1. Secondary Admissions 2017 Parent information

2. Key Dates for Parents Registration for Kent Test opens Wednesday 1st June 2016 Registration for Kent Test closes Friday 1st July 2016 Test date on Kent Primary Schools Thursday 8 th September 2016 Results sent to parents on Thursday 13th October 2016 National SCAF closing date Monday 31st October 2016 National Offer Day Tuesday 1st March 2017 Waiting List requests and Late applications 18 March Places to be accepted or refused by 20 March By this date parents must lodge an appeal with the Local Authority 13th April 2017 Vacant places reallocated by KCC 28th April 2017

3. Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) Please apply online via the Online Admissions Website www.kent.gov.uk/ola We have only a very limited number of blank paper SCAFs Parents must fill in their home authority’s SCAF or online application Kent parents are invited to express up to four preferences in priority order. Putting down one school only will not improve the chance of getting a place. Applications must be submitted by midnight on 31 st October 2016 which is a ‘National’ closing date.

4. Online Admissions Parents will need to register with the website before submitting their application. You will be sent an email confirmation of their registration / application if you provide a valid e-mail address. Parents do not need to have an email address to apply online. You should print off a summary of your application and give a copy to the School Office. If you have provide an email address you will receive an email confirmation of your application which is a complete copy of your submission.

5. Online Admissions www.kent.gov.uk/ola On 1 st March 2017 parents who have applied online, and provided a valid email address, will receive notification of their offer by email. Offer emails will be sent after 4pm on 1 st March 2017. Only parents who apply online can receive their offer notification by e-mail, parents who apply on paper will need to wait for their formal letter. Parents who apply online must not submit a paper SCAF as well. The LA will only accept one application, and checking duplicates will slow processing down.

6. Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs) Only applications submitted on a SCAF are valid. Completion of a school’s supplementary Information Form (SIF) alone does not constitute a valid application. The only information a school can request on a SIF is what is required to apply their oversubscription criteria. SIFs must be returned to the Secondary school.

7. Testing Children whose parents have not registered but have named a grammar school on their SCAF will not be able to sit the test until after 28 th April 2017 when parents can submit a further application through the post reallocation process or the in year admissions process or make admissions appeal to independent appeal panel. Where a grammar school is named on the SCAF and the child has not taken the Kent test the preference will be treated as invalid because the child does not meet the entry criteria for a grammar school. A grammar school assessment does not guarantee a grammar school place. The allocation of places rests on each school’s published oversubscription criteria. There is no right to appeal against the assessment decision but after 1 st March 2017 parents may make an admission appeal to an independent appeal panel.

8. Offering School Places 1 st March 2017 After 4pm those parents who applied online and provided a valid e-mail address will be sent an e-mail advising which school their child has been offered. Parents can also log on to the eAdmissions site to view their offer, after 5pm. In addition, offer letters will be posted first class to all paper SCAF applicants and applicants which did not receive their first preference. They should arrive on 2 nd March 2017. Kent LA’s emails/ letters will include an acceptance letter, a waiting list form and information about how to appeal.

9. Offering School Places From 6th March 2017 Schools send welcome letters to parents, and reiterate the need to return acceptances and refusals back to the schools. By 16th March 2017 Deadlines for parents to accept and refuse places with the school- this must be made in writing or via email. Final date for parents to request to go on a waiting list (to the LA). 29th March 2017 Final date for parents to make any appeal. 28th April 2017 The LA will offer any vacant places to pupils on the reallocation lists, prioritised in accordance with the published oversubscription criteria.

10. Waiting Lists The LA will offer places in those schools with vacancies against the Published Admission Number on 28 th April 2017. After 28 th April 2017 schools will hold waiting lists prioritised in accordance with their oversubscription criteria. A grammar school can only put children on its waiting list who have been assessed suitable for grammar school through the Kent Test (and / or Dover Test for Dover grammar schools only).

11. Appeals Parents have the right to appeal for any school which refuses them a place. Appeals must be lodged by 29 th March 2017. After 28 th April, the schools will allocate vacant places to children on the waiting lists, in accordance of their oversubscription criteria.

12. Academies Academies take place in the LA’s Admissions Scheme, and, like maintained schools are subject to the School Admissions Code. They are required to follow the admissions scheme and engage in In Year Fair Access protocols in the same way as any other schools.

13. Home to School Transport Home to transport is a consideration for many parents of children that are transferring to secondary school. The criteria to receive home to school transport are that the child must be attending the nearest appropriate school for transport purposes AND the distance between the home and school must be more than three miles via the shortest available walking route. Transport Entitlement Transport will only be provided to the nearest suitable school for transport purposes. The admissions and transport policies are entirely separate. Children will not automatically receive travel assistance to any school that offers them a place. Further information can be found on http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-transport

14. Send additional questions to kent.admissions@kent.gov.ukkent.admissions@kent.gov.uk Contact the team on 03000 412121 Any Questions?

15. Good Luck! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any advice, help or support!