Oversubscription Criteria

If a school receives more applications than it has places available then the school’s published oversubscription criteria are used to decide which applicants will be offered a place. 

Children who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan which names the school must by law be offered a place at that school.

For applications to the normal year of entry at a school, these criteria will be applied according to the circumstances existing before midnight at the end of the closing date. 

For in-year applications, these criteria will be applied according to the circumstances existing at the time of application. 

PRIORITY 1

Children in care (LAC)) and children who were previously in care (children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after).

PRIORITY 2

Sibling: where the child has a sibling in the school or a sibling has already been offered a place at the school, and where the sibling will still be attending the school at the time of admission. Priority will be given, where necessary, to applications where there is the smallest age gap. 
The term ‘sibling’ includes: natural, half, step, and adopted brothers and sisters; a child of the partner of the parent/carer; and children who are fostered into the family. In all these cases, the child and their sibling will both be living at the same address (that is where the child is ordinarily resident) in a single family unit. This means that children from different family units, where those separate families are living together at the same address, are not considered siblings under this criterion. 

PRIORITY 3

Children who are ordinarily resident in the catchment area. Places will be allocated in the following priority order:

Children who live nearest to the school.

We will measure the distance by a straight line (‘as the crow flies’). All straight line distances are calculated electronically by Suffolk County Council using data provided jointly by the Post Office and Ordnance Survey. The data plots the co-ordinates of each property and provides the address-point between which the straight line distance is measured and reported to three decimal places. Where there is more than one home within a single building (for example apartments) we will measure to a single point within that building irrespective of where those homes are located.

PRIORITY 4

Children who live outside the school’s catchment area in the same priority order as set out above.

Notes to the admissions oversubscription criteria

Children in care (looked after children): A ‘child in care’ or 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 the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).
Children previously in care (previously looked after children): Children previously in care (previously looked after children) includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children's Act 2002 (section 46 adoption orders). Child arrangements orders are defined in 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.  

Distance tie-breaker: It is possible that the PAN of the school will be reached in any one of the categories. For this reason, all applications will be prioritised according to the criteria described. Decisions will be made about the offer of places in accordance with those priorities. If it is necessary to use a tie-breaker to distinguish between two or more applications, a distance criterion will be used. We will give priority to the applicants who live nearest to the school as measured by a straight line. 
Twins, triplets and other multiple births: If the final place available at a school is offered to a twin, triplet or other multiple birth and the remaining sibling/s would ordinarily be refused, Suffolk County Council will offer places to the remaining sibling/s at the same school. The law requires that this will apply even in those primary schools where this would mean that more than 30 pupils would be admitted to an infant class with a single qualified teacher.

Future House Moves: Places cannot be allocated on the basis of an intended future change of address, unless the new address has been confirmed by exchange of contracts and with confirmation of an anticipated completion date, for a house purchase or the signing of a formal lease agreement. The parent or carer will be expected to provide documentary evidence in support of any anticipated move date given.
Waiting lists: If we are unable to offer your child a place at your preferred school(s) in the normal year of entry, we will automatically add their name to the waiting list for that school(s). Names are placed on the waiting list in the priority order set out in the school’s admissions oversubscription criteria. The order of the waiting list can change each time a child’s name is added or the circumstances of a child already on the list changes. As a result, a child’s place on the list can go up or down (for example due to withdrawals or late applications). If you change your address while your child is on a waiting list, you must let us know. Please be aware that this may change your child’s position on the waiting list. Written evidence of this will be required. Having your child’s name on a waiting list will not affect your right to appeal for any of the schools your child has been refused a place at. Late applicants will be added to any waiting lists in oversubscription priority order if their parental preferences cannot be met. If a place becomes available at a school, it will be offered to the child who is ranked highest on the waiting list. Places are not offered based on the date on which names were placed on the list. The waiting lists will close on 31 December each year. 
Making another application for a place at the same school: A parent/carer can apply for a place for their child at any time to any school outside of the normal admissions round. However, if your application for a school place is refused, we will not determine a further application for a place in the same school in the same school year, unless there has been a significant change in the circumstances of the parent/carer, child or school. Such circumstances might be a house move or a place becoming available at the school.  If there is no significant change in circumstances, you can make another application for the following school year. However, this will not normally be considered more than one term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school. 
Ordinarily resident: By ordinarily resident we mean the place where your child usually lives. We consider this to be where they sleep overnight. We may need proof of this address. If you use another address to give the impression that your child lives at a different address to where they are ordinarily resident, such as a second home or a grandparent’s address, so that you have a higher priority for a place at that school; we consider this to be a fraudulent application. Where a child lives at two or more addresses, each for part of the week, the address at which the child is ordinarily resident will be considered to be the address that the child lives at for most of the week (excluding weekends and school holidays). Separate evidence in writing from each parent must be provided to confirm the child’s living arrangements at the time of application. In cases where the child spends an equal proportion of the school week at two or more different addresses, evidence of which is to be considered the main contact address will be required to support the application. Agreement in writing by the parents will be required to state which address is to be used as the ordinarily resident address. This address will then be used when processing all school preferences expressed. It is not acceptable to use one address for one school preference and another address for another school preference. If we are aware of a parental dispute affecting the application, we may not be able to deal with the application and you may need to seek independent legal advice in order to resolve the matter.