In-Year Admissions and School Transfers

2022 – 2023

Wokingham Borough Council

What you need to know before applying 2

Wokingham Borough Secondary Schools 5

How to apply for a school place 8

How applications are processed 15

What happens after you apply? 20

Fair Access 22

School Place Appeals 23

Home to School Transport 25

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 What you need to know before applying

In-Year applications are for if your child is moving into an existing year group, for example changing
schools because of a house move or moving from one primary school into another primary school

We do not encourage moving from one local school to another school mid-year because research
shows it can have a negative effect on a child’s progress. Consider whether it is necessary to move
schools and speak to your child’s current school before completing an application. If your child has
already started their exam courses, it is unlikely that another school will be able to match your child’s
options or exam boards, which may affect their final grades.

➢ You may make an In Year application at any time of year as there are no closing dates for this
type of application.
➢ You do not need to be a Wokingham resident to complete this type of application form.
However, if you are applying for a school in another county, please contact their school
admissions team for neighboring local authority contact details.
➢ Some schools process their own applications. Check whether the school is “managing own in
years” on page 10 of this guide. If it is, you should contact the school directly to enquire about
a place for your child.
➢ Please note we do not process applications for post-16 students (sixth-form, college or training)
rather you should contact the school or college directly for further information.
➢ Applications will be processed no more than half a term in advance of date place requested.
➢ All In-Year applications will receive an outcome within 10-15 school days. If the application is to
be referred to the In Year Fair Access process, then an outcome of that process may take a
further 20 school days
➢ The offer of a place in a Wokingham borough school must normally be taken up within the
declared half-term. Failure to take up the offer of a place during this time will mean that the
offer is withdrawn, and the place released. Exceptions can only be made where the parent
provides documentary evidence that the delay is unavoidable, through no fault of their own, or
in the case, of Crown Service, service families or looked-after children.

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 What you need to know before applying

You can list (in order of preference) up to four schools on your application. Many schools are regularly
oversubscribed, and there is no guarantee of a place at your catchment, nearest or preferred school,
so it is important to think carefully about the schools you are applying for.

Places are offered based on the Over-subscription Criteria; however, we are unable to guarantee a
place at a closest/ catchment school for all applicants. Some of our regularly oversubscribed schools
are in built up areas of the borough and therefore cannot accommodate all children within their
catchment.

If you apply for a school which is not your nearest school you will be responsible for organising and
paying for your child’s travel to and from school for the time that they remain at the school, even if
your circumstances change. There is also no guarantee of a place for any siblings you later wish to
attend this school and no guarantee of a place at a linked (receiver) school, so your child may not
transfer with other children in their year group

If you believe you live in a particular school catchment area you may wish to check whether you
have more than 1 catchment school, or what schools are achievable from your address historically.
It is important to make realistic school preferences (such as including your catchment school)
because priority for a place is given to those who have named the school as a preference on their
application form. If we cannot allocate your child a place at any preferred schools, a place will be
offered at the closest school with spaces, at the end of the allocation process. This could mean
travelling a considerable distance if all your local schools are full.

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 What you need to know before applying

Read the school’s oversubscription policy:

This policy explains how places are allocated when there are more applications for a particular school
than places available (this is known as oversubscription). You can find links to the full policies on our
website.

Look at the school performance tables:

This information includes details of levels of achievement and attendance. You can search for
information relating to a particular school on the Department for Education’s website:

www.compare-schoolperformance.service.gov.uk Look at the school’s website and prospectus:

These should tell you about the school’s aims and objectives, curriculum (subjects studied), policies
and out of school activities available. If you do not have internet access, contact the school to
request a copy.

Visit the school:

Schools hold open days/evenings so that you can look around the school and meet the staff (dates
can usually be found on the school’s website). If you would like to visit but are unable to go to an
open day/evening, contact the school to arrange a tour with a member of staff.

Read the school’s OFSTED report:

The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspect schools. You can view their most recent
inspection reports online at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports. Please be mindful that some Ofsted reports
may be old, out of date, or not an accurate representation of what a school can offer your child.

To find out what the school has put in place or for an opportunity to get to know the school, we
recommend visiting the school.

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 What you need to know before applying

If your child has an education, health and care plan the school application and placement process
will be dealt with through the special educational needs’ disability team.

Parents can contact the special educational needs disability team on 0118 974 6216 or Email
sen@wokingham.gov.uk

It is not possible for a parent to apply for a place at a special school, within a specialist resource
center or learning center through this application process.

The Local Offer website gives further information regarding the local provision for children and young
people with a disability or special educational needs. More information can be found on; Education
and special educational needs - Wokingham Borough Council

This is sometimes called “Designated Area”. In essence, it is a geographical area from which children
live. They are given priority for admission to a particular school. School catchment areas are used by
most schools in their admission policy as one of their oversubscription criteria.

