Fairfield High School for Girls
Tradition. Vision. Learning.
Admission to Fairfield High School
In common with other Tameside secondary schools, Fairfield High School’s admission procedures comply with the requirements of a qualifying scheme under the Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2007. Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.
2012/2013 In-Year Admissions
2013 Admissions
2014 Admissions
2012/2013 In-Year Admissions
A waiting list for Year 7 is maintained by the Governing Body until 31st December 2012. Pupils will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered to the highest ranked application received by the date on which the place becomes available.
For all other Year Groups, and for Year 7 from 1st January 2013, there will not be a waiting list. The school should be contacted directly. If a place is not available, parents / carers have the right of appeal (click here).
Applying for a Place at Fairfield High School for September 2013
If you are a Tameside resident you must make your application to Tameside Local Authority.
Tameside primary schools will forward details of children eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2013 to the Local Authority Admissions Team, who will send out details of how to apply in September 2012. The pack will contain details of where to view Moving On and a letter explaining how to make your application. You should use your application to apply for any secondary school, whether this is in Tameside or in another Local Authority area. Application details may also be obtained from the Admissions Section at Tameside MBC. Moving On will be available on Tameside's website. NB: Each school application should be discussed with all parents and carers of the child, and only one application may be submitted for each child.
The Local Authority may verify information you provide on your application, which could involve contacting other departments of the Local Authority. In instances where the information provided is different from that held by them, they may use the information on this form to investigate further. If false or misleading information is given, Tameside Local Authority has the right to withdraw the offer of a school place.
If you are not a Tameside resident you must make your application to the Local Authority where you live. Application forms must be returned in accordance with your own Local Authority's specific instructions and not to Tameside.
The Process
- The application will invite all parents to indicate a preference for 6 schools, and to rank the schools in order of preference, giving reasons for each preference. In allocating places, Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.
- Your application must be submitted by the closing date of 31st October 2012, with any supporting information/evidence if appropriate.
- The council and the school will follow the timetable set out in the coordinated admissions scheme. Late applications will be dealt with as late and ranked after all applications submitted after the deadline date.
- Changes to preferences, ranking order or pupil details will not be allowed after the closing date of 31st October 2012, except in exceptional circumstances. For example, if the family has recently moved address. Evidence must be provided to support the request. An intention to change address cannot be considered by the Local Authority until the move has actually taken place and proof is available, or parents may provide a solicitor's letter confirming an exchange of contracts on a property or a tenancy agreement and proof of disposal of current property. No changes can be considered even where there are exceptional circumstances once information has been exchanged with the other admissions bodies by the council, because the allocations process has commenced. In the case of secondary schools this date is 21st November 2012.
- Notification of offers of a single school place will be sent out to parents on 1st March 2013. These notifications will also inform parents of their right of appeal, and who to contact, if an application has not been successful.
- Parents will not receive multiple offers.
Published Admission Numbers for Fairfield High School for Girls
The published Admission Number for Fairfield High School for Girls is 195.
Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit.
Criteria for Allocating Places when Oversubscribed
Children with statements of special educational needs where the school is named in the statement will be allocated places before the oversubscription criteria are applied. An application to Fairfield High School for Girls indicates a preference for single sex education. The criteria for oversubscription for community secondary schools are:
- Looked After Children or children who have previously been looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order.
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 their social services functions (see the definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). - Children and families with exceptional medical or social needs
Written evidence must be provided by a suitably qualified professional – e.g. a GP or consultant for medical needs, or a social worker for social needs – the information must confirm the exceptional medical or social need and demonstrate how Fairfield High School is the only school that can meet the defined needs of the child. The Governing Body will make a decision as to whether to admit a child under this criterion, using the evidence provided. Parents/carers are responsible for providing all information in support of an application by the closing date. The Governing Body will not ask for additional information. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence. - Siblings
This will apply where there are sisters attending the school at the time of application, who will still be attending at the time of admission, i.e. in the September when the pupil is admitted to Year 7. Preference will be given to girls living nearest the school.
The sibling criterion includes: natural sisters; half-sisters; step-sisters; adopted sisters; sisters of fostered children; children of the parent/carer's partner, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of children whose siblings will still be attending Fairfield High School.
The Governing Body reserves the right to give special consideration to twins, triplets or multiple birth siblings, or other siblings whose birth date falls within the same academic year to prevent breaking the sibling link. - Children attending primary schools in Tameside and pupils educated at home at the time of application
Preference will be given to pupils living nearest the school. - All other applications on distance
Preference will be given to pupils living nearest the school.
