The council's Admissions Team will
- ensure that the council has clear, fair and agreed school admission arrangements in compliance with the School Admissions Code
- consult on admission arrangements, over-subscription criteria and admission numbers for community and voluntary controlled schools
- work with 'own admission authority’ (OAA) schools to ensure their admission arrangements, over-subscription criteria and admission numbers are determined and published to the correct timescales and are available online and are compliant with the School Admissions Code
- collect and process applications for bulk transfers (primary, junior and secondary)
- allocate bulk admissions places at community and voluntary controlled schools using the Council's published over-subscription criteria
- act as an agent for OAA schools that have requested the Council's Admissions Team to act as their agent for allocating bulk admission places.
- collect and process applications for in-year transfers for all schools that have opted into the in-year admissions process (all schools are opted in unless they have notified the Council that they have opted out and are included on the Council’s list)
- allocate in-year places at community and voluntary controlled schools using the Council's published over-subscription criteria
- act as an agent for OAA schools that have requested the Council's Admissions Team to act as their agent for allocating in-year admission places.
- determine whether free travel assistance will be offered when a place is allocated (working closely with colleagues in the School Transport Eligibility Team and the Transport Team)
- liaise with community and voluntary controlled schools to collect information to prepare the Admission Authority case for representation at school admission appeals liaise with OAA schools that have purchased the Admissions Team service to prepare and/or present school appeals, to collect information to prepare the Admission Authority case for representation at school admission appeals
- present the Admission Authority case at school admission appeals for community, voluntary controlled schools and OAA schools that have purchased this service.
- refer children to be considered for placement via in-year fair access where they are out of school, and there are no suitable local schools
- write to schools after a placement decision has been made by In-Year Fair Access Inclusion Panels
- write to parents of children placed by the In-year Fair Access County and Inclusion Panels to notify them of a school offer
- collect information from parents who want to delay (offset) their child’s start in the Reception class in a primary or infant school until the following academic year; liaise with Oxfordshire schools where a delay (offset) has been requested by a parent; notify parents of the outcome of their delay (offset) request
- work closely with School Organisation Officers to ensure sufficient schools places
- provide advice, data and guidance to schools and parents about admissions
Further information
Further information is available online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions