Admissions Arrangements 2023/24

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.

1. ADMISSIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2023 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.

1.1 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 children with Education, Health and Care Plans offered places, is no more than 290 unless further spaces are released as described in criterion 6. Criteria 6 onply 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 previously 'looked after child' is a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order91 including 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. A looked afterchild 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 the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).
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:
(i) 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 (ii) 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 1.1 km from Dorchester Primary School, 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.

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 home address is where a child normally lives. Where a child lives with parents with shared parental responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a chil's residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which residential address should be used for the purpose of admission to school. If no joint declaration is received and the residence is split equally by the closing date for applications, the home address will be determined to be the address where the child is registerd with the doctor. However, all evidence will be taken into account. If the residence is not split equally between both parents, then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week. In some cases, where distance is a relevant factor in admission decisions, a different address may be use if a family unit owns or has access to another proprerty.

All school admission applications for school places are subject to address checks to ensure school places are allocated fairly and in accordance with published admission arrangements.

These checks will be conducted by the home Local Authority; where a fradulent address or an address of convenience are found to havde been used, the application and any subsequent offer maybe withdrawn.

Applicants living outside of England may only submit an application if they have a linked address within the Local Authority area, and documentary evidence must be supplied to show they will return to the address prior to the September in the year of entry; this address must not be an address of convenience.

If parents/carers wish to discuss their circumstances prior to making their application, they should contact their home Local Authority.

1.2 NOTIFICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF OFFERS

The relevant LA will send notification of offers of palces to paents/carers 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.

1.3 WAITING LIST FOR YEAR 7 UNTIL THE END OF DECEMBER 2023

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.

1.4 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.

2. ADMISSION TO YEARS 7 – 11 during academic year 2023/24

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.

2.1 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 will not apply, except 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.

3. 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.

3.1 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.

3.2 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.

3.3 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.

3.4 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.

4. 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

5. APPEALS AGAINST ADMISSION DECISIONS

If your child is not offered a place at Cheam High School you have the right to make a formal appeal to an independent appeals panel.

Cheam High School is an Academy in charge of its own admission arrangements, and has the responsibility to arrange admission appeals. Our current arrangements are that we ask an Independent Admissions Appeal Clerk to organise the hearings and provide a Clerking service to the appeal committee. Those on the appeal committee are independent of the school in line with the Admissions Appeal Code.

Year 7 Entry

Appeal Figures for Year 7 Entry and Outcomes
September Entry	Appeals Lodged	Appeals Heard	Appeals Upheld
2022	33	23	2
2021	7	6	1
2020	2	2	1

Appeal Arrangements for 2023 Entry

The national date for school offers is 1^st March 2023. If you are not offered a place at Cheam High School and wish to appeal against this decision, then you need to submit a completed appeal form.

The deadline for submission of completed appeal forms is Friday 21st April 2023.

Appeals for September entry should be heard within 40 school days of this date.

ADMISSION TO YEARS 7 - 11 (after September in Year 7)

Every effort will be made to hear appeals within 30 school days of receipt.

Appeal Forms and Advice Booklet:

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