Admission to Secondary School (2025)

The following pages are intended to provide you with all the information you will need to apply for a school place for your child.

Gateshead Council recognises that your child's education is one of the most important aspects of their life. It influences their formative years and their future. We know how important it is that you receive as much information as possible about the school admissions process. We hope that the following information provides you with everything you need to know in order to apply for a school place for your child.

We recommend that you apply for a school place using Gateshead Councils online school admissions system where you can also access all the information. 

You can also access more information about a school by visiting the school's website or council website. You can access school performance tables (opens new window) and school Ofsted inspection reports (opens new window).

The academic year operates from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026

Applying online

If you have any problems applying online contact the School Admissions Team using the contact details below.

Different formats

If you require a copy of this information in large print, Braille, audio tape or another language contact the School Admissions Team using the contact details below.

Gateshead has a two-tier school system, with children progressing from primary and junior schools to secondary school. There are three infant schools in Gateshead and each has a linked junior school.

Breakdown of the organisation of Gateshead schools for September 2025

We have

61 primary schools for children aged 4 to 11

3 infant schools for children aged 4 to 7

3 junior schools for children aged 7 to 11

Consisting of

47 community schools

1 Church of England schools

19 academies

There are

9 secondary schools

Consisting of

1 community school

1 free school

7 academies

Special education

There are six special schools in Gateshead for children whose special educational needs cannot be met in a mainstream school. A list of the schools and other schools in Gateshead can be found at the back of this booklet.

Specialist designation

Information to consider before you apply

• read the information in this booklet very carefully before completing your application form
• do not assume that you live in a particular schools catchment area as some streets are split

You can check your catchment school on the Council's website.

• sometimes living near to a school in the school's catchment area or having a sibling already at the school you apply to is not enough to be offered a place
• it is possible that your child will not be offered a place at any of your preferred schools especially if you apply for very popular schools and don't have a high priority under the over-subscription criteria
• academies and Voluntary Aided Schools have different admission policies to community schools in Gateshead

You must read the admission policy for each school you apply to in order to assess which school you stand the best chance of being offered.

• look at the statistics for previous years in Section 2 of this booklet

This will show you which schools were oversubscribed and the number of appeals that were heard. However you must be aware that these figures can change significantly from year to year.

• use all three preferences on your application form - doing so does not reduce your chance of gaining a place at your first preference school
• do not repeat the name of a school more than once on your application, as this does not increase your chance of being offered a place and is a waste of preferences
• if your child is eligible for an offer at more than one school, your highest ranked preference will be offered and any lower ranked offers will be disregarded
• your child will not automatically be given a place at your catchment school, it is essential that you apply
• you cannot apply to Emmanuel College on Gateshead's application form
• you must inform us immediately if you change address after the submission of your application form
• remember it is your responsibility to ensure your application is submitted by 31 October 2024
• if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan you do not need to apply for a school place

An Annual Review, to which you will be invited, will be held in the Autumn term in which discussions will be held regarding your child's school placement.

Opening evenings at Gateshead secondary schools

The above dates are correct at the time of publishing; however, you are advised to check the school website to ensure dates and times have not changed prior to your visit.

Academy - a school where the governing body set the criteria and is responsible for the school admissions.

Admission authority - the body responsible for setting and applying a schools admission arrangements and 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 local authority (in the case of community and voluntary controlled schools) or by the governing body (in the case of voluntary aided schools and academies).

Adoption order - an order made under Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.

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.

Child arrangements order - an order to decide where the child lives and when the child spends time with each parent.

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 reside.

Looked after children - children who are in the care of a local authority and as defined by Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 (see also previously looked after children).

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 Children Act 1989.

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.

Previously looked after children - previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a child arrangement or special guardianship order.

Sibling link - an older brother or sister, or step brother or sister that shares the same parent or 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. In addition the older sibling must have been at the school from the start of Year 11.

Single offer of a school place - the one offer for a place at a school which is made to a parent on 3 March 2025.

Special guardianship order - an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's special guardian or guardians as described under Section 14A of the Children Act 1989.

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.

The catchment areas of the following primary and junior schools in Gateshead form the combined catchment area for the Gateshead secondary school identified.

We recommend you find out what catchment area you live in prior to completing your application form.

School catchment maps are available to view on the council's website.

We do not operate any school "feeder" arrangements to our secondary schools or academies. There is no guarantee of a place at a secondary school or academy as a result of attending one of its linked primary or junior schools.

If you would like to know if your address falls within the Parish boundary for a particular voluntary aided (church) school, please contact the school direct.

Important admission dates September 2025 

The closing date for returning applications is 31 October 2024. Any paper application form received by the School Admissions Team after this date will be classed as late. 

Parents that apply online will have until midnight on 31 October 2024 to submit their application after which time the system will close. 

Secondary admissions process 

How we offer places  - equal preference

The School Admissions Code requires that applications are processed under an "equal preference system". This means that all applications received for a school are ranked against the school's over-subscription criteria in their admissions policy.

How it works

• you can name up to three schools on your application, in order of preference (we strongly recommend you use all three preferences)
• your child is added to a list for each of the schools you have named

Each application on the schools list is then ranked in accordance with the published admission criteria in the school's admission policy and this determines where your child is on the waiting list and whether they can offer your child a place.

• if only one of your preferred schools can offer a place, you will be offered a place at that school
• if more than one school can offer you a place, you will be offered the school that you ranked highest on your application
• if none of the schools can offer you a place, you will be offered a place at your catchment school or nearest school, depending upon the availability of places
• in most cases you will be offered a place at one of your preferred schools but there are circumstances where this may not be possible as this will depend on the number of applications received for a school

You must read the admissions policy for all schools you apply to, in order to fully understand the admission criteria and how it will be applied to your application.

Application Example 1

You apply for three schools in the following preference order:

• 1st preference School A
• 2nd preference School B
• 3rd preference School C

All three of your preferred schools can offer a place. You are therefore allocated a place at School A. Your second and third preferences are discarded on the basis that you were allocated your highest preference school.

Application Example 2

You apply for three schools in the following preference order:

• 1st preference School A
• 2nd preference School B
• 3rd preference  School C

School A is unable to offer a place, but School B and School C can offer. You are therefore allocated a place at School B. School C is discarded because you were offered one of your higher preference schools. You are refused a place at School A and advised of the arrangements for placing your child on the waiting list and your right of appeal.

This policy applies to the following schools:

• Heworth Grange
• Kingsmeadow
• Lord Lawson
• Thorp Academy

We allocate places at Gateshead secondary schools using this policy and co-ordinate the admissions to Gateshead schools using the co-ordinated admission scheme.

The admission policy is as follows:

• secondary schools will normally admit pupils between the ages of 11 and 16, or 11 and 19, depending upon the school
• we will accept pupils up to the school's agreed planned admission number for the year group unless we feel there are lawful grounds not to do so

Oversubscription Criteria

We will consider applications from parents who have named the school as any ranked preference on their application form, this is called the equal preference system. If there are more applications for the number of places available at a school, we will than allocate places using the following order of priority:

(*see definitions of our criteria in priority 1 and 3 above in our parent's information booklet and at www.gateshead.gov.uk)

Point 1

We can consider individual applications in cases involving exceptional medical or social needs. Such applications must be supported in writing from relevant registered health professionals, such as a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why the chosen school is the most suitable and what difficulties would be caused if the child were to attend another school. We will not consider such applications if the relevant evidence is not provided. Each case will be considered individually, and no assumption should be made that the submission of the relevant evidence will be sufficient to allocate a place.

Tie breaker

If within any of the above criteria there are more applicants than places available, priority will be given to those children based on the distance they live from the school, measured 'as the crow flies' in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the school's main entrance. Children living nearest to the school will have priority. Distance is measured using a geographical information system (GIS). Where two or more applicants share the same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.

Sibling link

For your child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the sixth form at the school, the brother or sister must have been at the school at the start of Year 11.

Address

For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or guardians address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility, as defined under the 1989 Children Act, for the child.

Waiting list

If places become available, we will consider all relevant applications using a waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained by the council from the start of the academic year and be kept for the rest of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list are placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above. However, children who are the subject of a direction to admit by the LA or who have been referred for admission and have been allocated a place through the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over any child on the waiting list.

Application dates

From 9 September 2024 Gateshead residents can apply on-line at www.gateshead.gov.uk

On-line applications must be submitted by 31 October 2024. Alternatively, parents can request a paper application from The School Admissions Team on 0191 433 2757. Paper applications must be returned to The School Admissions Team, Floor 2, Civic Centre, Gateshead, NE8 1HH by 31 October 2024.

If you live outside Gateshead and want to apply to a Gateshead school, you must obtain an application form from your home Council and return it to them by their closing date, even if the schools you want to apply to are in Gateshead. However, you must still consider the information in Gateshead Council's 'Admission to Secondary School' booklet so that you know what the admission arrangements are to Gateshead schools. This information is available at www.gateshead.gov.uk. Your own Council will send us notification of your application and they will let you know the final allocation of a school place for your child.

Offer Date - 3 March 2025

A letter will be sent to parent's resident in Gateshead on or around 3 March 2025 informing them of the school they have been offered for their child. Gateshead residents who apply on-line are also informed by email on 3 March 2025.

Gateshead's co-ordinated admission scheme and catchment areas referred to in this policy can be viewed online.

Cardinal Hume Catholic School Sixth Form was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for students of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic students in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The school1 is conducted by the Catholic Education Trust as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and articles of association and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school's activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school's education be fully supported by all families in the school. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and be admitted to a place at the school in accordance with the admission arrangements.

The admission policy criteria will be dealt with on an equal preference basis.

Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust is the admissions authority and is responsible for determining the admission policy. The local authority coordinates the admissions process on behalf of the Trust. The administration and operation of the admission policy is delegated by the Trust to the Local Governing Committee.

Parishes served by the school

• St Alban's, Pelaw
• St Joseph's, Gateshead
• St Wilfrid's, Gateshead
• St Anne's, Harlow Green
• St Peter's, Low Fell
• St Oswald's, Wrekenton
• St Augustine's, Leam Lane
• St Joseph's, Birtley, Kibblesworth & Ouston

View a map of the parish boundaries. (opens new window)

Published admission number

The admissions authority has set its published admission number (PAN) at 80 pupils to year 12 in the school year which begins in September 2025.

Entry requirements

Both internal and external pupils wishing to enter the sixth form will be expected to have met the same minimum academic entry requirements for the sixth form. These are:

1. The minimum entry requirement for admission into year 12 is dependent on the course of study that a student wishes to study
2. The minimum entry requirement for any level 3 course is GCSE English Language at 4 or above with 4 other GCSEs or equivalent at 4 or above
3. For AS/A2 courses the general requirement is a high level 5 or above at GCSE in the subject chosen. In some courses, additional conditions may apply. Applicants may be asked to sit additional assessments or attend an interview to ensure they are suitable for the course/s chosen.
4. For vocational courses, a merit or higher in an appropriate level 2 vocational course is required.

If either internal or external applicants fail to meet the minimum course requirements, they will be given the option of pursuing any alternative courses for which they do meet the minimum academic requirements.

Course requirements are published annually in the school's prospectus and on its website.

When year 12 is undersubscribed all applicants meeting the minimum academic entry requirements will be admitted or permitted to progress.

When there are more external applicants that satisfy any academic entry requirements, priority will be given in accordance with the oversubscription criteria set out below.

Where there is a space in year 13, that is, where there are fewer than 80 pupils in the year group, the school will admit additional pupils up to this number using the oversubscription criteria set out below.

Pupils with an education, health and care plan (see note 1)

The admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school must be admitted. Where this takes place before the allocation of places under these arrangements this will reduce the number of places available to other students.

Oversubscription criteria (for external applicants)

Within each of the categories listed above, the following provisions will be applied in the following order:

1. Where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made (see note 11).
2. The attendance of a sibling at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category so that the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made after children in (1) above (see note 9).

Tie breaker

In the event of the school reaching capacity within categories 1-8, the school will allocate places using an electronic random allocation process, which will be independently monitored.

If your child is unsuccessful in gaining a place at Cardinal Hume Catholic School, you may request that your child is placed onto the schools waiting list, which will be maintained according to the schools admissions criteria. Within each criterion, students will be ranked by computer in random order.

Each time a place (or places) becomes available at the school while a child is on the waiting list then a new round of electronic random allocation will take place within each category to determine a child's position.

Application procedures and timetable

The sixth form is available for all existing pupils subject to pupils fulfilling the individual requirements of suitable courses. Remaining places in the sixth form of the school will be offered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria, subject to applicants fulfilling the individual requirements of suitable courses.

To apply for a place at this school, the parent must complete an application form available from www.cardinalhume.com/sixth-form/how-to-apply. The parent will be advised of the outcome of the application by the school.

The parent will be advised of the outcome of the application by the school. If the application is unsuccessful the parent will be informed of the decision, related to the oversubscription criteria, and has the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

If the parent is required to provide supplemental evidence to support the application (e.g. a baptismal certificate), this evidence should be provided at the time of application. If not provided, evidence may be sought by the admissions authority following the closing date for applications. This information must have been correct at the date of closing for applications.

All applications which are submitted on time will be considered at the same time and after the closing date for admissions which is 31 July 2025.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with the home local authority coordinated admissions scheme. Parents are advised to ensure that the application is submitted before the closing date.

Admission of students outside their normal age group

A request may be made for a student to be admitted outside of their normal age group, for example, if the student is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.

