HOW CAN I APPLY FOR A PLACE FOR MY CHILD AT THE ACADEMY?
How can I apply for a place for my child at the Academy?
For most children, parents/carers need to apply for a place following the admissions procedure. This would involve notifying your child’s current school or setting if you wish to move, and filling in an ‘In Year Transfer’ form which you can obtain from your child’s current setting or from the Local Authority- School Admissions department.
The department would then notify Gladstone that a child would like to join the Academy. If the Academy has a space in the requested year group, then a transition would be arranged and the parents/carers would be contacted by Gladstone Academy.
If the Academy is unable to offer a place then the parent could be offered the chance to go onto the Academy’s waiting list. If the parent/carer feels that there are mitigating circumstances, and they really need the child to attend Gladstone, then there is the right to appeal the decision. The process for appeals can be found at the Stoke-On-Trent City Council website or the Admissions team can talk you through this.
Admission of a child with an EHC Plan
If your child has an EHC Plan then you must request that the Local Authority seek the Academy’s approval to have it’s name added to your child’s EHC. The Assessment and Monitoring Team at the LA would then contact the Academy to see if it could meet the child’s needs.
The Academy can decide that it can’t meet the child’s needs if it feels that:-
‘The child’s attendance at Gladstone Primary Academy would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education of the children with whom the child would be educated or the efficient use of resources.’
Again, if the parent/carer feels that this is unjust in anyway then they can apply for a SEN Tribunal. The Monitoring and Assessment team can provide support on this process.