Manor Multi Academy Trust
Admissions arrangements for 2025/2026, 2024/2025, 2023/2024
Introduction
Manor Multi Academy Trust is an Multi Academy Trust of 9 schools and the Directors of the MAT are its admission authority. The Directors apply the regulations on admissions fairly and equally to all those who wish to attend the school. All 9 schools will comply with the provisions within the Schools Admissions Code and the School Appeals Code available on GOV.UK's academy admissions page.
Manor Multi Academy Trust is part of an “Inter-Local Authority” scheme whereby Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall and Wolverhampton Local Authorities have agreed to co-ordinate applications for our schools to ensure that each child receives the best possible single offer of a place at a school, based upon parents’ preferences.
The schools within the MAT are Manor Primary; East Park Academy; Hill Avenue Academy; Saint Thomas’ C of E Primary Academy; Saint Alban’s C of E Primary Academy; Foley Infant Academy; Brindley Heath Junior Academy; Foxyards Academy and Hateley Heath Academy.
All 9 schools are inclusive schools that welcome children from all backgrounds, faiths and abilities. The only restrictions we place on entry is number. If the number of children applying exceeds the places available, we enforce the procedure set out below in order to determine whether a child is accepted or not. It is our wish to allow parents the right to have the place at the school of their choice. However, this is not always possible, due to the excess demand on the school places available.
Foley Infant Academy has a published admission number (PAN) of 60
Brindley Heath Junior Academy has a published admission number (PAN) of 60
Parents whose child has an Education and Health Care Plan follow separate admission procedures through the Statutory Assessment or Annual Review process.
Parents will only have to fill in one application form, on which they will state their school preferences and reasons for those preferences. Applications are made online; five preferences are invited.
Initially, all preferences are treated as equal, and sent out as equal to other admission authorities as appropriate.
After over-subscription criteria have been applied (where appropriate), if more than one school place can potentially be offered, the single offer is for the available school the parent ranked highest on the preference form.
Admission into reception year
To find out when the online application will go live, please consult the Local Authority, hard copies of the form will only be made available on request. Families are required to access the online form via the local authority you pay your council tax to. (Links available on our MAT and school websites in the admissions section) Parents are invited to name and give reasons for applying for up to a maximum number of preferred schools (please consult the Local Authority), ranked in order of preference, by 23:59 on 15 January. Parents should name all schools (to a maximum of 5), for which they wish their child to be considered for a place, including any Voluntary-Aided schools, Academies or Free schools and/or any school outside of their home Local Authority area.
By 14 February, the home Local Authority will send other Local Authorities and own Admitting Authority Schools details of applicants for their schools. These details will not reveal the order of preference. All Own Admitting Authority schools will apply their oversubscription criteria and return their complete ranked list of applicants to the admissions and appeals team who will then compare the potential offer lists. If more than one school place can potentially be offered, a place will be allocated at the available school that the parent ranked highest on their application.
On 16 April parents who made their applications online will be able to view their allocation via the online admissions facility. The relevant Local Authority admissions and appeals team will also write to every applicant resident in their area telling them of their allocated school place.
Parents will be required to respond to any offers made within 10 school days.
Applicants should refer to the appendix relevant to the school(s) they are applying for.
Appendix 2: How parents can apply to be admitted to our South Staffordshire Schools
South Staffs Schools:
Foley Infant: PAN 60
Brindley Heath Junior: PAN 60
Reception Admissions
The admission arrangements outlined in this section apply to children starting Reception for the first time. The admissions process for our South Staffordshire Schools are part of the South Staffordshire Schools Local Authority co-ordinated admissions scheme.
The closing date for admissions will be 23:59 on 15th January. Allocation results will be notified on 16th April by the applicants’ home Local Authority (LA).
Parents/carers who would like their child to be admitted during the year their child is five should ensure they complete all the necessary application forms. Admission to nursery does not mean automatic entry to the Primary school.