Distance will also be used as a tie-breaker where oversubscription occurs within any of criteria 1 to 4. Preference will be given to pupils living nearest the school.
Distance will be measured as a straight line from the child's home address, using the address point assigned by The National Land and Property Gazetteer, to the main gate to the school property. Measurements will be made using the LAs school admissions data mapping software, which uses a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey.
In the unlikely event of distance being the same for 2 or more applicants, where this distance would be for the last place(s) to be allocated, a random lottery will be carried out in a public place and supervised by someone independent of the school. All the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names drawn out.
The address from which distance will be measured will be the permanent residential address, at the time of application, of the parent with whom the child is normally resident. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the home address is the address from which the child travels to school for the majority of school days per week. If the number of days is exactly equal the home address will be that of the parent who receives the child benefit.
An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. A 'residence order' is as an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14a of the Children Act 1989 defines 'a special guardianship order' as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's special guardian (or special guardians).
In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applications where this distance would be the last place/s to be allocated, the place will be allocated to the pupil that is nearer using walking distance as measured using the Local Authority's school admissions data mapping software.
Waiting Lists
If the school is oversubscribed, the Governing Body will maintain a waiting list. The waiting list will operate until the end of the autumn term 2013. Parents who have expressed the school as a preference and have not been offered a place at the school, or at a higher preference school, will automatically be placed on the waiting list.
All pupils on the waiting list will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered to the highest ranked application received by the date the place becomes available. If new or late applications have higher priority under the oversubscription criteria, they will be ranked higher than those who have been on the list for some time. If the circumstances of children on the waiting list change (e.g. they move house) they should inform the Governing Body immediately and provide appropriate supporting evidence.
Appeals
Any parent who is refused admission to Fairfield High School has the right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. For pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs, an appeal can be made to the SEN and Disability Tribunal (details are included in the statement).
Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governing Body to refuse admission to the school should do so by completing a School Admission Appeal Form, setting out clearly why your child should go to Fairfield High School. Information about appeals will be sent out with the allocation letter and can also be found on the School Admissions webpage http://www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/admissions.
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/admissions
The Appeals Panel will:
- Be independent of the school and the LA;
- Give the appellant, who may be accompanied by a friend or be represented, the opportunity to make oral representation.
The Local Authority will:
- Give the appellant at least ten school days notice of the time and place of the hearing.
The clerk will:
- Send the appeal papers to the appellant at least seven working days before the hearing.
The appeal shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast, the chairman of the panel having a casting vote.
The decision of the Appeals Panel and the grounds on which it was made shall be communicated by the clerk in writing to the appellant. That decision shall be binding on all parties. Subject to the above conditions, all matters of procedure shall be determined by the Local Authority.
Applying for a Place at Fairfield High School for Girls for September 2014
If you are a Tameside resident you must make your application to Tameside Local Authority.
Tameside primary schools will forward details of children eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2014 to the Local Authority Admissions Team, who will send out details of how to apply in September 2013. The pack will contain details of where to view Moving On and a letter explaining how to make your application. You should use your application to apply for any secondary school, whether this is in Tameside or in another Local Authority area. Application details may also be obtained from the Admissions Section at Tameside MBC. Moving On will be available on Tameside's website. NB: Each school application should be discussed with all parents and carers of the child, and only one application may be submitted for each child.
The Local Authority may verify information you provide on your application, which could involve contacting other departments of the Local Authority. In instances where the information provided is different from that held by them, they may use the information on this form to investigate further. If false or misleading information is given, Tameside Local Authority has the right to withdraw the offer of a school place.
If you are not a Tameside resident you must make your application to the Local Authority where you live. Application forms must be returned in accordance with your own Local Authority's specific instructions and not to Tameside.
The Process
- The application will invite all parents to indicate a preference for 6 schools, and to rank the schools in order of preference, giving reasons for each preference. In allocating places, Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.
- Your application must be submitted by the closing date of 31 October 2013, with any supporting information / evidence if appropriate.
- The council and the school will follow the timetable set out in the coordinated admissions scheme. Late applications will be dealt with as late and ranked after all applications submitted after the deadline.
- Changes to preferences, ranking order, or pupil details will not be allowed after the closing date of 31 October 2013 except in exceptional circumstances, for example, if the family has recently moved address. Evidence must be provided to support the request. An intention to change address cannot be considered by the Local Authority until the move has actually taken place and proof is available, or parents may provide a solicitor's letter confirming an exchange of contracts on a property, or a tenancy agreement and proof of disposal of current property. No changes can be considered even where there are exceptional circumstances once information has been exchanged with the other admission bodies by the Council, because the allocations process has commenced. In the case of secondary schools this date is the 21 November 2013.