Any such request should be made in writing to the headteacher of the school. The admissions authority will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the student. In addition to taking into account the views of the headteacher who has statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the admissions authority will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals.

Waiting lists

In addition to their right of appeal, applicants will be offered the opportunity to be placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained in order of the oversubscription criteria set out below and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the list. Waiting lists for admission will operate throughout the school year. The waiting list will be held open until the last day of the summer term. Inclusion on the school's waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.

In-year applications

An application can be made for a place for a student at any time outside the admission round and the student will be admitted where there are available places. Applications should be made to the school by contacting the Admissions Team at Cardinal Hume Catholic School. www.cardinalhume.com.Parents will be advised of the outcome of their application in writing.

Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out above, will be applied. If there are no places available, a request can be made that the student is added to the waiting list (see above). The parent has the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

Right of appeal

Where a parent has been notified that a place is not available for a student, every effort will be made by the local authority to help the parent to find a place in a suitable alternative school. Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the chair of governors at the school address.

Fair access protocol

The school is committed to taking its fair share of students who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admissions authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a student where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the diocese and the admissions authority for the current school year. The admissions authority has this power, even when admitting the student would mean exceeding the published admission number.

False evidence

The admissions authority reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place or, where a student is already attending the school, the place itself, where it is satisfied that the offer or place was obtained by deception.

Notes and definitions

Read the relevant notes and definitions for this policy.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the local authority's admission guidance for parents.

Cardinal Hume Catholic School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The school is conducted by the Catholic Education Trust as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and articles of association and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school's activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school's education be fully supported by all families in the school. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and be admitted to a place at the school in accordance with the admission arrangements.

The admission policy criteria will be dealt with on an equal preference basis.

Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust is the admissions authority and is responsible for determining the admission policy. The local authority coordinates the admissions process on behalf of the Trust. The administration and operation of the admission policy is delegated by the Trust to the Local Governing Committee.

Catholic feeder schools

• St Alban's, Pelaw
• St Joseph's, Gateshead
• St Wilfrid's, Gateshead
• St Anne's, Harlow Green
• St Peter's, Low Fell
• St Oswald's, Wrekenton
• St Augustine's, Leam Lane
• St Joseph's, Birtley
• St Benet's, Ouston

Parishes served by the school

• St Alban's, Pelaw
• St Joseph's, Gateshead
• St Wilfrid's, Gateshead
• St Anne's, Harlow Green
• St Peter's, Low Fell
• St Oswald's, Wrekenton
• St Augustine's, Leam Lane
• St Joseph's, Birtley, Kibblesworth & Ouston
• St Joseph's, Birtley

Published admission number

The admissions authority has set its published admission number (PAN) at 225 pupils to year seven in the school year which begins in September 2025.

Pupils with an education, health and care plan (see note 1)

The admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school must be admitted. Where this takes place before the allocation of places under these arrangements this will reduce the number of places available to other children.

Oversubscription criteria

Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.

Within each of the categories listed above, the following provisions will be applied in the following order.

1. Where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made (see note 13).
2. The attendance of a sibling at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category so that the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made after children in (1) above (see note 8). In the case of category 7, if there are more applicants than places, places will be allocated via the random selection process.

Tie breaker

In the event of the school reaching capacity within categories 1-11, the school will use an electronic random allocation process to determine the order of applications within a category. This process will be independently monitored.

If your child is unsuccessful in gaining a place at Cardinal Hume Catholic School, you may request that your child is placed onto the schools waiting list, which will be maintained according to the schools admissions criteria. Children will be grouped according to the published criterion. Each time a place (or places) becomes available at the school while a child is on the waiting list then a new round of electronic random allocation will take place within each category to determine a child's position.

Application procedures and timetable

To apply for a place at this school in the normal admission round (not in-year applications), a Common Application Form (CAF) must be completed. This is available from the local authority in which the child lives.

The parent will be advised of the outcome of the application on 3 March 2025 or the next working day, by the local authority. If the application is unsuccessful (unless the child gained a place at a school the parent ranked higher) the parent will be informed of the decision, related to the oversubscription criteria listed on page 5, and has the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

If the parent is required to provide supplemental evidence to support the application (e.g. a baptismal certificate), this evidence should be provided at the time of application. If not provided, evidence may be sought by the admissions authority following the closing date for applications. This information must have been correct at the date of closing for applications.

All applications which are submitted on time will be considered at the same time and after the closing date for admissions which is 31 October 2024.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with the home local authority coordinated admissions scheme. Parents are advised to ensure that the application is submitted before the closing date.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

A request may be made for a child to be admitted outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.

Any such request should be made in writing to the headteacher of the school. The admissions authority will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. In addition to taking into account the views of the headteacher who has statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the admissions authority will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals.

Waiting list

If the school has reached its admission number a Waiting List will be maintained from March 2024. Any parent can request that their child be placed on the waiting list in accordance with the admissions criteria.

Children will be placed on the waiting list according to the oversubscription criteria with the exception of those children in point 1 below.

The length of time someone has been on the waiting list will not be taken into account for the purpose of the allocation of places.

The school will continue to maintain the waiting list during the corresponding school year and outside the normal year of entry.

Children who are referred for admission through the In Year Fair Access Panel and who are without a school place will go to the top of the waiting list but not above those children who are "Looked after".

In-year applications

An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the child will be admitted where there are available places. For information on making an in-year application, parents should contact the local authority:

Education Support Service

Floor 2, Civic Centre

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

0191 433 2757

www.cardinalhume.com (opens new window)

Parents will be advised of the outcome of their application in writing.

Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out on page 5, will be applied. If there are no places available, a request can be made that the child is added to the waiting list (see above). The parent has the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

Right of appeal

Where a parent has been notified that a place is not available for a child, every effort will be made by the local authority to help the parent to find a place in a suitable alternative school. Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the chair of governors at the school address.

Fair access protocol

The school is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admissions authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the diocese and the admissions authority for the current school year. The admissions authority has this power, even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.

False evidence

The admissions authority reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place or, where a child is already attending the school, the place itself, where it is satisfied that the offer or place was obtained by deception.

Notes and definitions

Read the relevant notes and definitions for this policy.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the local authority's admission guidance for parents.

If you want to apply for a place at Emmanuel College, you must read the below information and apply directly to them. You cannot apply to Emmanuel College on Gateshead's application form. If you apply and subsequently receive and accept an offer of a place at Emmanuel College, Gateshead Council will consider your acceptance at the college as your child's final school placement for September 2024. Gateshead Council will not proceed to consider any of the preferences ranked on your application form for a Gateshead Secondary School, unless you inform us otherwise, however, we will write to you in January 2024 to confirm this.

Emmanuel College is a City Technology College (CTC) with a mixed sex, comprehensive secondary school intake and a sixth form. It is part of Emmanuel Schools Foundation, a multi-academy trust. The Trust is the 'Admission Authority' for Emmanuel College and has a legal duty to formally determine the admission arrangements for each year's intake in accordance with the requirements of the Code.

The Trust Board delegates the task of determining the admission arrangements each year to the Local Governing Body of Emmanuel College. Thereafter, Emmanuel College's admission arrangements are determined and implemented by a committee of three Governors or Trustees, which is called the Admission Committee, who are assisted by the Admissions Officer. The school's funding agreement determines that the CTC will admit pupils of different abilities who, in the judgment of the Principal, are most likely to benefit from what the College has to offer, who have the strongest motivation to succeed and who intend to continue in full time education or training up to the age of 18 years. The Principal judges that all pupils who apply to Emmanuel College, being aware of the nature of the education on offer and who attend the admissions test, have the motivation to succeed and will benefit from what the College has to offer. The CTC has an emphasis on science and technology and therefore selects no more than 10% of pupils on the basis of aptitude for these subjects.

Admission to Year 7 

Published admission number (PAN) and eligibility to apply

Emmanuel College has an agreed admission number of 240 pupils for entry in Year 7. We will accordingly admit up to 240 pupils in the relevant age group, each year, if sufficient applications are received. All applicants will be admitted if 240 or fewer apply.

Admission is open to all pupils without regard to their sex, race, religion or ability.

Pupils admitted into Year 7 must be 11 years of age on 1 September in the year in which they join College. Families may seek a place for their child outside of his/her normal age group for circumstances such as ill health or when the child has experienced problems.

Application process

Parents or guardians wishing to apply for a place at Emmanuel College for their child must do so on the relevant College electronic application form. Hard copy application forms are obtainable on request by sending an A4 SAE to "The Admissions Officer", or by visiting the College reception during office hours. The deadline for applications is 31 October in the year prior to entry to Year 7. Late applications will be considered only after all on-time applications have been processed.

Timeline for admissions

Ability banding

Emmanuel College uses 'banding' to ensure a comprehensive intake that represents the full range of abilities. All applicants are invited to take a non-verbal reasoning test as provided by GL assessment, examples of which are available here. The test has no pass or fail mark.

The results of the test will allocate applicants to one of nine groups (known as 'bands') ranging from highest to lowest ability. The number of places allocated to each band is determined by the national distribution of abilities, by applying national percentages in each band to the number of places available within the published admission number. This means that there will be more places available in the middle bands than the highest or lowest ability bands, as shown in the table below.

If there are fewer applications than places available in any given band, they will be supplemented by evenly filling them with applicants falling into the next bands.

Pupils not sitting the ability test will be considered for a place but only after all those who did attend testing have been considered.

Aptitude test

Applicants wishing to be considered for a place based on their aptitude for technology must register for the test by 31 August 2024 and take the test on 7 September 2024. Emmanuel College will admit up to 10% of the cohort (24 applicants) on the basis on their age standardised score on the technology aptitude test.

Parents will be informed of the outcome of aptitude test before the closing date for applications on 31 October.

Catchment area and home address

The College catchment area includes most of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead and large parts of Newcastle. It incorporates the following areas: NE1 (part of), NE2 (part of), NE4, NE5 (part of), NE8, NE9, NE10, NE11, NE15 (part of), NE16, NE21 and DH9 9.. The Newcastle northern and eastern boundary follows the line of Stamfordham Road and its continuation into the A167 to the River Tyne. The Newcastle western boundary is defined by North Walbottle Road and its continuation into Walbottle Road, the A6085 west and Station Road to the River Tyne.

Applicants are welcome to apply who live outside the catchment area, but priority will be given to applicants who are within the catchment.

For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or guardian's address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility for the child. If a child resides between parents for different parts of the week the parents must agree and nominate one of their addresses to be used for the application.

Parents will be asked to provide proof of address by providing a copy of the council tax bill for 2024- 25. Where parents do not provide proof of address, the applicant will be placed into band 7 of the oversubscription criteria, as outlined below.

Misleading or fraudulent information

Where any uncertainty arises in respect of the child's home address, Emmanuel College reserves the right to seek further documentary evidence to determine which address meets the definition stated above. If the allocation of a place is made based on fraudulent or intentionally misleading information, Emmanuel College reserve the right to withdraw the place.

Offers

Offers will be made by 31 January in the year the child will be admitted, or the next working day if this falls on a weekend.

Children with Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP)

Where the Local Authority propose to name Emmanuel College in an EHCP for an applicant, we shall consent to being named. The exception to this is where admitting the applicant would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for other children, and where no reasonable steps may be made to address this. When making this decision, we shall have regard to the relevant guidance issued by the Secretary of State to maintained schools.

Oversubscription criteria

Where there are more applicants than places (within each band), after the admission of pupils with an EHCP where Emmanuel College is named in the plan, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order:

1. Children in Public Care (and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) including a child who was previously "looked after" but immediately after being "looked after" became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order. Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as result of being adopted.
2. Children of staff living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and employed at Emmanuel College fulfilling either or both of the following circumstances:
   1. Where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
   2. The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College with a proven aptitude for technology, as assessed through the aptitude test (up to 10% of the total published admission number). If there are insufficient numbers within the ability band to admit all applicants with an aptitude for technology, places will be allocated within the band using the oversubscription criteria below.
4. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College who have siblings currently attending the school at the time of the application and when the applicant child is due to be admitted. Sibling is defined as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and long-term foster brothers and sisters. For your child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the Sixth Form at the College, the brother or sister must have been at the College at the start of Year 11. If there are insufficient numbers within the ability band to admit all applicants with siblings, places will be allocated within the band using the oversubscription criteria below.
5. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and eligible for the pupil premium (any type); up to a maximum of 35% of the places available within any ability band. Where there are more applicants than places, priority for admission will be given to children who live nearest to the school. Distances are measured 'as the crow flies' from the main entrance of the child's home to the main entrance of the school as specified by GIS. Where two or more applicants share the same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.
6. Other children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
7. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
8. Applicants who did not sit the ability band test, with priority for admission given to children who live in the catchment area and nearest to the school.

Siblings of multiple birth

Where a twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth achieves a place, but their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth does not achieve a place, Emmanuel College will admit their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth even where this means exceeding the published admission number.

Waiting lists

For any child not allocated a place, a waiting list is available where priority will be given according to the oversubscription criteria and will be based on the information provided at the time of application.

In-year admission

Fair Access Protocol

Emmanuel College is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round, the governing body is empowered to give priority to a student where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by the governing body for the current school year, even when admitting the student would mean exceeding the published admission number.

All other in-year admissions

For pupils looking for a school place because they have recently moved into the area, or pupils at another secondary school that feel that a change of school would benefit their education and/or general well-being, they are entitled to apply for a school place.

To apply, their parent or carer should complete the admissions form here and provide a copy of their child's most recent school report.