FOLEY INFANTS AND BRINDLEY HEATH JUNIOR SCHOOL ADMISSIONS WILL FOLLOW STAFFORDSHIRE’S COUNTY ADMISSIONS ARRANGEMENTS
View our county admissions arrangements.
1. Looked After Children and all previously Looked After Children, including internationally adopted previously looked after children (IAPLAC)
A ‘Looked After Child’ is a child who is:
a) in the care of the local authority, or
b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of the social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time the application is made to school. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those children 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.
2. Medical/Social
Whether there are specific medical or social circumstances that can be met only by the child’s attendance at the preferred school.
Supporting Evidence
If parents/carers believe there are specific reasons, medical or social, for claiming priority for their child to attend a particular school these special factors must be indicated on the application form and evidence (e.g. a letter from a registered health professional such as a doctor or a social worker) to support this claim must be submitted to the School Admissions Team, Staffordshire County Council. The information submitted must state clearly the effects of the condition/illness and why the preferred school is the only school that can meet their child’s needs. This is necessary because parents/carers would be asking the Admitting Authority to assess their child as having a stronger case than many other children, even some who live closer to the school in question than they do. The information provided will be used to prioritise the request for a particular school. Please note that only in exceptional cases are places prioritised in respect of a child’s/parent’s/carer’s medical/social grounds. This supplementary information will not be regarded as a valid application, unless the parent/carer has also completed an application with the LA where they reside.
3. Children with a sibling already attending the at the time of admission.
For admission purposes, a sibling is a child who resides permanently at the same address as the child for whom a place is being requested, and is one of the following:
brother/sister
half brother/sister (i.e. share one common parent)
or stepbrother/sister (i.e. related by a parent’s marriage)
any other child for whom it can be demonstrated that s/he is residing permanently at the same address (e.g. under the terms of a Child Arrangement Order)
The sibling connection only applies where the child concerned has a sibling attending the school at the time of the application as well as at the time of admission, (i.e. for normal year of entry applications siblings are expected to be attending the same school in September. A sibling connection will not be accepted if the original place was obtained by using fraudulent or false information.
4. Children living within the catchment area of the preferred school
The catchment areas are defined by Staffordshire Local Authority and are detailed on the Staffordshire County Council website.
5. Children who live closest to our schools
The distance from the applicant’s home and school is taken in a straight line between our school and the child’s home address. The distance is measured using the Local Authority’s software, with those living closest to the school receiving the highest priority.
Child’s Home Address
Parents are asked to provide their child’s home address, i.e. the usual place of residence on weekdays and nights. Please note that childminder’s addresses will not be accepted. This applies to both formal childminders and relatives or friends acting in a childminding capacity. The home address of a pupil is considered to be the permanent residence of a child in a residential property when the place is offered. The address must be the child’s only or main residence and is either:
Owned by the child’s parent(s), carer(s) or guardian(s)
Leased to or rented by the child’s parent(s), carer(s) or guardian(s) under lease or written rental agreement. Documentary evidence of ownership or rental agreement may be required together with proof of actual permanent residence at the property concerned.
Acceptable proof of address includes:
A copy of a council tax bill;
A copy of a recent utility bill (gas, electric, dated within the last six months);
A solicitor’s letter stating that contracts have been exchanged and specifying a completion date;
A copy of your Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit award letter (if you receive either of these benefits);
A signed and dated tenancy agreement.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child and the child lives with both parents for part of the week, then the main residence will be determined as the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week. If the child equally shares living with both parents, the parents must inform the City of Wolverhampton Council (and the home Local Authority if this is not the same) which address should be used for admission purposes and which parent will make the application. Parents may be requested to supply documentary evidence to support the address used for the application
In the event that the family moves between the application and date of allocation, it is the parent’s responsibility to inform the City of Wolverhampton Council School Admissions Team (and the home Local Authority if this is not the same) as soon as possible of these circumstances.
