John Taylor High School
Planned admissions level
The planned admissions level for each year 7 entry is 240. This level has been agreed by the governors. This number may be exceeded at the discretion of the governors, but they are not obliged to accept pupils in excess of this number unless parents have won their case at an independent appeal panel. (Governors are aware of the limited number of classrooms and restricted space of the school premises, and do not feel that it is in the interest of pupils for there to be overcrowding).
Admissions policy
If the total number of preferences for admission to school exceeds the published admission number (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places. If there is oversubscription within a criterion and all children within that criterion cannot be admitted within the PAN of 240, places will be allocated in accordance with the remaining criteria.
For example, if all children within criterion 3 cannot be accommodated, children within this criterion will be prioritised in accordance with criterion 4 (children of staff) and 5 (distance). In accordance with legislation, children who have an education, health and care plan, that names John Taylor High School, must be admitted.
- Children in Care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence 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. * see additional notes
- Children living within the catchment area of the school ** see additional notes
- Children who have a sibling in attendance at the school at the time of application; (For admission purposes, a brother or sister is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parent’s marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.)
- Children whose parents are employed by JTMAT to work at John Taylor High School in either or both of the following circumstances:
a) where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which he application for admission to the school is made
and/or
b) The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
- Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school, determined by a straight-line measurement, as calculated by the local authority’s geographical information system *** see additional notes
Additional notes
* Children in care means children who are looked after by a Local Authority in accordance with section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989 and who is (a) in 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) at the time of making an application to a school. A child is regarded as being in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. This includes children who are adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see Section 12 Adoption orders) and children who were adopted under Adoption & Children Act 2002 (see section 46 Adoption orders)
** Copies of the school catchment area are available to download from the School website or from the Local Authority Alternatively you could search for John Taylor High School using Staffordshire’s School Search and Compare Facility Presented to LGB on 26th September 2022
*** The school uses a geographical information system (GIS) to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant’s home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant’s home address are determined using the local land and property gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required in order for the application to be assessed against the published admissions criteria, the governors will not seek to obtain this information on behalf of the applicant.
The home address is usually considered to be the child’s, along with their parent’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places, i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship), the friends or relatives’ address will not be considered for allocation.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for application purposes.
If a place is offered on the basis of an address that is subsequently found to be different from a child’s normal and permanent home address then that place is likely to be withdrawn.
It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case. The local authority is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately.
If there are a limited number of spaces and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be random. This process will be independently verified.
If your child has not been offered a place, your child’s name will be automatically kept on the waiting list by the local authority. The waiting list will operate until the end of the autumn term. The waiting list is held in accordance with the published admissions criteria and that a child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year, i.e. they can go up or down the list since each added child will require the list to ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria.
Late applications
Preferences received after the closing date will be considered alongside those applicants who applied on time where ever possible. Where it is not practical because places have already been allocated, or are shortly to be allocated, then late preferences will be considered only after those that were made before this point.
A late application does not affect the right of appeal or the right to be placed on a school’s waiting list.
Repeat Applications
Parents do not have the right to a second appeal in respect of the same school for the same academic year unless, in exceptional circumstances, the school has accepted a second application from the appellant because of a significant and material change in the circumstances of the parent, child or school but still refused admission.
Waiting lists
Unsuccessful applicants will be placed on a waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated above and not based on the date their application was received. There will be a period of two weeks after the national offer date whereby available places will not be reallocated. If places become available after this date, they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list. Waiting lists will be kept until 31st December by the Local Authority. Waiting lists for other year groups already established will be held in school in order with the oversubscription criteria and will be maintained on a rolling basis.
Entry later than September, year 7 - 'In-Year Transfer' Arrangements
Parents moving to the area, or those who wish to move their child to the school, should contact the school directly.
You can make an application using the appropriate application form, which can be obtained from the school website. This application will be processed in line with the procedure outlined in the determined admission arrangements and parents and carers need to be aware that any date set for joining the new school may be after the next term or half term holiday and those parents/carers are responsible for ensuring that their child continues to receive appropriate education in the interim.
Along with your application please email us your proof of address:
We need 2 documents showing your current address. At least one of them needs to be a council tax bill, utility bill, solicitor’s letter upon completion (exchange of contracts not accepted) or a signed tenancy agreement.
If you're moving, we also need proof of your new address. This should be either a tenancy agreement showing the start date of the tenancy or a solicitor’s letter confirming the completion date. We won't use the new address until we have proof that the child is living there permanently.
If you're moving to a rented property, send us evidence that you've sold or are in the process of selling your current property, or that your current lease agreement has ended.
Admission outside of the normal age group
Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to school outside of their normal age group, for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.
These parents will need to make an application alongside children applying at the normal age which should explain why it is in the child’s best interest to be admitted outside of their normal age which may include information such as professional evidence as to why this is the case and why an exception should be made in the case of the child. A decision as to whether this is an appropriate course of action will be made by the Local Governing Body who will take into account the circumstances of the case and views of the Headteacher.
Sixth Form Admission Arrangements
Applications for admission to the Sixth Form will be dealt with by the school in accordance with the Trust’s published admission arrangements. Individual schools will provide detailed information on the admission policy including minimum entry requirements for particular courses on request.
Children already in the school will not be required to apply formally for places in Year 12 but should have reached the minimum entry qualifications for admission into the sixth form, details of which are included in the published admission arrangements which are available in the sixth form prospectus on the school website.
External applicants will not be refused the opportunity to make an application or told that they can only be placed on a waiting list rather than make a formal application.
Any applicant refused a place in year 12 is entitled to make an appeal to an independent appeal panel whether the child is already attending the school or is an external candidate. Minimum entry requirements are the same for internal and external applicants
Schools must not interview children or their families for entry to Year 12, although meetings can be held to provide advice on options and entry requirements for particular courses. Entry must not be dependent on attendance, behaviour record or perceptions of attitude or motivation.