Academy – a school where the governing body set the criteria and is responsible for the school admissions.
Acceptance form – the form to be completed and returned by parents by Sunday 15 April 2012 to let us know if they wish to accept the school place their child has been offered.
Admission authority – the admission authority is responsible for pupil places and setting the admissions criteria. The local authority (council) is the admissions authority for community and voluntary controlled schools. The schools governing body is the admission authority for voluntary aided schools..
Admission criteria – the conditions of admissions agreed by the admission forum (in the case of community and voluntary controlled schools) or by the governing body (in the case of voluntary aided schools).
Appeal – any parent whose child is refused a place at one of their preferred schools has the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel.
Community school – a school where the council is responsible for the admissions and setting the criteria.
DfE – The Department for Education (central government for education).
Home local authority – A child’s home local authority is the authority in which they live, i.e. the authority to which council tax is paid.
Looked after child – a child who is in care of a local authority and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
Oversubscribed – where there are more requests for admission to a year group in a school, than there are places available.
Parent/guardian/carer – a person who can exercise legal parental responsibility as defined under the 1989 Children’s Act.
Planned admission number (PAN) – the maximum number of pupils to be admitted into a particular year group at a school.
Preference – the legal right of parents to state the school they would prefer their child to attend.
Sibling link – an older brother/sister or step brother/sister that shares the same parent/guardian and lives at the same address as the child applying and will be attending the preferred school at the time of admission, or adopted brothers and sisters living at the same address and to children who are fostered and have other children from the host family attending the school in question.
Single offer of a school place – The one offer for a place at a school which is made to a parent on Monday 2 April 2012.
Voluntary aided school (VA) – a school where the governing body set the criteria and is responsible for the school admissions.
Voluntary controlled school – a school where the council set the criteria and is responsible for admissions.