Click here to check your catchment school - please be aware that this is for guidance only. For
confirmation of your catchment school, contact the school admissions team for Wokingham Borough
Schools, or the schools directly for all Non-Maintained Schools, for example Academy Schools.

Most schools have catchment area children as a high criterion. Children living within a school’s
catchment area are ranked as a high priority for a place. There is, however, no guarantee of an offer
of a place at your catchment school as it may be full or oversubscribed in your child’s year group.

IMPORTANT

If you do not name your nearest school as one of your preferences on your application form, you are
likely to be responsible for organising and paying for your child’s school transport. Please note that
your nearest school may not be a Wokingham school.

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 What you need to know before applying

Each school has an agreed maximum total

number of pupils for each of its year groups.
This number is based on building space
Some schools may consider to initially

availability or (for some first/primary schools)
on legal class size limits and has been agreed
by the school’s governing body.
As a parent you may see that more children
join a school which takes it over its PAN. This is
often however, due to circumstances
outside the control of the school, and is often
due to there being successful appeals or if
the Local Authority needs to activate the Fair
allocate above their admission number
based on historical trends relating to the
number of declines usually received
following National Offer Day. In this
circumstance the school will generally not
allocate any additional places until numbers
have fallen below the agreed admission
number.
The Local Authority seeks to maintain a

Access Protocol. viable school system across the Borough.

Whilst the Council remains supportive of

A school cannot just decide to admit over meeting individual parental preference
where this is reasonable, it also has a much
its PAN. Schools must consider the physical
wider remit of ensuring that no school can
capacity of the school within current class
expand at the expense of another (reducing
sizes/structure and overall net capacity, in
parental choice), that in-year admissions do
order to accommodate any additional
not impair future access to a school for
pupils. The school needs to consider whether particular children or communities, and that
it would require any additional resources to
the ability to effectively manage localised
meet pupil need. The admission of the fluctuations in demand is maintained.
additional pupil/s may also require additional
funding and could have an adverse financial
impact on the school, which all needs to be
considered. It is for these reasons, amongst
others that schools only admit over PAN in
exceptional circumstances and where it will
not negatively impact the school.

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 Wokingham Borough Schools
Choosing which school your child goes to is
a big decision. There are LOTS of things to
consider. Just to make it that bit more
complicated, some of that decision may be
literally taken out of your hands depending
on catchment areas, or the number of
applications already received by a school.
Identify priorities for you and your child –
there is no perfect school and the best school
for one child is not the best school for
another. Be clear on what you MUST have
and what you WOULD LIKE to have. It is
important to remember that expressing a
preference is not the same as choosing
which school your child will attend –
Wokingham schools are very popular, and
many receive more applications than there
are places available. The admissions process
set out in this guide explains how decisions on
offers of places will be reached.
Our schools have tremendous facilities,
exceptional teaching and dedicated staff -
and you can be confident that, wherever
your child goes to school in Wokingham, they
will enjoy an exceptionally high standard of
education.
Look at what schools might best suit your
child’s personality, strengths, needs and
interests. Every school has a different
environment and feel, and the most
important aspect to consider is whether you
feel your child will be happy at a particular
school.
When choosing the right school for your
child, you should consider the likelihood of
you obtaining a place at your nearest
school. Our schools are popular so it is likely
that your nearest school may be full.
When choosing which schools to apply for,
parents should consider how their child will
access that school, as there is no guarantee
that your child will be eligible for home to
school travel assistance. If there is a school
with places available which could meet the
needs of your child and is closer to your home
than the school or schools listed in your
application and/or which offer your child a
place, the placement will be classed as
parental Preference, and you are unlikely to
qualify for travel assistance.
For further information please see the
Transport Section
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 Wokingham Borough Schools
Schools have different bodies that make
decisions about a school's policy and
admitting pupils, depending on the type of
school that they are. The responsible body is
known as the 'admissions authority'.
There are 10 Secondary Schools, 46 primary
schools and 9 junior schools within the
Wokingham Borough. The Admission Authority
for each school is responsible for setting its
admission arrangements and deciding which
children are given priority for a place, in
accordance with the published admission
criteria.
Community and Maintained School
Put simply, maintained schools are those that
are funded and controlled by the local
education authority.
There are different types of maintained
schools.
Community schools are owned and funded
entirely by the LA. The LA owns the land and
buildings, funds the school, employs the staff,
controls school admissions and supplies
services such as special educational needs
(SEN) support and educational psychology.
Voluntary controlled (VC) schools are partly
controlled by a charity – typically a church or
another religious institution. The LA funds the
school, employs the staff and provides support
services, and usually controls the admissions
process. The charity owns the land and
buildings and appoints some of the governors.
Voluntary aided (VA) schools are usually
known as church or faith schools. They are
similar to VC schools but have more
independence from the LA. The land and
buildings belong to a charity, but the
governing body runs the school, employs the
staff and controls admissions. Funding comes
partly from the LA and partly from the charity.
Academy Schools (Non – Maintained Schools)
Academies receive funding directly from the
government and are usually run by an
academy trust. They have more control over
how they do things than community schools,
who are guided by the local authority.
Academies are inspected by Ofsted. They
have to follow the same rules on admissions,
special educational needs and exclusions as
other state schools and students sit the same
exams. Academies set their own admissions
policies and term times.
Click here to jump to important information
relating to all Schools, including their over
subscription criteria. Click on the school logo to
be taken to the school website.
For notes relating to the over-subscription
criteria and for information about what
evidence is required to process your
application, please see the full copy of the
schools Admissions Policy on the school’s
website.
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 Wokingham Borough Schools