As Emmanuel College is typically oversubscribed each year, we hold a waiting list for each year group that is ordered according to specific criteria which enables us to ensure there is an objective and transparent approach to offering places to pupils when they become available.

Oversubscription criteria

If there are no school places available, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order (clarification on these criteria are outlined above):

1. Looked after and previously looked after children.
2. Service personnel and crown servants who are being re-posted or are returning from overseas. The application should be accompanied with an official letter stating the relocation date.
3. Children of staff employed at Emmanuel College.
4. Children who have siblings currently attending the school, with priority for admission given to children who live within the catchment area and nearest to the school.
5. Children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College and eligible for the pupil premium (any type), with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
6. Other children living within the catchment area of Emmanuel College, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school.
7. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school

Sixth form admissions

Applications can be made during Year 11 up to the deadline of 1 September of the year of entry. Pupils admitted into Year 12 must be 16 or 17 years of age on 1 September in the year in which they join College.

The published admission number for external applicants to Year 12 is 20 pupils. Existing Year 11 pupils will transfer into Year 12, if they meet the entry criteria for the courses they wish to study and want to continue their education in the sixth form. The subject specific requirements are published each year in our Sixth Form Prospectus and apply equally to internal and external applicants.

A pre-admission meeting may take place for any applicant to discuss courses and entry requirements. Applicants should note that this is not an interview and will play no part in whether a place is offered or not.

Once the total number of places allocated to internal pupils and external candidates within a year group are known, it may be possible to admit further external candidates until Year 12 reaches capacity.

Oversubscription criteria

Should a course be oversubscribed, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order (clarification on these criteria are outlined above):

1. Looked after and previously looked after children.
2. Children who have siblings currently attending the school.
3. Other children by distance from the school, with priority for admission given to children who live nearest to the school

Appeals

Parent(s) wishing to appeal against the decision on admissions, for any year group, should complete an appeal form stating the reason for the appeal, based on the published admissions criteria above.

• The deadline for appeals relating to Year 7 admissions is 14 March 2025. Completed forms should be sent to the Clerk to the Appeal Panel. The Clerk to the Appeal Panel will make an appointment for the appeal to be heard within 40 days from the deadline that appeals are to be submitted to the Clerk.
• The appeals relating to in-year admissions and sixth form can be submitted at any time to the Clerk and appeals will be heard within 30 school days.

The appeals will be heard, in private, by an Independent Appeal Panel. Only one appeal per application is allowed. The decision of the appeal panel will be binding for all parties.

This document sets out the admissions policy for Grace College in accordance with the School Admissions Code 2021 and is applicable to pupils seeking admission for the academic year 2025-2026. Grace College is a mixed sex, comprehensive secondary school with a sixth form. It is part of Emmanuel Schools Foundation, a multi-academy trust. The Trust is the 'Admission Authority' for Grace College and has a legal duty to formally determine the admission arrangements for each year's intake in accordance with the requirements of the Code. Authority to deal with admissions has been delegated to each school in the Trust. As such, this means that the admissions arrangements for Grace College will be dealt with by the College's School Improvement Board.

Admissions

Published admission number (PAN) and eligibility to apply

Grace College has an agreed admission number of 210 pupils for entry in Year 7. We will accordingly admit up to 210 pupils in the relevant age group, each year, if sufficient applications are received. All applicants will be admitted if 210 or fewer apply. Admission is open to all pupils without regard to their sex, race, religion or ability. We offer places at Grace College using the admission criteria given below and we follow Gateshead Council's requirements in their co-ordinated admission scheme:

• We normally admit students between the ages of 11 and 19 years of age.
• We will accept students up to the College's agreed PAN for the year group unless we feel there are lawful grounds not to do so.

Application process

The deadline for applications is 31 October in the year prior to entry to Year 7. Gateshead residents can apply online at https://www.gateshead.gov.uk. Alternatively, parents can request a paper application from The School Admissions Team on 0191 4332757. Paper applications must be returned to The School Admissions Team, Floor 2, Civic Centre, Gateshead, NE8 1HH by the 31 October deadline.

If you live outside of the Gateshead area and want to apply to a Gateshead school, you must obtain an application form from your home Council and return it to them by their closing date, even if the schools you want to apply to are in Gateshead. However, you must still consider the information in Gateshead Council's 'Admission to Secondary School' booklet so that you know what the admission arrangements are to Gateshead schools. This information is available at https://www.gateshead.gov.uk. Your own Council will send us notification of your application and they will let you know the final allocation of a school place for your child.

Offers

Parents will be informed of the school they have been offered for their child on 1 March in the year the child will be admitted, or the next working day if this falls on a weekend. Gateshead residents who apply online are informed by email and a letter will be also sent to parent/carer's residence in Gateshead.

Children with Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP)

Where the Local Authority propose to name Grace College in an EHCP for an applicant, we shall consent to being named. The exception to this is where admitting the applicant would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for other children, and where no reasonable steps may be made to address this. When making this decision, we shall have regard to the relevant guidance issued by the Secretary of State to maintained schools.

Oversubscription criteria

We will consider applications from parents who have named Grace College as any ranked preference on the application form, this is called the equal preference system. If there are more applications than the number of places available at Grace College, we will allocate places using the following order of priority, after the admission of pupils with an EHCP where Grace College is named in the plan: 

1. Children in Public Care (and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) including a child who was previously "looked after" but immediately after being "looked after" became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order. Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as result of being adopted.
2. Children of staff employed at Grace College fulfilling either or both of the following circumstances: a. Where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or b. The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3. Children who live in the school's catchment area as shown here. For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of the College, we will use the parent or carers address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility, as defined under the 1989 Children Act, for the child.
4. Children who will have siblings attending Grace College during the coming academic year. Sibling is defined as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters and longterm foster brothers and sisters. For your child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the Sixth Form at the College, the brother or sister must have been at the College at the start of Year 11.
5. Other children who have exceptional medical and social grounds. We can consider individual applications in cases involving exceptional medical or social needs. Such applications must be supported in writing from relevant registered health professionals i.e. a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why Grace College is the most suitable school and what difficulties would be caused if your child were to attend another school. We will not consider such applications if the relevant evidence is not provided. Each case will be considered individually, and no assumption should be made that submission of the relevant evidence will be sufficient to allocate a place.
6. All other children.

Tie breaker

If within any of the above criteria there are more applicants than places available priority will be given to those children based on the distance they live from the College, measured 'as the crow flies' in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the College's main entrance. Children living nearest to the College will have priority. Distance is measured using a geographical information system (GIS). Where two or more applicants share the same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.

Siblings of multiple birth

Where a twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth achieves a place, but their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth does not achieve a place, Grace College will admit their twin, triplet(s) or sibling(s) of a higher multiple birth even where this means exceeding the published admission number.

Waiting lists

If places become available, we will consider all relevant applications using a waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained by the council from the start of the academic year and be kept for the rest of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list are placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above. However, children who are the subject of a direction to admit by the local authority or who have been referred for admission and have been allocated a place through the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over any child on the waiting list.

In-year admissions

Fair Access Protocol

Grace College is committed to taking its fair share of students who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round of admissions, the admissions authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a student where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by the admissions authority for the current school year. The admissions authority has this power, even when admitting the student would mean exceeding the published admission number. Copies of the Fair Access Protocols are available here or from the Education Support Team, telephone number 0191 433 8745.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

School transfer requests for children with an EHCP will be referred to the Special Educational Needs Team who will work with parents to secure a place at a school where the specific needs of the child can be met.

All other in-year admissions

Parents with children of statutory school age who either move into Gateshead and need a school place or are resident in Gateshead and wish to change their child's school must complete an in-year transfer application form. Paper copies are available from the School Admissions Team on telephone number 0191 433 8589. The application form allows you to express a preference for up to three schools in Gateshead.

If you are moving to a new house, they will need a copy of the exchange of contracts or a rental agreement before they consider the new address. They cannot offer school places on the basis of intended future changes of address unless you can provide the relevant documentary evidence.

Once the School Admissions Team receive your completed form, a copy will be forwarded to the relevant schools, who have 10 school days to respond to the request, advising if a place is available.

The offer of a place is dependent on the availability of places in the relevant year group at the time of application. Year groups may be full and may not have places available when you move house or decide to transfer your child from one school to another.

Gateshead Council will notify of the outcome of your request.

Oversubscription criteria

If there are no school places available, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria outlined above.

Sixth form admissions

Grace College provides courses of study for post 16 (Sixth Form) students. Applications can be made during Year 11 up to the deadline of 1 September of the year of entry. Pupils admitted into Year 12 must be 16 or 17 years of age on 1 September in the year in which they join College.

The published admission number for external applicants to Year 12 is 40 pupils. Existing Year 11 pupils will transfer into Year 12, if they meet the entry criteria for the courses they wish to study and want to continue their education in the sixth form. The subject specific requirements are published each year in our Sixth Form Prospectus and apply equally to internal and external applicants.

A pre-admission meeting may take place for any applicant to discuss courses and entry requirements. Applicants should note that this is not an interview and will play no part in whether a place is offered or not.

Once the total number of places allocated to internal pupils and external candidates within a year group are known, it may be possible to admit further external candidates until Year 12 reaches capacity.

Oversubscription criteria

Should a course be oversubscribed, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in the following order:

1. Students who have attended the College in the previous academic year (during Year 11) and who satisfy the College's entry requirements for the course available.
2. All other students of the relevant age who satisfy the College's entry requirements for the course available.

Where there are more applicants than places available in any of the priorities above, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria outlined above.

Appeals

Year 7 admissions

The email or letter informing you that a place cannot be offered to your child will advise you how to appeal if you wish to do so. If you decide to appeal, you should contact the School Admissions Team following receipt of your refusal letter and request an appeal form. Once completed, you should send your appeal form to: Strategic Director, Corporate Services and Governance, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH. Please note that the council is required where possible to arrange and conduct all admission appeal hearings for September 2025 before the end of the current academic year (i.e. by July 2025). Accordingly, the council requests that all parents wishing to have an appeal return their appeal forms duly completed on or before the 29 March 2025. If parents submit appeal forms after this date it may result in appeal hearing dates having to be re-arranged at short notice with inconvenience to other parents and appeal panel members.

Before deciding whether to appeal, you will probably want to think about the admission policy for admitting pupils, your reasons for wanting your child to attend the school and how strong a case you have. You may also want to consider visiting the school where you have been offered a place or alternative schools that still have places available. Contact the School Admissions Team on 0191 433 2757 if you would like information on the availability of places at other schools you may consider.

If you decide to appeal, your appeal will be heard by a panel which is independent of the school and Gateshead Council. You may want to attend an appeal for more than one school at which you have been refused a place. The outcome of one appeal does not prevent you from attending the other.

You will be informed of the date and place of the appeal hearing. You should be given at least seven days' notice. Ten days before the hearing, the School Admissions Team will send copies of the statement of case that will be put before the appeal panel in support of the local authority's decision not to offer your child a place.

You are advised to attend the appeal hearing, where you will be given the opportunity to put your case forward and ask questions. You can take someone with you if you wish. If you are unable to attend, the case made by you in writing will be considered in your absence. In making your case, you will probably want to refer to your original reasons for choosing the school.

If you want the panel to take any additional information into account, you should, if possible, submit any supporting documents with your appeal form or provide these to the clerk in good time for the members of the panel and local authority to be able to consider them properly.

There will be representatives from the local authority and the school at the hearing to explain to the panel why it was not possible to offer your child a place.

At the end of the hearing, the clerk should be able to give you an idea of how soon you can expect to receive the panel's written decision, this decision is binding on all parties.

The Panel's decision is final. You can only appeal once for admission of your child to a particular school for any given academic year. The Council will only determine a second application for any given academic year where it accepts there has been a significant and material change in your circumstances relevant to the question of admission.

In-year admission

If your child is not offered a place at your chosen school, the School Admissions Team will let you know which other schools have places available and will notify you in writing of your right to appeal. Appeal forms are available from the School Admissions Team.

Completed appeal forms must be returned to Democratic Services and Governance, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH. Your appeal will be heard within 30 school days following the date of receipt. Vacant places may arise before the date of the appeal hearing. Where this happens, the school will offer the vacant place to the child that is top of their waiting list using the admission criteria set out within our admission policy.

Where year groups are full the school will maintain a waiting list and any vacancies which may arise will be offered using this list. If you would like your child's name placed on the Grace College waiting list for Years 8-11, you must complete this form to request this. If a place becomes available which can be offered to your child, we will contact you to discuss next steps.

Sixth Form

Applicants refused admission to a Sixth Form are entitled to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Information is available from the local authority here.

St Thomas More Catholic School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The school is conducted by the Catholic Education Trust as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and articles of association, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school's activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school's education be fully supported by all families in the school. We, therefore, hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and be admitted to a place at the school in accordance with the admission arrangements.

Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust is the admissions authority and is responsible for determining the admission policy. The local authority coordinates the admissions process on behalf of the Trust. The administration and operation of the admission policy is delegated by the Trust to the Local Governing Committee.

Catholic feeder primary schools

• St Joseph's, Blaydon
• St Agnes', Crawcrook
• SS Mary and Thomas Aquinas, Stella
• St Philip Neri, Dunston
• St Mary's, Whickham
• St Joseph's, Highfield
• Corpus Christi, Gateshead
• Sacred Heart, Byermoor
• St Matthew's, Prudhoe

Published Admission Number

The admissions authority has set its Published Admission Number (PAN) at 235 pupils to Year Seven in the school year which begins in September 2025.