- Notification of offers of a single school place will be sent out to parents on 28 February 2014. These notifications will also inform parents of their right of appeal, and who to contact, if an application has not been successful.
- Parents will not receive multiple offers.
Published Admission Numbers for Fairfield High School for Girls
The Published Admission Number for Fairfield High School for Girls is 195.
Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available, the following criteria will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit.
Criteria for Allocating Places when Oversubscribed
Children with statements of special educational needs where the school is named in the statement will be allocated places before the oversubscription criteria are applied. An application to Fairfield High School for Girls indicates a preference for single sex education. The criteria for over-subscription for community secondary schools are:
- Looked after children or children who have previously been looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order.
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 and families with exceptional medical or social needs
Written evidence must be provided by a suitably qualified professional – e.g. a GP or consultant for medical needs, or a social worker for social needs – the information must confirm the exceptional medical or social need and demonstrate how Fairfield High School is the only school that can meet the defined needs of the child. The Governing Body will make a decision as to whether to admit a child under this criterion, using the evidence provided. Parents/carers are responsible for providing all information in support of an application by the closing date. The Governing Body will not ask for additional information. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence. - Siblings
This will apply where there are sisters attending the school at the time of application, who will still be attending at the time of admission, i.e. in the September when the pupil is admitted to Year 7. Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.
The sibling criterion includes: natural sisters; half-sisters; step sisters; adopted sisters; sisters of fostered children; children of the parent/carer's partner, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of children whose siblings will still be attending Fairfield High School.
The Governing Body reserves the right to give special consideration to twins, triplets or multiple birth siblings, or other siblings whose birth date falls within the same academic year to prevent breaking the sibling link. - Children attending primary schools in Tameside and pupils educated at home at the time of application.
Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school. - All other applications on distance
Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.
Distance will also be used as a tie-breaker where oversubscription occurs within any of criteria 1 to 4. Preference will be given to pupils living nearest to the school.
Distance will be measured as a straight line from the child's home address, using the address point assigned by the National Land and Property Gazetteer, to the main gate to the school property. Measurements will be made using the Local Authority's school admissions data mapping software, which uses a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey.
The address from which distance will be measured will be the permanent residential address, at the time of application, of the parent with whom the child is normally resident. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the home address is the address from which the child travels to school for the majority of school days per week. If the number of days is exactly equal the home address will be that of the parent who receives the Child Benefit.
An adoption order is an order under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. A 'residence order' is as an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a 'special guardianship order' as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's special guardian (or special guardians).
In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applications where this distance would be the last place/s to be allocated, the place will be allocated to the pupil that is nearer using walking distance as measured using the Local Authority's school admissions data mapping software.
Waiting Lists
If the school is oversubscribed, the Governing Body will maintain a waiting list. The waiting list will operate until the end of the autumn term 2014. Parents who have expressed the school as a preference and have not been offered a place at the school, or at a higher preference school, will automatically be placed on the waiting list.
All pupils on the waiting list will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered to the highest ranked application received by the date the place becomes available. If new or late applications have a higher priority under the oversubscription criteria, they will be ranked higher than those who have been on the list for some time. If the circumstances of children on the waiting list change (eg they move house) they should inform the Governing Body immediately and provide appropriate supporting evidence).
Appeals
Any parent who is refused admission to Fairfield High School has the right of appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. For pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs, an appeal can be made to the SEN and Disability Tribunal (details are included in the statement).
Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governing Body to refuse admission to the school should do so by completing a School Admission Appeal Form, setting out clearly why your child should go to Fairfield High School. Information about appeals will be sent out with the allocation letter and can also be found on the School Admissions webpage http://www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/admissions.
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/admissions
The Appeals Panel will:
- Be independent of the school and the LA;
- Give the appellant, who may be accompanied by a friend or be represented, the opportunity to make oral representation.
The Local Authority will:
- Give the appellant at least ten school days notice of the time and place of the hearing.
The clerk will:
- Send the appeal papers to the appellant at least seven working days before the hearing.
The appeal shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast, the chairman of the panel having a casting vote.
The decision of the Appeals Panel and the grounds on which it was made shall be communicated by the clerk in writing to the appellant. That decision shall be binding on all parties. Subject to the above conditions, all matters of procedure shall be determined by the Local Authority.
In common with other Tameside secondary schools, Fairfield High School's admission procedures comply with the requirements of a qualifying scheme under the Education (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (Secondary Schools) (England) Regulations 2007. Fairfield High School will operate an equal preference scheme.