You will need to apply for Grammar Schools through your local authority’s common application form
(see Secondary school admissions process). Depending on the grammar school, it may be
necessary to complete and return a supplementary application form as well and return it directly to
the school itself. There are currently six grammar schools in Berkshire, with four based in Slough. There
are three Grammar Schools in Reading: Kendrick Grammar School. Reading Grammar School.
Reading Girls’ Grammar School.

If you’re looking for a place at a private school (also called ‘independent schools’), contact the
school directly. All school reports are published online by the organisation responsible for inspecting
them. Find out from the school which organisation inspects them. Half of all independent schools
are inspected by Ofsted. The Independent Schools Inspectorate inspects schools that are members
of the associations that form the Independent Schools Council. Some other schools are inspected
by the School Inspection Service. Each independent school sets its own admissions procedure and
there is no standard model in applying to a UK Private School. All independent schools will require
you to complete a registration form if you wish your child to be considered for entry and pay a non-
refundable fee, generally in the range of £100 to £300. If you accept a place at an Independent
School, please ensure you inform Wokingham Admissions

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 How to apply for a school place mid-year

Please be aware that most schools in the Wokingham Borough are full, and there are very limited
places available in years 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Admission is also not guaranteed at any preferred
schools. If we are unable to offer a listed preference a school will be offered at the closest school
with available space. This will be at the catchment school if it has available space or the closest
school with available space.

For all school places required from the beginning of September 2022 onwards (autumn term), you
will need to make an in-year application. The schools you would like to apply to will depend on
whether you will need to apply via Wokingham Borough Council School Admissions or directly to
the school themselves.

Many schools are regularly oversubscribed, and there is no guarantee of a place at your
catchment, nearest or preferred school, so it is important to think carefully about the schools you
are applying for.

If a school doesn't have enough places for everyone who applies, the admission rules for that school
will be used to decide who will get a place (over subscription policy). Go to the admission
arrangements 2022 to 2023 page to find out more, or additional information can be found in our
parents’ guide for primary schools and our primary guide for secondary schools.

Applications should be submitted after reviewing the relevant admission guide. Guides are
available on our website

Applications should only be submitted if you can provide the required supporting evidence.

Use our Schools designated areas map to find out which designated or 'catchment' area you live
in or to find the designated area of a particular school. You will need to type in your address, or the
name of the school, then click on the search button.

For more information regarding applying for a school place, read the Local coordinated in-year
admissions

Where possible, the School Admissions team will try and allocate siblings the same school, but this
cannot be guaranteed.

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 How to apply for a school place mid-year

If you want to apply to one of the Primary/Infant/Junior schools below, then you will need to make
an in-year application to Wokingham Borough Council Online.
Aldryngton Primary School Highwood Primary School St Nicholas CofE Primary
All Saints Hillside Primary School St Paul's CofE Junior School
Bearwood Primary School Keep Hatch St Sebastian's CofE Primary
Beechwood Primary School Lambs Lane Primary School The Colleton Primary School
Crazies Hill Primary School Loddon Primary School The Coombes
Emmbrook Infant School Polehampton Infant The Hawthorns
Emmbrook Junior School Polehampton Junior Walter Infant School
Farley Hill Primary School Radstock Primary School Willow Bank Infant School
Finchampstead Primary Rivermead Primary School Willow Bank Junior School
School Robert Piggott CofE Infant Windmill
Floreat Montague Park Robert Piggott CofE Junior Winnersh Primary School
Gorse Ride Infants School Shinfield St Mary’s Junior Wheatfield Primary School
Gorse Ride Junior School Sonning Primary School Whiteknights Primary School
Grazeley Parochial South Lake Primary School Woodley CofE Primary School
Hawkedon Primary School St Dominic Savio Catholic

If you want to apply to one of the Secondary schools below, then you will need to make an in-year
application to Wokingham Borough Council Online