Children with an Education, Health and Care plan or a statement of Special Educational Need

The admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan or a Statement of Educational Needs is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs that names the school must be admitted. Where this takes place before the allocation of places under these arrangements this will reduce the number of places available to other children.

Oversubscription Criteria

Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.

Within each of the categories listed above, the following provisions will be applied in the following order.

1. Where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made (see note 12).
2. The attendance of a sibling at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category so that the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made after children in (1) above (see note 8).

Tie breaker

In the event of the School reaching capacity within categories 1-10, the School will use random allocation to determine the order of applications within a category. This will be carried out in a public place and supervised by a person independent of the school.

Applications for entry into Year 7

To apply for a place at this school in the normal admission round (not in-year applications), a Common Application Form (CAF) must be completed. This is available from the local authority in which the child lives. Alternatively you can apply via the online portal on the website of the local authority in which the child lives.

Applications procedures and timetables will follow the locally agreed co-ordinated scheme with Gateshead Local Authority.

If there are more places than applicants then all applicants will be accepted.

If there are more applications than places available then the Governors will apply the oversubscription criteria as outlined in Section 12 of this policy.

If there are more applicants than available places the School will treat all applications equally, regardless of the order of preference given by the parents.

All the applications are placed in order using the oversubscription criteria. Allocation of places is then coordinated by the Local Authority.

Late applications can be made and will be handled as in the Co-ordinated Scheme. Parents are advised to ensure that the application is submitted before the closing date.

The Governors reserve the right to declare an application null and void or to withdraw an offer of a place if any of the information submitted is false.

Applicants refused admission to Year 7 are entitled to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

A request may be made for a child to be admitted outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. Any such request should be made in writing to the Head Teacher of the school. The admissions authority will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. In addition to taking into account the views of the Head Teacher who has statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the admissions authority will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals.

Fair access protocol

The school is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admissions authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the Diocese and the admissions authority for the current school year. The admissions authority has this power, even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.

Waiting list

If the school has reached its admission number a Waiting List will be maintained from 2nd April 2024.

Any parent can request that their child be placed on the waiting list. Children will be placed on the waiting list according to the oversubscription criteria. The date of the application, and the date the child is placed on the list, will not be used in any selection process. The school will continue to maintain the waiting list during the corresponding school year and outside the normal year of entry. Pupils who are allocated a place at the school under the Local Authority's Fair Access protocol must take precedence over all those on the waiting list. Inclusion on the school's waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.

Repeat applications

Repeat applications for entry into a particular year group in the same academic year will not be considered unless there is a material change in the circumstances of the child or parent. An application may be made for a subsequent academic year.

A material change in circumstance may be a change of address or a change in the baptismal status of the child.

In year applications

An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the child will be admitted where there are available places. Applications should be made to the school by contacting the Admissions Officer at the school. Parents will be advised of the outcome of their application in writing.

Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out below, will be applied.If there are no places available, a request can be made that the child is added to the waiting list. The parent has the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

Right of appeal

Where a parent has been notified that a place is not available for a child, every effort will be made by the local authority to help the parent to find a place in a suitable alternative school. Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.

Admission into the sixth form

Planned admission number - Year 12

The school will admit 20 pupils into Year 12, September 2025.

The projected number of pupils for admission into Year 12 in September 2025 is 175. This is made up of an estimated number of 155 pupils moving into Year 12 from St Thomas More School and 20 external applications from pupils in other schools.

The minimum entry requirement for admission into Year 12 is dependent on the course of study that a student wishes to follow. In general, the minimum entry requirement for Year 12 is 6+ grades 6-9 at GCSE or equivalent. For a student to study a subject at A Level which they have previously studied at GCSE, and where previous study is required, they must have achieved at least a grade 6 in that subject at GCSE.

For a 6 or 12 unit vocational course the minimum entry requirement is 5+ grades 6-9 GCSE or equivalent with a merit in a suitable Subject.

Details of the specific entry requirements and courses available may be obtained from the School.

Applicants refused admission to the Sixth Form are entitled to appeal to an independent appeals panel.

For a student to continue a course of study in Year 13 they must pass the course in Year 12 at a suitable level. Details of this can be obtained from the school.

Oversubscription criteria for external students

Tie breaker

In the event of the school reaching capacity within categories 1-7, the School will use random allocation to determine the order of applications within a category. This will be supervised by a person independent of the school.

Notes and definitions

Read the relevant notes and definitions for this policy.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the local authority's admission guidance for parents.

Introduction

We, at Whickham School, allocate places at our school using Gateshead LA's Community Secondary Schools Admissions Policy. We consult the Governing Body each year about this policy and we arrange the admissions to the school using the co-ordinated admission scheme. We also use this policy and scheme when deciding the allocation of places for In Year transfer/casual admissions to the school.

The admission policy is as follows:

• Whickham School will admit pupils between the ages of 11 and 19
• We will accept pupils up to the school's agreed planned admission number for the year unless we feel there are lawful grounds not to do so

Oversubscription Criteria

We will consider applications from parents who have named the school as any ranked preference on their application form this is called the equal preference system. If there are more applications for the number of places available at the school we will then allocate places by using the following order of priority:

*see definitions of our criteria in priority 1 and 3 on our website

Point 1 - We can consider individual applications in cases involving exceptional medical or social needs. This kind of application must be supported in writing from relevant registered health professionals i.e. a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why the chosen school is the most suitable and what difficulties would be caused if the child were to attend another school. We will not consider such applications if the relevant evidence is not provided. No assumption should be made that submission of the relevant evidence will in itself be sufficient to allocate a place.

Point 2 - School staff refers to all staff employed by Whickham School.

Tie breaker

If within any of the above criteria there are more applicants than places available priority will be given to those children based on the distance they live from the school, measured 'as the crow flies' in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the school's main entrance. Children living nearest to the school will have priority. Distance is measured using a geographical information system (GIS). Where two or more applicants share the same distance, a random allocation process will be used to determine the ranked order of the applications in question.

Sibling link

For your child to receive priority because of an older brother or sister in the sixth form at the school, the brother or sister must have been at the school at the start of Year 11.

Address

For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or guardians address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility, as defined under the 1989 Children Act, for the child.

Waiting list

If places become available we will consider all relevant applications using a waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained by Whickham School from the start of the academic year and be kept for the rest of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list are placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above.

However, children who are the subject of a direction to admit by the LA or who have been referred for admission and have been allocated a place through the Fair Access Protocol or managed moves between schools will take precedence over any child on the waiting list.

Application dates

From 9 September 2024 Gateshead residents can apply on-line at www.gateshead.gov.uk

On-line applications must be submitted by 31 October 2024. Alternatively, parents can request a paper application from The School Admissions Team on 0191 433 2757. Paper applications must be returned by 31 October 2024 to:

School Admissions Team

Civic Centre, Floor 2

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

If you live outside Gateshead and want to apply to a Gateshead school, you must obtain an application form from your home Council and return it to them by their closing date, even if the schools you want to apply to are in Gateshead. However, you must still consider the information in Gateshead Council's 'Admission to Secondary School' booklet so that you know what the admission arrangements are to Gateshead schools. This information is available at www.gateshead.gov.uk. Your own Council will send us notification of your application and they will let you know the final allocation of a school place for your child.

Offer date

A letter will be sent to parent's resident in Gateshead on or around 3 March 2025 informing them of the school they have been offered for their child. Gateshead residents who apply on-line are also informed by email on 3 March 2025.

In-year applications

An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round please view the information on our website.

General information and definitions

For information on our admission arrangements and definitions of the terms used in this policy please refer to the "Admission to Secondary School" booklet for 2024 www.gateshead.gov.uk

Gateshead's co-ordinated admission scheme and catchment areas referred to in this policy can also be viewed online or at The Civic Centre.

XP Gateshead is part of the XP School Trust. We base our practice on our extremely successful schools in Doncaster - following a model of learning called "expeditionary" learning. In July 2017, XP School in Doncaster was judged by Ofsted as outstanding in all areas, highlighting character growth and stating that academic progress is outstanding for all groups of students.

Every year there are 50 places available at XP Gateshead. Parents can apply for places through the normal Local Authority process.

At XP we have a relentless focus on beautiful work, character growth and academic success. We expect our students, staff and parents to be courageous, respectful, committed to craftsmanship and quality, to show integrity and to be compassionate.

We provide an authentically tough and rewarding education for everyone, and we believe this is best achieved through not segregating our children by any measure, such as social class or academic ability.

For this reason, we allocate places to children in our catchment area using a randomised process. This is the fairest way that we can see to ensure that all children in the Gateshead area have the opportunity to come to XP Gateshead. More details of this process can be found in our admissions policy.

We hold high expectations for all our stakeholders. Without exception, our students are expected to be able to go to university if they so wish, our staff pursue a high level of continual professional learning, and our parents are expected to attend and be involved in Celebrations of Learning, Student-led Conferences and Passage Presentations.

Our students are immersed in term long 'learning expeditions', covering standards from across many subjects. We ensure our expeditions are broad and engaging by rigorous mapping of appropriate standards from the National Curriculum and GCSE specifications.

Expeditions are designed around real-world issues and problems and our students work to affect positive change in their communities.

To be absolutely clear, XP is neither a vocational school, so we do not prepare students for specific trades, nor are we an outdoor adventure school. It is not tailored for or aimed at any one particular group of children or type of child with specific ways of learning. We are a mainstream comprehensive 11-16 secondary school.

Every year there are 50 places available at XP Gateshead. You apply for places through the normal Local Authority process.

Admissions

We are a Comprehensive school situated in the East end of Gateshead and applications are through the regular local authority process. It is important to note that if you really want your son or daughter to come to XP Gateshead, you should still name other schools as second and third preferences. Naming only XP Gateshead does not increase the chance that you will be offered a place. Full details of our admissions policy and more information about our school can be found at www.xpgateshead.org (opens new window)

Oversubscription criteria

Where the school receives more applications than it has places available, the criteria listed below will apply, after the admission of children with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) which names XP GATESHEAD, the oversubscription criteria will be:

1. A 'looked after child' or a child who was previously 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).
2. Children of staff where they have been appointed to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
3. Children with a sibling who is attending or has attended XP GATESHEAD. Sibling is defined in these arrangements as children who live as brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step brothers or sisters and foster brothers and sisters.
4. Children living within the designated catchment area of the school identified by random allocation. This process will be independently verified by the Local Authority.
5. Children living outside the designated catchment area of the school identified by random allocation. This process will be independently verified by the Local Authority.

Catchment Area

We intend our school to benefit Gateshead and its surrounding area so the designated catchment area of XP GATESHEAD will reflect this. The catchment area is defined as the following postcode areas DH3 1, DH 3 2, NE8, NE9, NE10, NE11, NE16, NE17, NE 21, NE 39, NE 40, NE41 8J, NE42 5N.

Please visit our website at www.xpgateshead.org (opens new window) to find out more about our school and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions etc.

Applications by non-Gateshead residents

If you do not live in Gateshead, you must apply direct to your home local authority. They will forward a copy of your application form to Gateshead. If you are not offered a Gateshead School, your home local authority will ensure your child is offered a school place in your area.

Likelihood of a place at your preferred school

To assess the likelihood of gaining a place at your preferred school, look at the School Admission Policy to see how high up the admission criteria your child will be. You can then look at the statistical information for the school in section 2 of this booklet. This information will give you an idea of the number of applications, offers and appeals received for the last 2 academic years. However, these figures can change significantly from year to year.

Purpose of applying to more than one school

If you only list one school on your application form you cannot be certain that your child will be offered a place there. If you do not let us know about other schools on your application form that you might have considered as a second or third preference then you may run the risk of leaving it too late to obtain a place at one of these schools if your application for a first preference school is unsuccessful. We strongly recommend you use all three preferences, doing so does not reduce your chance of gaining a place at your first preference school.

Application address information for shared custody arrangements

If you share custody of a child for whom you are processing an application, you must contact The School Admissions Team on 0191 433 2756 or 433 3909 before completing your application form and you will be given individual advice on this issue. It is expected that where there is shared parental responsibility for a child, that parents will agree which parent has the main responsibility before completing their application form. Documentary evidence will be requested.

If you are unable to provide evidence of shared responsibility the local authority will use the address of the parent/carer who receives the child benefit.

Applications for children with Special Educational Needs

If your child is being assessed for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or already has an EHCP you should still complete a secondary school application form. The School Admissions Team will liaise with the Special Educational Needs Team, who will inform them of your child's final school placement when it is named on their EHCP.

Applications submitted after the closing date of 31 October 2024

Your application will be classed as late and you will reduce your chances of gaining a place at your chosen schools. You must give a reason as to why your application was submitted late. For applications received after 31 October 2024 but on or before 3 January 2025 we may be able to consider your application for exceptional reasons. For example, you may have just moved into the area. In such circumstances proof of ownership or tenancy of your address will be required. Each late application will be decided on its own merits. You need to be aware that if we agree to consider a late application as on-time for exceptional reasons this does not in itself mean that we can offer your child a place. It simply means that your application will be considered in accordance with the admission criteria along with all other applications that were received on time.

Late applications received after 3 January 2025 will not be processed until after 3 March 2025 however an offer will be made for your catchment school or next nearest school in Gateshead with places available measured as the crow flies from the main entrance of the school to your home address.

