between the applicant’s home and school is taken as a straight line between the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) address point of the applicant’s home address and of the school. The LLPG is a point within the boundary of the property and is usually located at its centre. Distances are measured using the council’s geographic information system.
If the local authority is unable to determine eligibility on distance, i.e. two or more addresses are equal distance from the school; a random allocation will be carried out. In the event of a random allocation, someone independent of the children’s services department and of the school would supervise the process, and parents/carers would be invited to attend.
Determined admissions policy 2023-2024
Blackpool Council admissions policy 2023 to 2024
Voluntary aided schools and academies
These schools are their own admission authorities and set their own admission policies. These schools are their own admission authorities and set their own admission policies. Individual admission arrangements are published on the school or academy's website.
Schools must consult on any proposed changes for a minimum of 6 consecutive weeks within the consultation period of 1 October 2022 to 31 January 2023. Admission authorities must take account of any responses received to their proposed policies when determining their final admission arrangements.
Blackpool has a co-ordinated admissions scheme which applies to families seeking school places for September 2023.
The scheme makes applying for a school place more transparent for all parties involved in the admission process. As co-ordination is a legal requirement, all Blackpool schools are included within the arrangements.
The aim of the co-ordinated scheme is to provide all parents with an offer of a single school place on the same day.
Co-ordinated admission scheme for Blackpool schools and academies 2023 to 2024
Admissions policies are in line with the school admissions code and the school admissions appeal code:
Blackpool Gateway Academy - reduced published admission number from September 2023
Fylde Coast Multi Academy Trust and Blackpool Council have a local agreement that the published admission number for Gateway Academy will be 30 for September 2023 intakes.
Roseacre Primary Academy - consultation on a reduced published admission number from September 2024
The current PAN for Roseacre Academy is 90, which means that the academy admit no more than 90 children into reception each year. Recent admissions have fluctuated and have been below PAN in some year groups.Forecasts from Blackpool Council show that the birth rate for future years is reducing.As a result, Achievement through Collaboration Trust (ATC) and Roseacre Primary Academy are seeking to consult and reduce the PAN from 90 to 60.
This reduction in PAN will not affect the ethos, values and success of Roseacre Primary Academy. Reducing the PAN will assist the school and the Trust to provide stability in its long-term planning and allow the school to continue to secure high quality education for the pupils currently on roll, whilst continuing to provide an appropriate number of places for future pupils in line with local demand.
There are ten primary schools within Blackpool’s south planning area. They offer 560 places each September for reception age children. On 26th September 2022, there were 494 reception age children on roll at the ten schools. This leaves 66 available reception places in the area. The number of unfilled spaces is set to grow year on year. Current forecasts from those responsible for school places planning are for a total of 129 fewer reception children across the area by 2031-32.ATC will continue to review local demand and if there is increased demand for places in the future will review the PAN in liaison with Blackpool Council.
The proposal means that the number of places available for children in Reception in 2024, and all subsequent reception cohorts will be 60. This change will have no effect on children already attending Roseacre Primary Academy.
Factors considered by ATC, in consultation with the Local Academy Council and Blackpool Council Admissions Team, are; the continued ability of Roseacre Primary Academy to provide places for local children; overall availability of primary places in the Blackpool south planning area; the provision of the most appropriate learning environment for all pupils, thus facilitating continuing school improvement; future resource planning and management.
To respond to this consultation that will run from 31 October 2022 to 10 December 2022, we invite you to submit comments in writing about the proposal either by
Email – consultation@atctrust.org.uk
Post – Jane Chambers Achievement Through Collaboration, Unit 13A, Bee Hive Business Centre, LionsDrive, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 2QS
Following the consultation period, ATC, in consultation with Blackpool Council will consider any comments received and how to proceed. Admission arrangements for September 2024 will be determined by 28 February 2023.
St Nicholas C of E Primary School - consultation of admission arrangements for 2024
All admission authorities must consult on their admission arrangements when changes are proposed; they must also consult at least once every 7 years even if there have been no changes to their arrangements. The school is not proposing any changes to their admission arrangements for 2024 but it is 7 years since the last time they consulted.
The proposed admission arrangements for 2024 can be found on the school's website. The consultation period runs from 19th October to 18th December 2022. Any comments or feedback should be emailed to head@st-nicholas.blackpool.sch.uk.
Highfield Leadership Academy - consultation on admission arrangements for 2024
Star Academies Trust are consulting on their schools’ proposed admission arrangements for the 2024-25 school year. The proposed changes will apply to children starting Year 7 in September 2024 and any other applications submitted during that academic year.
You can find out more on Highfield Leadership Academy’s website. The consultation is open for six weeks and you must submit your views by 20 January 2023 to admissions@staracademies.org