The Bulmershe School

Maiden Erlegh
The Holt

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 How to apply for a school place mid-year

Some schools will want applications direct, and these schools are as follows;
Secondary Schools
The following schools administer their own in year admissions. Refer to the school's website to apply
for a place at the school or to view the school’s admission arrangements:
➢ The Emmbrook School admissions ➢ St Crispins School admissions website
➢ Bohunt School admissions website ➢ The Piggott School admissions website
➢ Forest School admissions website ➢ Waingels Secondary school website
➢ Oakbank Secondary School admissions

Primary, infant and junior schools

The following schools administer their own in year admissions. Please refer to the school's website to
apply for a place at the school or to view the school’s admission arrangements:
➢ Alder Grove Primary School admissions ➢ Oaklands Junior School admissions
➢ Charvil Piggott Primary School admissions ➢ Shinfield Infant/Nursery School admissions
➢ Earley St Peter's Primary school admissions ➢ St Teresa's Catholic Academy admissions
➢ Hatch Ride Primary School admissions ➢ Wescott Infant School admissions
➢ Nine Mile Ride Primary School admissions ➢ Westende Junior School admissions
➢ Oaklands Infant School admissions

However, it makes sense to include them in any application to the Local Authority as we will support you
in applying to the school if we know you are interested in a place there.
If we are aware of any child without a school place, we will make our Education Welfare Service aware,
and they may contact you directly.

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 How to apply for a school place mid-year

On the Wokingham Borough Council admissions application form, you can name up to FOUR schools you
are prepared to consider for your child, in order of preference. Make sure that your first preference is the
school you most want for your child, as this is the one, we will try to offer you where possible. You must not
name independent (private) schools on your application. Instead, you should apply directly to these
schools.

Siblings: If you believe your child is eligible for sibling priority at one of your preferred schools, you must
include the sibling's details on your application. If you don't, your child may be given lower priority for a
place at the school. Include stepbrothers, stepsisters or fostered or adopted children living at the same
address as your child because they will be considered as brothers and sisters too.

Reasons for your preference: It is important that you tell us anything that could affect our decision, for
example if there are specific social or medical reasons why your child must go to a particular school, you
must send us a letter from your child’s pediatrician/consultant or relevant professional from Children’s
Services, as appropriate. This letter would need to explain why the school named is the only school to
meet your child’s needs and why no other school could provide the appropriate support.

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 How to apply for a school place

Only fill in this section if your child is in public care (also known as a ‘looked after child’) or was previously
looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (in accordance with the Adoption and
Children Act 2002) or became subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order (in
accordance with the Children Act 1989).

Looked after children are those who are in the care of a Local Authority or are being provided with
accommodation by a local authority in England in the exercise of their social services functions.

Previously looked after children are those who immediately after being in care (as defined above)
became subject to an adoption order, child arrangements order or special guardianship order. They are
also those 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.

Applications for looked after children must be completed by the designated social worker.

If you are making an application for a previously looked after child, who immediately after being in care
became subject to an adoption order, child arrangements order or special guardianship order, you will
need to attach to your application one of the following pieces of evidence:

➢ Special guardianship order – This order appoints one or more individuals to be a child's special
guardian(s). Refer to Section 14A of the Children Act 1989.
➢ Child arrangements order – This order settles the arrangements of the person the child is to live
with. Refer to Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and
Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order
in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
➢ Adoption order – Refer to Section 46 of the Adoption and Children act 2002 or Section 12 of the
1976 Adoption Act.

If you are making an application for a previously looked after child who was in state care outside of
England and ceased to be so as a result of being adopted, you will need to include with your application,
evidence of the following:

➢ that your child has been adopted and;

➢ that your child was previously in state care outside of England (in the care of or accommodated
by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main
purpose is to benefit society) immediately before being adopted.

Evidence must be sent to the Admissions Team as priority cannot be given without it. The applicant should
note, that by applying under Criterion A they understand that Wokingham Borough council School
Admissions Team may obtain additional confirmation of the child's 'Looked After'/'Previously Looked After'
status, either via the Local Authority where the child was taken into , or the residential authorities’
duty/triage/social care department

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 How to apply for a school place

You can request priority for a place at your preferred school if your child or a family member living at
the same address has an exceptional medical and/or social need that makes attendance at a
particular school essential

'Medical need' does not include mild medical conditions, such as asthma or allergies. 'Social need' does
not include a parent’s wish that a child attends the school because of a child's aptitude or because
their friends attend the school or because of routine child-minding arrangements.

You MUST tick the appropriate box on the application form to show that you wish your application to be
considered on medical and/or social grounds.

Submit supporting evidence from a professional, such as a doctor and/or consultant for medical need
or a social worker, health visitor, housing officer, the police or probation officer for social need. The
supporting evidence must confirm the child or family’s medical and/or social need and set out why that
need makes it essential that your child attends the named school rather than any other.