Changing preferences after the closing date of 31 October 2024

Change of preferences will only be considered if you can demonstrate that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the reasons for the change. You need to think carefully about the initial preferences you rank on your application form as the majority of change of preference requests for oversubscribed schools are not considered to be exceptional.

If we cannot consider your change of preference we will proceed with the preferences you gave on your original application form for determining the offer of places on 3 March 2025. Any change of preference request received after 3 January 2025 will not be processed until after 3 March 2025.

Moving house after the closing date of 31 October 2024

Please refer to Section 1 - Co-ordinated admissions - September 2025 for information on how your application will be considered if you move house after the closing date.

Offers without a complete application form

If you do not complete an application and are a Gateshead resident, a place will still be offered to your child at your catchment school or next nearest school with places available. However, this offer may be made after 3 March 2025.

Unsuccessful applications for preferred schools 

If you are not offered a place at any of your preferred schools your child will be offered a place at your catchment school or next nearest school depending upon the availability of places. 

If you are refused a place you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel and may also request that your child's name is placed on the schools waiting list. Waiting lists are maintained according to the schools admission criteria with no regard to the ranking the school was given on the application form. A child's position on a waiting list may change due to additions or deletions of children on the list.

Over-subscription for preferred schools

If a school or academy has too many applications for the places available they are known as an over-subscribed school. Places will be allocated using the schools admission criteria set out in their admission policy. The admission criteria for Gateshead schools can be found from page 11 of this booklet.

You must read the Admission Policy for every school you apply to, even if it is outside Gateshead.

School admissions in Gateshead are co-ordinated with neighbouring local authorities. Gateshead local authority will check the applications they receive against those submitted to their neighbouring authorities, ensuring only one application form for each child is processed.

All schools you want to apply to must be ranked on your application form. If you include a voluntary aided school on your application, Gateshead will forward a copy of your application to them so they can consider your request in line with their school admission policy.

Gateshead local authority will ensure each child resident in Gateshead receives one offer of a school place. They will do this by applying the ranking information in the following way:

• if a child is eligible for a place at only one of the schools ranked on the application, a place at that school will be offered to the child
• if a child is eligible for a place at more than one school ranked on the application, the child will be offered a place at the school which was ranked the highest
• if a child is not eligible for a place at any school ranked on the application, Gateshead LA will offer an alternative place, for example your catchment school or nearest school depending upon the availably of places

You must make sure you read and understand the admission policy for all schools you apply to before your submit your application.

Preferences for schools outside Gateshead

If you rank a school outside of Gateshead on your application form, Gateshead will liaise with the relevant local authority regarding the request.

Admission policies

Gateshead LA determines the admission policy and admission arrangements for community schools in Gateshead. Gateshead's community school admission policy is set out on page 11 of this booklet. The governing body of voluntary aided schools in Gateshead determine the admission policy and admission arrangements to their school.

The admission policies for all voluntary aided schools in Gateshead are set out on page 13 of this booklet.

How to apply if you live in Gateshead

You can apply online from Monday 9 September 2024.

Apply online

If you are unable to apply online you can request a paper application form from The School Admissions Team.

Applications must be submitted by 31 October 2024. If you do not submit your form by this date you will reduce your chances of gaining a place at one of your chosen schools.

If you live outside Gateshead

You must apply direct to your home local authority and they will forward a copy of your application to Gateshead. Your home local authority will notify you of the outcome of your request.

If you apply to a Gateshead school it is important that you read the information contained in this booklet including the school's admission policy in order to fully understand the admission criteria for the school you apply to.

Equal preference

All local authorities use an equal preference system. Please refer to page 10 of this booklet for further information on the equal preference system and how places are allocated.

Late applications

The closing date for submitting your application is 31 October 2024. If you return your form after this date you will severely reduce your chances of gaining a place at your chosen schools. In exceptional circumstances (for example if you have just moved into the area) Gateshead LA may be able to consider late applications if they are received by 3 January 2025. In such circumstances proof of ownership or tenancy will be required. Each late application will be determined on its own merits.

If Gateshead local authority agree to consider a late application for exceptional reasons your application will be considered along with all other applications that were received on time.

Change of preferences received after 31 October 2024 must be submitted in writing and will only be considered if exceptional circumstances apply.

Late applications and late change of preferences received after 3 January 2025 will not be processed until after 3 March 2025 however in the case of late applications, an offer will be made for your catchment school/ academy or nearest community school or academy depending upon the availability of places. In the case of late change of preferences Gateshead LA will continue to process the original on time application received.

The majority of late applications are refused a place and places are not kept back for any late applicants.

Offer of a school place

The national offer date is 3 March 2025. A letter will be posted to all Gateshead residents that apply for a school place, informing them of the school they have been offered on or around this date. If you applied on line you will also receive an email on 3 March 2025 confirming which school your child has been offered.

Refusal of a school place

Waiting lists and appeals process

Gateshead local authority will maintain waiting lists for all oversubscribed schools. If you are refused a place at a Gateshead school your child's name will automatically be placed on the school's waiting list. The offer of places from the waiting list will start on March and places will

be offered on a weekly basis thereafter, if vacancies arise. Waiting lists are maintained according to the admission criteria set out in the schools admission policy without reference to the preference ranking given on the application form or the length of time a child has been on the list. A child's position on a waiting list may change due to additions or deletions of children on the list.

If you are refused a school place, you also have the right to appeal to an independent panel. You will receive an appeal form with your refusal letter on or around 3 March 2025. If you wish to appeal you must complete and return the appeal form by the date indicated in your refusal letter. Appeals are generally heard in May/June 2025.

Address and fraudulent address claims

When deciding whether a child lives within a catchment area for a Gateshead school only the address of the parent/legal guardian with whom the child resides will be taken into account.

Addresses of childminders, relatives or friends who may help look after your child must not be used on the application form. Gateshead local authority reserve the right to seek proof of address and to withdraw an offer of a place in the event of an inaccurate address being provided on the application form. Unfortunately places are withdrawn every year because some parents use a

false address on their application form. This includes cases where parents take out a short term lease, temporarily move in with relatives or buy a property solely to use its address on the application form without any intention

of taking up permanent residence there. Gateshead local authority do all they can to make sure this does not happen and in fairness to all parents will investigate all allegations of fraudulent practice brought to their attention and this may lead to a place being withdrawn.

Temporary address

We cannot accept your residence at a temporary address, unless exceptional circumstances apply, for example, if you are moving into the area or have been housed in emergency accommodation by the council. If you are currently living at a temporary address you must contact The School Admissions Team for advice prior to completing your application form.

Shared responsibility for a child

Parents of children who reside at two different addresses due to parental responsibility, are advised to seek advice about the completion of their application form before its submission from the School Admissions Team on: 0191 433 2756.

It is expected that where there is shared parental responsibility for a child, that parents will agree who is the parent with the main responsibility before completing the application form.

Documentary evidence will be requested. If you are unable to provide evidence of shared responsibility, the local authority will use the address of the parent/carer who receives the child benefit.

Change of address after the closing date (moving into a particular school's catchment area for the school you applied to)

It is your responsibility to notify us immediately of any change of address after submitting your application form. We cannot reserve places for families expecting to move into a particular school's catchment area. If you have not exchanged contracts or have not signed a tenancy agreement to support your new address we will be unable to use this address when offering places on 3 March 2025. If you can provide us with the above evidence by 3 January 2025, we will be able use your new address.

Please note that if you move into a particular schools catchment area after the submission of your application form and do not provide us with proof of your new address by 3 January 2025, your new address will not be taken into consideration when offering places.

Change of address after the closing date (moving out of a particular schools catchment area or further away from the school you applied to)

It is your responsibility to notify us immediately of any change of address or change in circumstance after submitting your application form that may affect how your application is considered. For example, If you move out of the catchment area for the school you applied to after the submission of your application form, this may affect the category in which your child was considered. If it is determined that your child would not have been eligible for a place at the school offered based on your new address, your child's school place could be withdrawn.

If necessary, we will withdraw places for change of addresses that take place up to and including 3 March 2025. However we will still continue to investigate any change of addresses following this date up until 31 August 2025 and will withdraw places if a school place has been obtained at any stage using a temporary address, relatives address or if we feel a property has been purchased or leased solely to use its address to obtain a place at a particular school, without any intention of ever taking up permanent residence there.

You can find out what school catchment area you live in on the Council's website at: www.gateshead.gov.uk.

Gateshead Council will investigate all allegations of fraudulent practice brought to their attention and this may lead to a place being withdrawn. You must notify us immediately if you change your address after the submission of your application form up to and including 31 August 2025.

If you move address before 31 August 2025 and your child is no longer eligible for the school place offered, the school offer will be withdrawn by the LA.

Additional information - voluntary aided schools

Governing bodies of Roman Catholic and Church of England voluntary aided schools determine the eligibility of applicants to their schools using their own admission policy. If you include a voluntary aided school on your application, Gateshead will forward a copy of your application to the relevant school so they can consider your request in line with their school admission policy. The school will then provide Gateshead LA with a ranked list of applicants.

It is important that you read the admission policy for any school you apply to as voluntary aided policies differ from one another, and are different from the community school admission policy.

If you apply online for a Voluntary Aided school you will be prompted to complete the 'Faith Details' section of the online form. Please ensure you complete all details requested including the religion of your child. If you complete a paper application form you must complete Section F of the form in full.

Verifying application forms

In November/December 2024, Voluntary Aided schools will receive details of all applications for their school from Gateshead LA, and they may write to you to request further documentation in order for the Governing Body to consider your Application.

You must provide all the evidence requested by the school, by the date they indicate. Failure to do so may result in your application being placed in a much lower category for admission than it may actually be and this may reduce your chances of receiving an offer of a place at this school.

If you have ranked more than one voluntary aided school on your application form you may receive more than one request for information. It is important that you respond to each school individually to ensure they each have the information requested.

Further information

Additional information about Roman Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle can be obtained from: Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, St. Vincent's Diocesan Offices, St Cuthbert's House, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 7PY. Tel: 0191 228 0111.

Reserving places

We cannot reserve places in our primary, infant or junior schools in the expectation of further applications from families moving into the area.

Exceptions to the duty to offer a community primary school place

If there are more places available at a school than there are applicants, the admissions authority must accept all the applications except in the circumstances described below.

Twice excluded pupils

Unless a child has been permanently excluded on two or more occasions, applications for places must be considered on the same basis as all other applications and in line with the school admissions code. In the case of twice excluded children, the admission authority (the council in the case of community and voluntary controlled schools and the governing body in the case of voluntary aided and

foundation schools) is not under a duty to comply with the preference of parents. However this does not affect a child's right to education.

Other admission authorities

Additional information about Church of England Schools in the Diocese of Newcastle can be obtained from:

Diocesan Education Board, Church House, St John's Terrace, Percy Main, North Shields NE29 6HS. Tel: 0191 270 4100

Durham Diocesan Board of Education, Carter House, Pelaw Leazes Lane, Durham DH1 1TB. Tel: 0191 374 6017

In this section you will find statistics for the academic years 2023 and 2024. The information includes the:

• schools planned admission number (PAN)
• number of applications received
• number of places offered
• number of offers made within each category according to the school's admission policy
• number of appeals heard for oversubscribed schools and the number of appeals that were successful

The information also highlights which schools were oversubscribed for 2023 and 2024.

We receive applications each year for admission to Gateshead schools from parents who have also applied to Emmanuel College and to other independent/ private schools outside Gateshead. However, some parents subsequently decide to withdraw their applications to Gateshead schools following an offer and acceptance of a place at one of these schools and this impacts on the number of parents who first apply to secondary schools in Gateshead and other local authorities.

Community secondary school admissions for September 2023 and 2024 - admission criteria breakdown

Admissions to voluntary aided secondary schools for September 2023 and 2024 - admission criteria breakdown

Free school secondary school admissions for September 2023 and September 2024 - admission criteria breakdown

Appealing against admission decisions

If your child has been refused a place at any school for which you have expressed a preference, you have the right to appeal against this decision. Information about the appeals procedure for voluntary aided schools and academies is available directly from the school in question.

Appeals for community schools

The letter informing you that a place cannot be offered to your child will advise you how to appeal if you wish to do so. If you decide to appeal you should contact the School Admissions Team following receipt of your refusal letter and request an appeal form. Once completed, you should send your appeal form to:

Strategic Director

Corporate Services and Governance

Civic Centre, Regent Street

Gateshead

NE8 1HH

Please note that the council is required where possible to arrange and conduct all admission appeal hearings for September 2025 before the end of the current academic year (i.e. by July 2025). Accordingly, the council requests that all parents wishing to have an appeal return their appeal forms duly completed on or before the 31 March 2025. If parents submit appeal forms after this date it may result in appeal hearing dates having to be re-arranged at short notice with inconvenience to other parents and appeal panel members.

Before deciding whether to appeal, you will probably want to think about the admission policy for admitting pupils, your reasons for wanting your child to attend the school and how strong a case you have. You may also want to consider visiting the school where you have been offered a place or alternative schools that still have places available.

Please contact the School Admissions Team on: 0191 433 2757 if you would like information on the availability of places at other schools you may consider.

If you decide to appeal, your appeal will be heard by a panel which is independent of the school and Gateshead Council.

You may want to attend an appeal for more than one school at which you have been refused a place. The outcome of one appeal does not prevent you from attending the other.

You will be informed of the date and place of the appeal hearing. You should be given at least 7 days notice. Ten days before the hearing, you will be sent copies of the statement of case that will be put before the appeal panel in support of the local authority's decision not to offer your child a place.