Late Applications received after the closing date will be treated as late. This includes a change of preference for the school, a change in order of preference for the school or the addition of the school as a preference. Changes should be sent to the home LA of the parent/carer. Therefore applications received after the closing date and before 12th February will only be incorporated into the initial allocation process if the late submission is for a good and valid reason i.e. parents/carers can demonstrate a material change of circumstances, or the request is for an academy that has not reached its admission limit. When submitting late applications parents must give reasons in writing for the late submission. The admission authority will give consideration to the reasons, following which the application will be either: 1. Incorporated into the initial allocation and assessed against the oversubscription criteria 2. Considered only after all other applications Late applications without written reasons for the late application or those received after 12th February will only be considered after all other applications.
Material Changes of Circumstance
In claiming a material change of circumstance the applicant, at the time of application, must supply documentary evidence to confirm the changes. An example of material changes of circumstances is a house move that necessitates a change of preferences. If applicants’ circumstances change during the course of making the application that relate to any of the published criteria it is the applicant’s responsibility to provide evidence to the City of Wolverhampton’s Admissions and Appeals Team as this may affect the outcome of the application.
Waiting lists
The Admitting Authority will maintain the waiting lists until 31 December. The waiting list will be ranked in admission criteria order. A child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed. This means that a child’s position on the waiting list could go up or down during the time that it is on the list. Any late applications accepted will be added to the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.
In Year Fair Access Protocol
The Directors of Manor MAT are committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Children who are the subject of a direction by the Local Authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol take precedence over those on a waiting list.
Fraudulent or Misleading Applications
The Admitting Authority will follow up any reports they receive that allege that a fraudulent or misleading application has been made.
Multiple Births
We understand that parent/carers would like to keep twins, triplets and other children of multiple births together. In the event that there is an insufficient number of places to allocate to twins, triplets, etc. all children will be allocated together.
Tie-Breaker for Oversubscription
If there are an insufficient number of places to accommodate all the children of a particular criterion, the next criterion will be used to assess the applications concerned in order to prioritise applications.
Applications for children to be admitted outside their normal age group
Summer-born children
Parents/carers of a summer-born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted outside of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1. Any parent/carer wishing to make such a request must put their requests in the first instance in writing to the LA where they reside by 15 January. Requests will be considered on an individual basis and decisions will be reached taking into account 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, whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group if it were not for being born prematurely. The view of the Headteacher of the school concerned will also be sought as part of the decision-making process. Any agreement to defer a child’s admission to Reception class does not guarantee a place at the preferred school, nor does it give the child any additional priority for a place. Parents/carers are required to make a new application next year for Reception and the application will be considered alongside all other applications for that round in accordance with the criteria.
Deferred Entry
A child’s parents/carers can request to defer the date at which their child, below compulsory school age, is admitted to the school, until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the first day of the summer term. A child may take up a part-time place until later in the school year, but not beyond the point at which the child reached compulsory school age. Upon receipt of the offer of a place a parent/carer should notify the school, as soon as possible, that they wish to either defer their child’s entry to the school or take up a part-time place.
In-Year Admissions
An in-year admission is any entry to school other than at the normal point in Reception, for example, transferring school due to a move of house or personal reasons. Requests for places in Reception after the normal round of admissions or request for places in other year groups should be made directly to City of Wolverhampton Council.
With the exception of a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), all applications must be considered under the City of Wolverhampton Council’s co-ordinated in-year admissions scheme in conjunction with Manor MAT Schools Admission Policy.
Applications should be made via City of Wolverhampton Council at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/admissions and all applicants must:
1. Complete the Common Application Form
2. In addition, applicants applying under oversubscribed criteria relating to children whose parent/carer is a member of staff employed at the school and/or for religious reasons must complete the Supplementary Information Form (Appendix 1b) and return it directly to the School Admissions Team, City of Wolverhampton Council.