Send your evidence to the Admissions Team. All information submitted will be regarded as confidential.

Your child or family member’s exceptional medical and/or social need cannot be considered if you do
not tick the appropriate box on the application form and submit supporting documentation.

Providing evidence does not guarantee priority at the preferred school. Decisions will be made based
on the merits of each case and whether the evidence demonstrates that a placement should be made
at a particular school above any other.

The application should be made by the parent who the child normally lives with and who has parental
responsibility for the child (this means legal responsibility for making decisions about the child’s welfare,
education and so on). Please include a daytime contact phone number.

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 How to apply for a school place

If you are looking after someone else’s child, this could be a private fostering arrangement and the
Local Authority need to be notified.

Private fostering is an arrangement made by the child or young person’s parent or guardian and not
the Local Authority.

Private fostering is when a child or young person under the age of 16 (18 if the young person has a
disability) is looked after for 28 days or more by someone who is not a close relative, guardian,
grandparent, uncle, auntie, brother, sister and step-relatives.

The Council has a duty to assess and monitor arrangements to make sure the child is safe, and their
needs are being met. There is a legal obligation that you and /or the parent notify the Local Authority
of this arrangement

You must sign the declaration to confirm that you have parental responsibility and that the information
you have given is accurate. For online applications, you must confirm that the information you have
provided is correct. Where separated parents have shared responsibility, only one application must be
made and both parents must agree on which schools to apply for and from which address.

We are required to make sure that applications are genuine. If your child moves into the home of a
friend or relative during the process, or you provide an alternative address as a deliberate device to
improve your child’s priority for a school place, or other details are provided on the application form
which prove to be untrue – this may be considered a misleading application. If we have allocated a
place and discover that the information is false, we may withdraw the school place offer for the child,
even if the child has already started at the school.

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How applications are processed

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 How applications are processed

If you need to change the schools you have applied for or the order in which you have listed
them, please email schooladmissions@wokingham.gov.uk

Where the parent has made the same preferences of school and, through the normal operation
of the admission arrangements, the last available place has been allocated to one twin or child
from a multiple birth, the other twin or children from the multiple birth will be offered a place at
the school. In such circumstances, both the PAN and the infant class size limit would be
exceeded. The other sibling(s) would remain as exceptions to the Infant Class Size Legislation for
the time they are in an infant class or until the number in the year group falls back to the PAN

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 How applications are processed

Applications are processed based on the child’s single permanent home address living with
parent(s) or a carer/legal guardian at the closing date for applications. An address will not be
accepted where the child was resident other than with a parent or carer unless this was part of
a private fostering or formal care arrangement.

Checks will be made to determine whether an address declared on the application form is that
of a second home with the main home being elsewhere. Some residential arrangements will be
considered temporary arrangements. The Council will consider the available evidence to
determine if, on the balance of probability, the declared home address is the child’s permanent
home.

Where the applicant, or their partner or spouse reasonably considered to be living with them as
a single-family unit own another property, have previously lived in it, and chose not to live in it
(including where a home is rented out to a third party) the owned property will ordinarily be
considered the permanent home.

Special circumstances that might lead to the declared address being considered as a
permanent home despite another home being owned or otherwise available for occupation will
need to be declared at the point of application by parents. Without being exhaustive these
might include:

• An owned property being a considerable distance from the preferred school, indicating
that the family had permanently relocated to the new home, or
• That the owned property is uninhabitable and cannot reasonably be made habitable in
the period leading up to admission to the school or
• That the owned property is in the process of being sold and the family live permanently in
the declared property or
• That following divorce or separation the family home cannot be occupied by the applicant
or otherwise treated as the child’s permanent home

Where the declared address is rented, and the applicant has no claim on any other property the
declared address may be considered a temporary address if there is evidence the applicant
has chosen to rent the property solely for the period necessary for a child to be admitted to a
particular school.

Applicants should note that should any evidence arise after a child has been offered a place or
admitted to a school that indicates that the declared home was not a permanent home, the
place may be withdrawn, even when a child has started school.

Reference to council tax records will be made to determine a single address for consideration of
a place under criteria C or D. It is for the applicant to satisfy the local authority or own admission
authority that they live at the address stated.

After allocation, if an applicant moves from the property, they have used in their application to
another property which is within or nearer to the designated area of the preferred school; the
address of the property they originally owned and declared on application will be the address

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 How applications are processed

used for determining their designated area, until sufficient evidence has been received for the
new address.