You are advised to attend the appeal hearing, where you will be given the opportunity to put your case forward and to ask questions. You can take a friend if you wish. If you are unable to attend, the case made by you in writing will be considered in your absence. In making your case, you will probably want to refer back to your original reasons for choosing the school.

If you want the panel to take any additional information into account, you should, if possible, submit any supporting documents with your appeal form or provide these to the clerk in good time for the members of the panel and local authority to be able to consider them properly.

There will be a representative from the local authority and the school at the hearing to explain to the panel why it was not possible to offer your child a place.

At the end of the hearing, the clerk should be able to give you an idea of how soon you can expect to receive the panel's written decision, this decision is binding on all parties.

You can only appeal once for admission of your child to a particular school for any given academic year. The Council will only determine a second application for any given academic year where it accepts there has been a significant and material change in your circumstances relevant to the question of admission.

Applying for a school transfer

Parents with children of statutory school age who move into Gateshead and require a school place, or who are resident

in Gateshead and wish to change their child's school, must complete a school transfer application form which is available on the Council's website. Alternatively, paper copies are available from the School Admissions Team on telephone number 0191 433 8589.

If you are moving to a new house, the council will require a copy of the exchange of contracts or a rental agreement before the new address will be considered. School places cannot be offered on the basis on intended future changes of address unless the relevant documentary evidence is provided.

Year groups in some schools may be full and may not have places available when you move house or decide to transfer your child from one school to another. Unfortunately, we cannot hold places back for parents who decide in the future to move into a particular area.

The admission policies contained within this booklet are used for casual admissions (in-year transfers) and also for the normal first year of entry intake. The offer of a place at any school is dependent on the availability of places in the relevant year group at the time of application.

Application form and process

If you require a place in a Gateshead school you must complete a school transfer application form.

• the application form allows you to express a preference for up to three schools in Gateshead
• all persons with parental responsibility for the child must agree to the request before the form is completed
• section A and C of the form must be fully complete before the form can be processed
• if you are new to the UK from overseas, you must also complete Section B of the form and attach relevant documentary evidence, such as a child's passport or ID card
• once you have completed Section A (and Section B if you are new to the UK), you must send the full form to your child's current school where possible for them to complete Section C. They will then forward the completed form to the School Admissions Team to be processed.
• once the School Admissions Team receive your completed form, a copy will be forwarded to the relevant schools, who have 10 school days to respond to the request, advising if a place is available
• if any of your preferences is for a faith school, they may contact you for further information to verify your child's religion
• you can complete a school transfer form up to a maximum of six weeks prior to the school place being required

However, if your request is for your child to transfer school at the start of a new academic year, that is, in September, you can complete a form for a school transfer up to six weeks before the start of the summer holidays, that is, in June of that year.

• we cannot guarantee that your child will be offered a place at one of your chosen schools as this will depend on the availably of places at the schools you request
• Gateshead Council will notify of the outcome of your request

If you are refused a place

If we cannot offer your child a place at your chosen schools, we will let you know which other schools have places available and will notify you in writing of your right to appeal.

Completed appeal forms must be returned to Democratic Services and Governance, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH. Your appeal will be heard within 30 school days following the date of receipt. Vacant places may arise before the date of the appeal hearing. Where this happens, the school will offer the vacant place to the child that is top of their waiting list using the admission criteria set out within their admission policy.

Where year groups are full the school will maintain a waiting list and any vacancies which may arise will be offered using this list. If you would like your child's name placed on the waiting list for a school, you must contact the school to request this. If a place becomes available which can be offered to your child, you must then complete a school transfer form if you choose to take up this offer.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

School transfer requests for children with an EHCP will be referred to the Special Educational Needs Team who will work with parents to secure a place at a school where the specific needs of the child can be met.

Fair Access Protocol

Fair Access Protocols exist to ensure that access to education is secured for vulnerable children and young people who are without a school place and where a placement in a mainstream school or alternative provision is appropriate.

The fair access process also ensures that all schools admit their fair share of vulnerable children and young people. Our approach reflects a commitment by all our schools/ academies to work in partnership with each other and the local authority in the interests of securing the best outcomes for children and young people.

Should parents agree to a referral to the fair access process, although parents may state a preferred school, the panel may not offer a place at the parent's first choice of school as they have to take into account both the number and complexity of the student's allocated to school's via this process. This does not however remove the right of a parent to request an independent school appeal for a place at their first preference school, however, participation in the fair access process will be taken into consideration by the appeal panel.

Copies of the Fair Access Protocols are available on the internet and from the Education Support Team, telephone number 0191 433 8745.

Admissions to secondary school in advance of the normal year of entry

In exceptional cases, a school may advise that a pupil in primary school has demonstrated high academic ability and may be considered to be exceptionally able. In such circumstances the pupil may be accelerated to secondary

school or whilst attending primary school may be accelerated to another year group above that is normally relevant for the child's age. In these rare cases, a pupil would be considered if the following circumstances applied:

1. The child is sufficiently robust emotionally, and socially mature so that entry to an older year group early or move to secondary school would be applicable without any traumatic effect being encountered. In this situation the pupil would be sufficiently capable of coping with the move without support from their already established friendship networks.
2. The child's high academic ability will not be confined to one or two curricular areas but rather the child will have demonstrated exceptional ability in most curriculum areas for a considerable period of time.

In such circumstances the ability of the child will normally have been noted by the teacher or Head Teacher of the primary school. In addition the ability of the child may have been noted by an educational psychologist who has been involved with assessment for this purpose.

In normal circumstances the school may recommend that a parent may consider whether they would wish to pursue the option of early entry to secondary school. Where a child has been recommended, the parent has the right to apply for a place in a school of their preference. However, if the child is refused a place at a school of their preference the local authority will liaise with parents in order to offer an alternative school where there are places available. Parents would still have the right of appeal against any decision to refuse a place at the desired school.

The time-scale for transfer into the first year of entry to secondary school for accelerated pupils will be at the same time as year 6 transfers and through the normal admission process for year 6 pupils as described in the community secondary school admission policy.

Applications for year 12 and transfer from year 11

The majority of secondary schools in Gateshead provide courses of study for post sixteen (sixth form) students. Sixth forms vary in size from approximately 60 to 360 students. The majority of sixth form students transfer from year 11 in their current school, but all schools have places available for external students.

The entry requirements for sixth form are largely dependent on the course of study that the student wishes to access. They are the same for internal and external students.

In general, students wishing to access A Level courses must possess a minimum of 4 GCSE passes at grade 4. To access intermediate level courses, some GCSE passes at grade 2/3 and/ or appropriate Level 1 qualification(s) are required. There are no specific qualifications required for entry to foundation level courses.

Details of specific entry requirements and courses available may be obtained from individual schools. All schools publish information about their post 16 provision.

Applicants refused admission to a sixth form are entitled to appeal to an independent panel.

Schools with sixth forms

• Cardinal Hume Catholic School
• Grace College
• Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy
• St Thomas More Catholic School
• Thorp Academy
• Whickham School
• Kingsmeadow Community School

If you require admission of your child to a sixth form at a Gateshead school, please contact the sixth form directly to discuss their application and admissions process.

Alternatively, you can contact our Careers Information and Guidance Team (IAG) who will be able to help you. The IAG Team offers support to help young people understand the range of post-16 education, training and employment options that are available to them. This includes sixth form studies, college, higher education, training, and study programmes as well as apprenticeships. To arrange to speak to an advisor, please call 0191 433 2785.

Applications for University Technical Colleges (UTCs)

UTCs are technical colleges for 14-19 year olds and set up by universities and businesses. They specialise in one or two technical subjects and at GCSE offer a similar curriculum to a typical 11-18 secondary school, including basics of English, Maths and Sciences as well as their specialist subject. Their aim is to ensure young people achieve excellent GCSE or A level results along with high value technical qualifications delivered via employer and university contextualised challenges, that support high level technical and employability skills. Gateshead does not have a UTC but there are UTCs in other Local Authorities that you may wish to consider. However, this does not mean that you are required to move your child from their existing school if this remains the best option for them. If this is something you wish to consider for your child you should contact the UTC for details of when and how to apply. Additionally, when your child is due to move into Year 10 we have a duty to inform parents and carers of the UTCs that are within travelling distance.

Currently the only UTC within travelling distance from Gateshead Local Authority area is:

North East Futures UTC

Stephenson Square

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE31 3AS

Principal: Mr Dan Sydes

Website: www.nefuturesutc.co.uk (opens new window)

Telephone: 0191 917 9888

Email: info@nefuturesutc.co.uk

We recognise that some children need special educational help that cannot be provided in primary and secondary schools. For this reason we currently maintain six special schools and other schools are designated as additionally resourced mainstream schools (ARMS). You can find details of the facilities at these schools from the school's website by calling the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Service on telephone number 0191 433 3626 or in Gateshead's Local Offer. All enquiries are dealt with in complete privacy and confidence.

From September 2014, the Children and Families Act came into force. As a result of this the categories of School Action and School Action Plus have been replaced by a single category of SEN Support and Statements of Special Educational Need will be replaced by an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Schools must meet a child's special educational needs from their own resources and if they are not able to do that, they can apply to the Local Authority (LA) for an EHCP. Children who currently have a statement of special educational needs will be transferred to an EHCP before September 2018.

Details of the assessment process and school's information can be found in Gateshead's Local Offer.

A graduated approach

Children can have different kinds or levels of SEN and learn in different ways so a step-by-step or graduated approach is taken by the school to help with your child's difficulties. Your child may need help for a short time or for the whole time they are at school depending on their difficulties.

The school must tell you that they are giving your child extra help because of their difficulties and keep you informed of their progress.

Step 1

Your child will be given extra help by staff at school, for example, they may work in a small group or be given work that is different from the other children in their class.

Step 2

If your child does not make progress with this additional support, the school will seek advice from outside professionals, for example, a specialist teacher or educational psychologist.

Step 3

If your child is still not making enough progress and the school cannot provide the help that they need, the LA may decide to carry out a formal needs assessment.

Initial Assessment

When a request for Needs Assessment has been received a letter will be sent to you and other relevant parties letting them know that an assessment may take place.

A decision about whether to assess your child's needs will be made within 6 weeks.

Assessment

If the assessment is agreed, the SEN team will request information and reports from you, your child's school, any outside professional who has been involved with your child, the health authority and social services.

A request will also be sent to your child's school at this stage to ask them to organise an Action Planning Meeting to take place later in the process.

The information collected will then be considered by the SEN panel to decide whether it will go ahead and issue an EHCP. If the EHCP is agreed it will include a summary of your child's special educational needs and the support we think is required to meet these needs.

You will receive a copy of this draft EHCP, as will those people who provided reports. If you have any immediate concerns about the content of this draft you can contact the SEN team to discuss further. If the EHCP is refused, you can appeal to an Independent SEN Tribunal.

Planning

If the EHCP goes ahead, you will be given the opportunity to discuss the outline EHCP at your child's Action Planning Meeting, as well as contribute to the writing of your child's outcomes. At this stage you will also be able to discuss which school you would like your child to attend. This could be your child's current school, an additionally resourced mainstream school or in exceptional circumstances, a special school.

The notes from the Action Planning Meeting will be sent to the SEN team who will update the EHCP and consult (ask for a placement) with the appropriate educational setting. You will be contacted with the results of the discussions and given the opportunity to meet with an SEN Officer if you disagree with the EHCP before it is finalised.

We try to work with parents to come to an agreement about the EHCP but there are times when parents do not agree with our decision not to assess the child or with the contents of an EHCP. If this happens, you have the right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Finding a school for your child

Sometimes we cannot offer your child a place at a suitable school in Gateshead. When this happens, we do all we can to find a suitable place in a school maintained by another authority or an independent organisation. We will make arrangements for you and your child to visit the school before you make a final decision.

Special Educational Needs Disability Information and Advice Support Service (SENDIASS)

SENDIASS is run by Barnardo's on behalf of Gateshead Council. It offers free independent support and information for parents/carers of children with special educational needs. You can contact SENDIASS on 0191 478 4667.

Absence from school for medical reasons

If your child is ill or has had an accident, they may be at home or in hospital for some time. There is a teaching unit at the RVI Hospital which aims to provide some continuity of education during a hospital stay. If your child is at home, home tuition may be suitable.

Introduction

This policy sets out the local authority's approach to ensuring compliance with its home to school statutory duty under the Education Act 1996 to make travel arrangements for eligible children under section 508B.

It also sets out the discretionary travel arrangements provided under section 508C of the Act by the local authority (LA) to other children who are not eligible to free travel under section 508B.

It has been developed with due regard to the Department for Education statutory guidance 'Home to school travel and transport guidance' (July 2014).

This policy applies to:

• children of compulsory school age (aged 5-16 years)
• children normally resident in Gateshead
• other children where travel support is provided under discretionary arrangements outlined in section 9

1. Parent/carer responsibilities

It is the duty of parents/carers to ensure that their child attends school regularly, to be responsible for their safety on the journey between home and school and to meet any travel costs. It is the responsibility of every parent/carer to help their child to develop the skills and confidence for independent and safe travel to and from school. Most school-age pupils do not require any help from the Local Authority.

2. Eligibility under section 508B Schedule 35B

2.1 The LA provides help with home to school travel for compulsory school-age children who are unable to walk to school:

• because of their mobility problems or because of associated health and safety issues related to their special educational needs (SEN) or disability
• because the nature of the route is deemed unsafe to walk
• because they live outside statutory walking distance

2.2 Parents have a right to express preference for the school they wish their child to attend and the relevant admission authority is required to offer a place in accordance with that preference if a place is available. Local authorities are not required to provide free travel if the parent makes a choice to send their child to a school that is not their catchment area school. However, free travel may be available to children where the distance from home to their catchment area school by the shortest available walking route exceeds:

• two miles for primary-school aged children
• three miles for pupils in the year 7-11 normal age group at a secondary school

We will not normally provide any help if parents send their child to a school outside of the catchment area or a school which is not their nearest suitable school. Pupils are not entitled to free home to school travel on the grounds of religion or belief, unless they meet the criteria in the second point below.

We may provide free travel for pupils in secondary schools in receipt of free schools meals or whose household qualifies for the maximum working tax credit and where:

• they live more than 2 miles but not more than 6 miles from one of their three nearest qualifying schools
• where they live more than two miles, but not more than fifteen miles from their nearest suitable school preferred on grounds of religion or belief

Qualification for free travel in future subsequent years is dependent on continued eligibility for free school meals or maximum working tax credit.

The provision described in Section 2.2 is usually provided in the form of a free travel permit for use on public transport following an application made directly to Gateshead Council's Benefit Section Tel: 0191 433 4848 for an application form.

2.3 Eligible children only qualify for free travel to their catchment area school, or their nearest suitable school where they have special educational needs, defined as the nearest publicly-maintained school, with places available, that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any special educational needs that the child may have. For children with special educational needs, if a school is the only school named in a Statement of SEN or Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, this means that it is the nearest suitable school for school transport.

All children are assessed on an individual basis so that their particular travel needs are identified and appropriate provision offered if they are deemed eligible.

2.4 It is the general expectation of the LA that a child will be accompanied to and from school by a parent/ carer where necessary, unless it is unreasonable to expect the parent to do so. In determining whether a child cannot be expected to walk for the purposes of 'special educational needs, a disability or mobility problems eligibility' or 'unsafe route eligibility' the LA will consider whether the child could reasonably be expected to walk if accompanied and if so, whether the child's parent/carer can be reasonably expected to accompany the child.

2.5 It is the general expectation of the LA that where a child is eligible for Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and this is used to cover the cost of leasing a Motability vehicle, that the vehicle is used to facilitate the child's travel to and from school.

3. Assessment

3.1 In assessing whether a pupil is eligible for support with home to school travel under section 508B and to determine the type of provision that will be offered, the LA takes into account some or all of the following factors:

• whether a parent/carer can accompany the child to school
• the statutory walking distance from home to school
• the nature of the route and the journey time
• the age of the pupil
• whether the pupil is capable of independent travel
• the pupil's special educational needs (if any)
• the pupil's physical disability or mobility problem (if any)
• the pupil's medical condition

3.2 The assessment will be carried out following the receipt of an application form from the parent/carer, which can be submitted at any time during the school year. The LA will consider such additional information about the child as it considers necessary to make an assessment, including the advice of:

• the pupil's school
• LA educational psychologist or other specialist staff
• any social worker involved with the child or family
• any other agency providing support for the child or family
• the local transport authority
• any other person/agency suggested by the parent or carer
• where the LA does not already have such information, it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to obtain such advice and submit it to the LA with their application

4. Provision

Independent travel training and use of public transport will always be investigated as the first option for all pupils applying for support with travel to school, whether on a sole basis or accompanied. Other provision may include:

• a Personal Travel Budget (this is calculated on a mileage allowance but can be used to meet the costs of a parent or carer who makes their own transport, personal assistant or escort arrangements)
• a permit to travel on public transport
• transport service provided by a school
• escort provided by the LA to assist a child to walk to school
• transport service contracted by the LA

5. Decisions

5.1 The LA will normally process applications made on the basis of a child having special educational needs within 15 working days of the application being received, subject to the necessary information and advice from other services and agencies being made available. The LA will aim to inform applicants at the earliest opportunity if this target is unachievable.

5.2 If the LA agrees to provide travel support this applies to home to school travel arrangements, and vice versa only and does not relate to travel between educational institutions or other destinations during the school day. Costs of travel over and above the journey to school and the journey to home will be paid for by the parent/carer or the school/educational establishment.

5.3 The LA or travel provider does not provide car seats. Parents/carers are responsible for providing an appropriate car seat for their child and the provider can refuse to transport a child if an appropriate car seat is not provided.

6. Reviewing travel support

6.1 If the LA agrees to provide travel support, the LA may review the provision at any time, but changes to travel provision will normally take effect at the start of a new school year (1 September). There will always be a review of provision via a re-application when a pupil:

• moves from primary to secondary education
• completes secondary education
• changes school or school site
• moves house
• has a change in their physical/medical or other condition

6.2 It is the duty of the parent/carer to inform the LA of any change in the child's or the family's circumstances, providing reasonable notice to facilitate a change to travel arrangements within the timescales of the application process. Failure to do so may result in travel support being withdrawn temporarily. Provision may also be removed if the parent or child refuses to co-operate with reasonable requests from the LA or transport provider or refuses an assessment for Independent Travel Training. More information about parent/carer responsibilities can be found in our 'Travel Care Guide for Parents/Carers' leaflet.

6.3 Pupils receiving travel support on an interim basis will need to re-apply for travel support when the interim arrangement ends.

6.4 Family circumstances and the development and independence of young people changes over time. All pupils in Year 9 and above should therefore re- apply for travel support ahead of them commencing their next academic year in September (by the end of April). For pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) receiving travel support, plans for travelling independently will be discussed annually during EHCP review meetings, included in the pupil's Year 9 Transition Report and discussed at the review meeting.

7. Appeals

7.1 If the LA does not agree to provide help, the parent/ carer will be informed by letter and advised that they may appeal against that decision, provided they do so in writing within 15 working days.

7.2 Appeals will be considered in the first instance by the Service Manager, SEND team or their nominee.

7.3 The young person's parent/carer should submit their appeal, their reasons for the appeal and their case in full to the Service Director, Early Help in writing, together with any other evidence or supporting information. There is no entitlement to a hearing in person. The Service Director will normally consider appeals within 10 working days of receipt and will give her/his decision in writing.

7.4 If an application/appeal is unsuccessful, a further appeal can be made in writing, together with any other evidence or supporting information within 15 working days of receipt of the stage one appeal decision letter to the Council's independent Appeals Committee. The committee will consider the appeal within 40 working days of receipt and will give their decision in writing.

7.5 If the application/appeal is unsuccessful following an appeal to the independent appeal panel, a young person parent/carer may only apply for a further assessment after twelve months has elapsed, or if there is a significant change in circumstances in the meantime.

8. Changes to travel arrangements

8.1 The LA is able to make changes to the school travel contracts it commissions with third party providers at any point in time without consulting children, young people, parents or carers. Continuity of driver, escort or vehicle is only granted in exceptional circumstances following a request made in writing and an assessment of need.

8.2 Travel support may be provided for a fixed period to facilitate transition plans or independent travel programmes.

8.3 Travel support may be ceased if a young person becomes capable of independent travelling or if the young person or their parent/carer refuses an independent travel training assessment to take place, where the LA believes this is appropriate.

9. Discretionary arrangements under section 508C of the Education Act 1996

9.1 Discretionary travel support provided under section 508C of the Education Act 1996 is outlined below. The need for travel support provided under these discretionary arrangements will be assessed as described in section 3 above and will also take into account family circumstances and any other factors the LA considers relevant. Discretionary support with travel is provided by the LA over and above their statutory duty, however this does not need to free of charge and may be subject to a contribution from parents/carers where deemed appropriate.

• children temporarily attending educational provision other than their usual school

Pupils receiving travel support on a temporary/interim basis will need to re-apply for travel support when the interim arrangement ends.

• children temporarily residing at a different address (including respite care), travel support will only be maintained if this can be achieved at no additional cost to the LA, unless it is agreed following an assessment of need, prior to the move or stay taking place

Pre-school children attending a Gateshead special school may be eligible for travel support however a Personal Travel Budget will always be offered in the first instance as opposed to the provision of a taxi where this is cost effective to the LA.

Introduction

Local authorities do not have a duty to provide free transport for young people of sixth form age (aged 16-18) in education or training. However, the council must publish an annual statement setting out the arrangements the authority considers necessary to help sixth form age (students in years 12-14) to attend education or training. This statement has been developed having regard to the statutory guidance for local authorities 'Post 16 transport to education and training'.

Key Principles

• promotes and encourages safe, independent travel to improve independence and social inclusion, as appropriate to a young person's age and ability
• encourages and promotes travel options designed to improve the physical well-being of those who use them
• supports sustainable travel options which minimise the impact on the environment
• any travel assistance offered will be the most efficient and effective in terms of both sustainability and cost

Policy statement

1. This policy statement applies to all young people over the age of 16 and beyond statutory school leaving age with additional needs whether they attend college, school or a training provider.
2. In line with the local authority's duty to encourage, enable and assist the participation of students with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities in education and learning, this policy will apply, in exceptional circumstances, to students over the age of 19.
3. For students with Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (SEND) or a Learning Difficulty and/ or Disability, the LA will normally only consider the provision of travel support where the student has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) and the course is a High Needs study programme.
4. The local authority (LA) will provide support with travel to post 16 education or training in cases where it considers it necessary to facilitate a student's participation in education.
5. Support will be discretional and subject to assessment, provided to the most vulnerable or socially excluded students in cases of exceptional need only.
6. Support will normally only be available to students attending the nearest post-16 establishment that provides a suitable course.
7. The Local Authority will work in partnership with schools and colleges to encourage their students to develop independent travel skills.
8. Where eligibility is determined, all options will be explored, including the offer of Personal Travel Budgets where they make more efficient use of the available resources. Taxis will usually only be provided to those students with severe physical disability, severe learning disability, severe medical condition or severe psychological condition and supporting medical evidence is required.
9. Where support is provided, students aged 16-17 years will make a contribution of £650 per year (except those living in low income households* and looked after children). *evidence required - Free School Meals or maximum working tax credit.
10. Support may be provided for a fixed period to facilitate transition plans, or independent travel programmes. Support may cease if a young person becomes capable of independent travelling or if the student refuses to undertake travel training where the LA believes this is appropriate.

Post 16 providers in Gateshead are served by good public transport and a range of discounted fares and schemes are available which are set out below.

Independent Travel Training

Gateshead Council promotes independent travel training which enables young people with additional needs to learn new skills which can be used for travelling to post 16 education or training placements using public transport. Independent travel training enables young people to gain confidence, develop social, communication and life skills, promotes good health and wellbeing and ultimately leads to them becoming more independent. It increases access to education, employment and training opportunities, to health services and social/leisure activities.

If a young person has previously had a statement of SEN or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan), the need for support with travel after the age of 16 should have been reviewed and written into their Transition Plan, which must include the views of the young person. The Transition Plan should specify actions that will be taken to help the student develop their independent travel skills in preparation for attending their next placement after leaving school. Independent travel training and public transport will be investigated as the first option for all post 16 students requesting support with travel.

For more information telephone Gateshead's SEND Service on 0191 433 7484, email: senteam@gateshead.gov.uk

Public Transport

Children and adults with one of the disabilities listed below living in Tyne and Wear may be entitled to a Concessionary Travel Pass:

• blind or partially sighted
• profoundly or severely deaf
• without speech
• have a disability which means that you cannot walk except with excessive labour, at an extremely slow pace or with excessive pain
• do not have arms or have a long term loss of the use of both arms
• have a learning disability
• someone who has been, or would be, refused a driving licence on certain medical grounds

With a Concessionary Travel Pass, travel on buses in Tyne and Wear is free after 9.30am Monday to Friday and all day at weekends and public holidays. Metro travel is not free but to avoid paying full fares after 9.30am a Metro Gold Card can be used with a Concessionary Travel Pass (this currently costs £12 per year for Gateshead residents). For young people in education, training or employment for more than 16 hours a week, they may qualify for an all-day Concessionary Travel Pass. An eligibility letter from the LA's social care department and a supporting letter from the school, college, training provider or employer is required.

For more information visit http://www.nexus.org.uk/concessions (opens new window)

A companion card allows a person with a disability to take someone with them on buses and the Metro* free of charge (*with a Metro Gold Card £12 per year). To automatically qualify for a companion card the young person must be receiving one of the following:

• higher rate care component of the Disability Living Allowance
• high rate Attendance Allowance

You may still be eligible if you don't receive either of these benefits.

For more information visit www.nexus.org.uk/companion-card (opens new window)

Full-time students aged 16 and over can travel for a discounted price on buses, the Metro, on the Sunderland to Blaydon rail line and the Shields ferry all day every day using the Network One Student Ticket.

For more information visit www.nexus.org.uk/network-one-student-and-young-people-ticket (opens new window)

Young people under 18 years, students aged 19 or over and Apprentices can travel at a discount on Go North East buses.

For more information visit www.gonortheast.co.uk/youngpeople (opens new window)

Taxicard Scheme

This scheme is operated by NEXUS and allows people with mobility problems to travel independently by taxi at a discounted price. The person must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• high rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
• registered severely visually impaired or blind
• higher Rate Attendance Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - this letter must show that the person has scored a minimum of 8 points in the Mobility component under 'Moving around')

For more information visit www.nexus.org.uk/taxicard (opens new window)

Financial help with travel provided by post 16 schools and colleges

Students aged 16-19 years going into further education or training may be eligible to receive a bursary fund of up to £1,200 per year to help pay towards transport costs if they are:

• in care or a care leaver
• claiming income support or universal credit
• disabled and receiving Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance

Students not meeting the criteria above may still qualify for a bursary fund. Students need to contact the 'learning support' or 'welfare advice' department of their chosen post 16 school or college well in advance of the start date of their first academic year of the course to apply for a bursary fund.