Applicants will be asked to declare that the address used is expected to be their place of
residence beyond the date of the pupil starting school. Applicants are required to advise of any
change of circumstance at any time prior to the child starting school. If you do not declare such
arrangements, or a different address is used on the application where the child does not usually
live; it will be considered that a false declaration has been made and it may be decided to
decline to offer a place at a particular school, or to withdraw the offer of a place. In deciding
whether a place was allocated based on a misleading or fraudulent application, an admissions
panel will consider any supporting evidence, giving reasons why the move was necessary prior
to the child starting school.

It is important to declare if there is to be a change of address prior to the child starting school. If
the applicant already own a property which is in the process of being sold, we can accept the
address of the new property only on submission of the appropriate evidence in support e.g.,
exchange of contracts letter on both the new property and, where possible, disposal of their
current property.

We use the Capita ONE system to calculate the distance from your child’s home (the start point)
to the school (the end point). This system calculates the distance in miles to three decimal
places.

Please note that you cannot compare distances produced on the local authority’s Capita ONE
system to those calculated using any personal or online geographical information system
software you may have access to such as satellite navigations system or Google maps.

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 How applications are processed

Where you use an address in an application, we may request further proof from you that your
child is ordinarily resident at the stated address. We will request to see both entry and exit proof
when we query your address.

Buying a new home

➢ A solicitor’s letter confirming exchange of contracts

➢ If purchasing a new build, in addition to the above, provide evidence that the family will
be living there before the child’s expected start date, for example, a letter from the
developer confirming a build completion date. Documents evidencing the ownership
or purchase of a plot of land will not be accepted.
➢ A copy of the applicants updated driving license, proof of registration at the local
Drs/Dental surgery; Letters addressed to the applicant at this address; utility bills; banks
statements (financial details redacted), etc. Please note supplying only utility bills is not
sufficient, as maintaining a house is not proof of occupation.

Renting a property

➢ Signed tenancy agreement, usually for a period of 12 months or more (the period of the
tenancy must extend beyond the date of the child’s admission)
➢ A copy of the applicants updated driving license, proof of registration at the local
Drs/Dental surgery; Letters addressed to the applicant at this address; utility bills; banks
statements (financial details redacted), etc. Please note supplying only utility bills is not
sufficient, as maintaining a house is not proof of occupation.

Returning to owned property

➢ Evidence of ownership of the property, i.e., the current financial year’s council tax letter
or recent utility bills (gas, water, electric)
➢ Date of intended move and evidence that the property is available to move into, for
example, a signed tenancy agreement showing the end date of the tenancy
➢ A copy of the applicants updated driving license, proof of registration at the local
Drs/Dental surgery; Letters addressed to the applicant at this address; utility bills; banks
statements (financial details redacted), etc. Please note supplying only utility bills is not
sufficient, as maintaining a house is not proof of occupation.

If you are a member of the armed forces and are subject to a posting or marching out order,
please provide a copy of this order.

Places can only be allocated once proof of residence has been provided.

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 What happens after you have applied

Once an in-year application is submitted to us, the schools we manage in-year admissions for
work to the following timescales:
✓ Up to 10 working school days for us to respond to the application and check where
capacity is available once all the required information has been provided, such as
passports or visas
✓ The school will confirm the start date with you
✓ In complex cases another 10 working school days may be required if the case needs to
be taken to the Fair Access Panel to source a place for your child.
✓ The panel makes sure children who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year,
are allocated a school place as quickly as possible, minimising the time your child is out of
school.
✓ If a child is placed via the panel route, then the child should be offered a start date within
seven school working days
✓ All applications will be processed as quickly as possible, but we need this time to work with
schools to ensure there’s enough space, equipment and staff to welcome new children
into the classes.
✓ If you are applying for your child to attend school in years 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9, your application
may need to be processed via Fair Access due to a lack of school places in these year
groups. You will be notified if your case is going to fair access.

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 What happens after you have applied

The offer letter will inform parents that they are required to accept or decline the place
offered within 14 days from the date of the letter. Failure to accept the place offered will
result in one further written reminder and failure to respond within the required timescale will
result in the offer being withdrawn.

Any offer of a school place will be made to start during the current half-term or during the
next half-term. Failure to start within this timescale will result in the offer of a school place
being withdrawn.

The letter of offer will specifically request parents to advise the School Admissions Team if the
place is not being accepted for any reason. If the child is living in the Wokingham borough
and the parent is not accepting the offered place, they should advise what alternative
arrangement has been made for the child.

The Admissions Team will advise you of the outcome of any further school applications you
make in May 2023. It is strongly recommended that you secure and accept a place at one of
the schools that still have availability

Your child’s waiting list position at your preferred schools, or the outcome of an appeal that
you decide to make, will not be affected by your child having an alternative school place.

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 Fair Access
The purpose of Fair Access Protocols is to ensure that - outside the normal admissions round -
unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are found and offered a place quickly, so
that the amount of time any child is out of school is kept to the minimum. When vulnerable
and/or hard to place children from groups specified by the Department of Education are
having difficulty in securing a school place in-year and it is demonstrated that reasonable
measures have been taken to secure a place through the usual in-year admission procedures,
then LAs must process these children through a local agreement called a Fair Access Protocol
(FAP).

➢ The operation of Fair Access Protocols is outside the main admission rounds and is
triggered when it has been determined that a school placement cannot be made under
the in-year admission procedures.

➢ To consider the criteria to trigger a Fair Access Placement, legislation that applies to
admissions must firstly be taken into account. As set out in guidance issued by the DfE (July
2021), Fair Access Protocols must not be used to circumvent the normal in-year admissions
process.

➢ All schools are highly experienced in dealing with children that may present a specific
need, whether that be medical, physical, educational, emotional and/or behavioural.
The majority of primary & secondary in-year applications are processed quickly and
children are placed in a school as soon as possible, including those with a specific need.
Referrals for a Fair Access Placement will only apply to applicants that meet the fair access
protocol criteria, and this will be determined by the Local Authority.

➢ Fair Access Protocols do not apply to all children seeking a school place. The Protocol can
only be applied to the placement of children in prescribed groups and where a place
cannot be secured via the standard in year admissions process.

➢ Parents/carers cannot apply for a fair access application, cases are determined by the
admissions authority.

➢ There is no duty for local authorities or admission authorities to comply with parental
preference when allocating places through the Fair Access Protocol.

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 School Place Appeals

When you applied for a school place for available, or that there would be Health
your child you will have listed up to four and Safety issues in play areas, science
preferences. Officers from the Admissions laboratories, or technical areas.
Team in the Admission Authority will have
allocated a place using the Authority’s
Appeals are a legal process, and some
families can find this a stressful experience.
admission criteria. If your child has not been
offered a place at the school of your Therefore, before starting the appeals
preference you have the right to appeal process, you should consider the
against the Admission Authority’s decision. alternatives:

Appeals can be made in relation to any the school place you have been
school year group up to and including the
offered If you are a Wokingham resident,
age of 18. The law gives you the
you will have been offered a school place.
opportunity to put your case to an
Accepting this place will guarantee that
Independent Appeal Panel known as the
your child can start school, even if no
IAP, whose decision is made independently
places become available at your preferred
of the Admission Authority.
school. This will not affect your right to
submit an appeal or your child’s current
The appeal hearing is your chance to put
position on a waiting list.
your side of the argument – to have your
say. Section 86, of the School Standards
and Framework Act 1998 allows you to on the waiting list for your
express a preference, and give reasons for preferred schools Your child’s name will
that preference, regarding the school you automatically be added to any waiting list
would like your child to attend. where your application has been
However, you do not have an absolute right unsuccessful. When a place becomes
to choose a school because the law states available, it will be offered to the child who
is at the top of this list at that time. The
that the Admission Authority need not meet
your preference if the Year Group has waiting list is ordered in accordance with
each school’s admissions policy.
reached its Admission Number and, as a
result, compliance with your preference
would “prejudice the provision of efficient for an alternative school If you
education or the efficient use of resources”.
wish to apply for a school that was not on
your original application, you can do this by
This means that, for example, the school
contacting the admissions team
would have trouble in accommodating an
schooladmissions@wokingham.gov.uk
extra child in the classroom because of
space or the number of desks or computers

For detailed information about the appeals process and how to submit an appeal please read
our parents’ guide to school admissions appeals.

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 School Place Appeals

IMPORTANT You must make sure that your appeal application form is completed and returned by
the published appeal application closing date (29th March 2023). If your appeal application is late,
then it may not be considered until all ‘on time’ appeal applications have been heard. If you are
appealing for an academy or out of borough school, please check their published deadline.

If you wish to appeal for one of the following schools, please contact the school directly as the
Local Authority does not manage the appeals process for these schools.

➢ Alder Grove Primary School

➢ All Saints Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ Beechwood (Frays Academy Trust)
➢ Bohunt Wokingham School
➢ Coombes Primary School (Keys Academy Trust)
➢ Crazies Hill Primary (Keys Academy Trust)
➢ Earley St Peter’s Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ Emmbrook Secondary School
➢ Finchampstead Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ Grazeley Parochial Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ Hatch Ride Primary (Corvus Learning Trust)
➢ Keep Hatch Primary School
➢ Nine Mile Ride Primary School
➢ Oakbank Secondary School
➢ Oaklands Infant School
➢ Oaklands Junior School
➢ Polehampton C of E Infant & Junior Schools
➢ Shinfield Infant and Nursery School
➢ Shinfield St Mary’s Church of England Aided Junior School
➢ Sonning Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ St Crispin’s School
➢ St Nicholas Primary School (Keys Academy Trust)
➢ St Sebastian’s Church of England Aided Primary School
➢ The Emmbrook Secondary School (The Circle Trust)
➢ Waingels College
➢ Westcott Infant School
➢ Westende Junior School

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 Home to School Travel Assistance

It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children regularly

attend school. This includes making any necessary travel arrangements,

except where there is a duty on the local authority to do so.

The Council is committed to promoting children and young people’s independence, social, and
life skills essential for their preparation for adulthood. These goals underpin our Home to School
Travel Assistance Policy because, where possible, children and young people, including those with
special educational needs and/or disability, will be encouraged and supported to travel
independently.

For more detailed information regarding

sustainable travel and transport
school transport and eligibility please refer to
Wokingham Council’s School Transport
The Council has a general duty to promote
policy
the use of sustainable travel and transport.
This duty applies to children of compulsory Applications for Home to School Travel
school age who travel to receive education assistance can be found at:
or training within the area - journeys to and
from institutions where education or training https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/schools-
is delivered. The Education Act 1996 defines and-education/school-information-and-
sustainable modes of travel as those that the services/school-and-college-transport/
local authority considers may improve the
physical well-being of those who use them,
environmental well-being, or a combination
Eligibility
of the two. This may include walking and
cycling, as well as other modes of travel.
Statutory Walking Distances

The Council has a duty to provide free Travel

Our Service
The Home to School Transport Service is part
of the Community Transport Unit within the
council, that is responsible for running a
smooth and effective transport service to the
highest possible standards. We are your first
point of contact for anything related to your
child’s transport.
Assistance for pupils whose homes are
outside the statutory walking distance to the
nearest suitable school:
• More than 2 miles (if the child is below the
age of 8); or
• More than 3 miles (if the child or young
person is aged 8 to 16)

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 Home to School Travel Assistance

School Transport Policy Definitions

a) “Home” is defined as the place where the child is usually resident. Where parents are
separated or divorced, entitlement is assessed in terms of the home where the child spends the
majority of their time. Where a child spends equal amounts of school days with each parent,
travelling from two addresses to school, entitlement will be assessed from both addresses.
Evidence may be required to support this assessment.

b) “Distances” will be measured from where the home meets the public street, for example from
the front gate to the nearest gate or point of access to the school premises, and by the shortest
route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk safely. As such, the route
measured may include footpaths, bridleways, and other pathways, as well as recognised roads.
Distances for Extended Rights are measured in the same way. The upper limits for Extended Rights
transport are measured via the shortest road route.

c) “A suitable school” is defined in the Act as the nearest qualifying school with places available
that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any
Special Educational Needs and/or Disability that the child may have.

d) “Nearest qualifying school” means the nearest available and suitable school;

e) “Nearest” is determined by straight line distance;

f) “Available” means a place is available to be allocated to the child or young person at the
time an application is made.

Suitable Schools

The local authority is entitled to determine which schools are “suitable” under the definitions
described above. This will normally include all Community, Voluntary Controlled and Voluntary
Aided Schools, and Academies, unless a child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
which specifies a requirement for a specialist setting. This includes schools in other local authority
areas but does not include independent (fee-paying) schools, except in the case of approved
independent special schools for children with Special Education Needs or Disabilities, where this
is named in the child or young person’s EHCP.

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 Home to School Travel Assistance

Parental Preference

In most cases parents are responsible for making arrangements for their child to get to school.
When choosing which schools to apply for, parents should consider how their child will access that
school, as there is no guarantee that your child will be eligible for home to school travel assistance.

If there is a school with places available which could meet the needs of your child and is closer to
your home than the school or schools listed in your application and/or which offer your child a
place, the placement will be classed as Parental Preference, and you are unlikely to qualify for
travel assistance.

The Local Authority will provide transport where it is necessary to do so in order for a child to attend
a local school, as set out in law and explained in this policy. Whilst it is a requirement that parental
preference is respected wherever possible in allocating school places, this requirement does not
extend to guaranteed provision of transport.

Where parents select alternative schools to their nearest schools, they accept responsibility for
making their own transport arrangements for their children.

If transport costs are a significant factor in choosing schools, and it is not clear whether they would
qualify for transport assistance to a particular school, further advice can be provided.

In Wokingham parents are entitled to express a preference for a place in up to 4 schools. Places
are allocated after consultation with the various schools.

Where parents have made an application for a place at their preferred school, but the local
authority has been unable to meet this or any of their preferences, the local authority will allocate
a place with the most accessible school with available places. In such cases the school will be
treated as a qualifying school for transport assistance unless this is unnecessary because the
school is within safe walking distance.

IMPORTANT - If you do not name the nearest suitable school in your original school place
application, this may affect your childs eligibility for travel assistance. The nearest suitable
school may not be a Wokingham school. Please check if a school in a neighboring Local
Authority is a closer school to your home address.

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