For more information visit www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund/overview (opens new window)

Care to Learn

Parents under the age of 20 at the start of their eligible course who are the main carer for their child can claim for financial support towards travel costs. Travel payments go direct to the school or college who will either pay the student or arrange travel on their behalf.

For more information visit www.gov.uk/care-to-learn (opens new window)

Walking and cycling

Gateshead Council promotes walking and cycling as the most healthy and sustainable travel choices for its residents. Sustrans is the UK's leading sustainable transport charity that provides practical advice about safely walking and cycling to school/college.

For more information visit www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map (opens new window)

Travel Care Support

Eligibility Assessment Criteria

Financial support towards home to school and college travel is provided by the council in exceptional circumstances only. Independent travel training and public transport will be investigated as the first option for all post 16 students requesting support with travel. The provision of transport may be withdrawn if a student or parent/ carer refuses an assessment to determine their ability to travel independently or to undertake independent travel training, where this is felt to be appropriate by the Local Authority and/or placement provider. A Personal Travel Budget will always be offered to students where the LA believes this is appropriate based on their needs and is a more efficient use of funds, as opposed to arranging taxis.

The eligibility assessment criteria used to make decisions about support includes:

• the student must normally reside in the Gateshead Council administrative area
• the student must have a statement of SEN or an Education, Health and Care Plan where travel support has previously been provided, or a medical certificate from a recognised General Practitioner/Consultant that transport is required due to medical needs
• students must be undertaking a Full-Time Course of Study (12 guided learning hours or more per week) for a minimum period of one academic year.

Support is not available for students on part-time, work-based learning (for example, supported internships), distance learning or day release courses.

• students must be attending the nearest eligible educational establishment that can provide a suitable course

Where a student or their parent/carer has chosen a placement further away, they may not be eligible for travel support.

• what other alternatives are available

For example, the ability of parents, carers or family members to provide or organise transport, which will take into account factors such as income, family circumstances and whether non-travel solutions could facilitate access to learning, for example, peripatetic or mobile teaching and E-learning.

• the course must be a High Needs funded study programme
• the ability of the student to travel independently including whether a travel training assessment has been previously refused or whether the student has already undertaken travel training and what the outcomes were
• the distance and journey time from home to school or college
• whether the student could access education if transport is not provided
• for adults aged 18 and over, any Care Act Assessment (2014) and resulting outcome
• whether the student is in receipt of 16-19 bursary funding or receives the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Enhanced rate mobility of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Students attending study programmes beyond 6th form age may be eligible for travel care support if they are attending a full-time High Needs funded study programme that is stated in their Education, Health and Care Plan and in addition meet one of the following needs:

1. severe learning difficulty (defined as working at Entry Level One or below. This information will be confirmed from either the Education Health Care Plan Statement/ Learning Difficulty Assessment or current placement)
2. severe medical condition which would include severe unstable epilepsy, oxygen dependence, autism with associated severe learning difficulties (medical evidence must be submitted with the application), severe mental health issues (in cases where the applicant is receiving mental health support from professional staff and medical evidence must be submitted with the application)
3. severe psychological conditions would include extreme phobia (for which medical evidence must be submitted with the application)

Where no other alternatives are available and in exceptional circumstances, discretionary criteria will be taken into consideration, including family circumstances, income and distance.

Provision

• independent travel training and use of public transport will be investigated as the first option for all students travelling to their post-16 school or college placement

Where a post-16 student has a statement/Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and is attending the school named within their statement/plan as the nearest appropriate school for their post-16 education - public transport will be promoted for this group and travel training referrals will be made for students deemed appropriate.

• independent travel should be a pre-entry condition for students accessing work based study programmes or Supported Internships and as such these students will not be provided with travel assistance
• it is the general expectation of the LA that where a student is eligible for higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Enhanced rate mobility of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and this is used to cover the cost of leasing a Motability vehicle, that the vehicle is used to facilitate the student's travel to and from school or college

Taxis will not be provided, except for those students with severe physical, severe learning disabilities, severe psychological conditions or severe medical conditions where, upon receipt of sufficient evidence, taxi provision will be considered alongside other options such as a Personal Travel Budget (PTB). In the exceptional circumstance where a taxi is provided, this will not necessarily involve the provision of door to door transport and students may be picked up at an agreed pick-up point.

A maximum of two journeys per day will be provided (at the beginning and end of the day) which will be timed to minimise the number of journeys undertaken. Taxis may be arranged for journeys undertaken in the middle of the study day and/or between placement venues if sufficient notice is provided, however whoever made the request must pay for this (i.e. the provider or student/parent/ carer). Students may need to arrive earlier than the start of their timetabled day or wait at the end of their timetabled day until other students have finished and are ready to depart. Where possible, measures will be taken to minimise waiting time, so long as this does not result in significant additional expenditure.

• the LA is able to make changes to transport contracts it holds with third party providers at any point in time without consulting children, young people, parents or carers

Continuity of driver or escort is not guaranteed and only granted in exceptional circumstances. The LA will provide as much notice as possible to young people, parents and carers about any change to transport in advance of a change occurring and will work in partnership to aid transition.

• an annual charge of £650 will be payable by students aged 16-17 years where taxi provision or Personal Travel Budget is provided

Assessment process

Applications should be made annually in advance of the start of the academic year using a standard form. The LA will consider additional information about the young person as it considers necessary to make a decision, including the advice of:

• the young person's post 16 education or training provider
• a LA educational psychologist or other specialist member of staff
• any social worker involved with the young person or family
• any health worker involved with the young person
• any other organisation providing support for the young person or family
• the local transport authority
• any other person or agency suggested by the young person, parent or carer

Where the LA does not already have such information, it is the responsibility of the young person or their parent or carer to obtain this and submit it to the LA with their application. The LA will normally process applications within 15 working days, subject to the necessary information and advice from other agencies being available. The LA will aim to inform applicants if it is unable to meet this target.

If the LA agrees to provide financial support towards travel, this will only be until the end of the academic year in which the application was made. A further application must be made for subsequent study years in advance of the course start date.

If the LA does not agree to provide help, the young person parent/carer will be informed by letter and advised that they may appeal against that decision, provided they do so in writing within 15 working days.

Applications should be submitted as soon as the student's placement has been confirmed as late applications may result in travel not being arranged in time for the student to access the start of their study programme. In these circumstances the student or their parent or carer may be responsible for making their own travel arrangements.

Reviewing travel care support

The LA may review and remove travel provision at any time, for example, if the young person is travel trained during the duration of a course and is deemed able to travel independently on public transport. However, the LA will provide as much notice as possible and work with the young person and parent/carer to aid a successful transition. There will always be a review of provision when a young person:

• moves from secondary education to a post 16 education or training provider
• changes post-16 education or training provider
• moves house
• experiences a change in their physical or medical or other condition

The provision may also be reviewed or removed if the young person or parent refuses to co-operate with reasonable requests from the LA or transport provider.

It is the duty of the parent to inform the LA of any change in the young person or the family's circumstances. For house moves this must be at least 3 weeks in advance of the actual move date otherwise transport may be ceased temporarily.

Financial Contribution

Students aged 16-17 years will pay an annual contribution of £650 towards the cost of their travel support. Students aged 16-17 years living in a low income household* and looked after children do not pay a financial contribution.

*Evidence required - Free School Meals or maximum Working Tax Credit.

Appeals Process

Appeals will be considered in the first instance by the Service Manager, SEND team.

The young person's parent/carer should submit their appeal, their reasons for the appeal and their case in full to the Service Director, Early Help in writing, together with any other evidence or supporting information. There is no entitlement to a hearing in person. The Service Director will normally consider appeals within 10 working days of receipt and will give her/his decision in writing.

If an application or appeal is unsuccessful, a further appeal can be made in writing, together with any other evidence or supporting information within 15 working days of receipt of the stage one appeal decision letter to the Council's independent appeal panel. The panel will consider the appeal within 40 working days of receipt and will give their decision in writing.

If the application or appeal is unsuccessful following an appeal to the independent appeal panel, a young person parent or carer may only apply for a further assessment after twelve months has elapsed, or if there is a significant change in circumstances in the meantime.

Sustainable Travel to School

The way pupils travel to school can have a lifetime impact on their health and transport choices. Gateshead Council has a Sustainable Modes of Transport Strategy which promotes sustainable and active travel for the school journey and discourages unnecessary short car trips which cause congestion and make the areas around schools unsafe and unpleasant.

We work with partners to offer a range of engaging projects which encourage healthy and active travel in many of our schools. We also have a number of schools working towards national accreditation for their efforts in promoting sustainable travel through Modeshift STARS.

Children who travel actively are more independent and healthier. We know many children say they enjoy walking or cycling to school as it allows time with caregivers and allows them to explore their local environment. For older children it provides freedom and prepares them for travelling further and more independently as they grow.

For information abut bus and Metro travel visit www.nexus.org.uk (opens new window)

Find out about road safety and sustainable travel at www.gateshead.gov.uk/becool

Email our team at roadsafety@gateshead.gov.uk

Free School Meals

School meals are available for all children, however you can apply for Means Tested Free School Meals if you are receiving one of the following:

• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of less than £7,400
• Income Support or Guarantee Pension Credit
• income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (income related)
• Child Tax Credit (but NOT Working Tax Credit) and your income for Tax Credit purposes must be less than £16,190.00 (details are shown on your Tax Credit award notice)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• support under Part IV of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 - you will need to provide evidence of this

You can apply in the following ways:

• online via Gateshead Council's website
• by telephone - 0191 433 3729

You will be asked to confirm your identity, provide your National Insurance Number, your date of birth and the school details for your child. This will enable us to check your eligibility.

Extra funding for your child's school

For every valid application for free school meals, not only will your child receive a healthy, nutritious meal, but your child's school can claim:

• £1,480 (24/25) per pupil in reception to year 6 - primary
• £1,050 (24/25) per pupil in years 7 to 11 - secondary
• £2,570 (24/25) looked after children (LAC)

The school can claim this funding each year for six years, which can really help to provide the best environment to support your child's learning and development.

If your child was entitled to receive a free school meal on April 1 2018, or became entitled at any time after this date, in the majority of cases they will be protected to receive their free meal until Universal Credit has been fully rolled out. This is estimated not to be until at least March 31 2023.

Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out, your child will then continue to receive a free school meal until the end of their current phase of education. Or when they leave school, whichever is the earliest.

All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state funded schools are eligible for free school meals regardless of your income. This scheme is called Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). You do not have to apply to be eligible for this scheme; however, it is still important to apply for the means tested free school meals if you meet the relevant criteria shown above as this might provide extra funding (as detailed above) for your child's school. Once your child commences year 3 (KS2) the Universal Free School Meal will cease and to continue to receive a meal under the means tested scheme a completed application form MUST be returned so entitlement can be established.

If your child or children attends Heworth Grange please contact the school directly as we do not process applications for this school.

If you would like more information about free school meals please ring Gateshead Council on 0191 433 3729 or 0191 433 4848.

School Catering

School catering at Heworth Grange, Kingsmeadow and XP Gateshead schools are provided by Gateshead Council's award winning in-house service.

Our cafeteria menus offer pupils a choice of two-course meal options and a selection of items from the tariff. The printed tariff is available from the servery showing the price of individual items and can also be seen on our website.

All Secondary Schools are "cashless" at the point of sale. The cashless system reduces queuing times and protects the identity of pupils receiving free school meals.

Our fully trained catering staff encourage pupils to choose well from a variety of tasty, popular foods. Most of the menu is homemade and meals are cooked fresh on site every day.

Non-meat choices are available daily. Gateshead's menu complies with the National School Food Standards. Many of the foods we use have been reduced in fat, sugar and salt and many of our ingredients are locally sourced.

Please contact your school if your child requires a special diet for medical or ethnic reasons. The Unit Catering Manager will require a completed application form and correspondence from your child's doctor, consultant or dietician in order to provide a diet suitable for your child's needs.

If you require further information about school catering or the cashless system, please call Gateshead Council's Operations Manager (Catering) on: 0191 433 5516, or contact the Unit Catering Manager at the school. Alternatively, please see Gateshead Council's website.

For information about the catering services at Grace College, Cardinal Hume St Thomas More, Lord Lawson of Beamish, Thorp Academy and Whickham secondary schools please contact the school.

School clothing

Most schools operate a school uniform code however schools must not act as sole suppliers of school uniform.Details of the uniform are usually contained in the school's prospectus that can be obtained from the school. Some schools may provide their own help and support with regards to their school uniform for example for those families who are eligible for free school meals or who are entitled to the maximum level of working tax credit. Parents should contact the Head Teacher at the school to ask if they offer support. Gateshead Council do not have any general arrangements for providing help with buying school uniform or PE kit. Gateshead Council do not provide a uniform grant.

For more information visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms (opens new window)

Charging for School Activities

Under the Education Act 1996 (sections 449-462) each school's governing body must draw up and review their policy for charging arrangements. Academies (including free schools, studio schools) are required through their funding agreements to comply with the law on charging for school activities.

The 1996 Act aims to:

• maintain your child's right to free education
• make sure that activities offered completely or mainly during normal teaching time are available to all pupils, whether or not their parents can or want to help meet the costs
• emphasise that there is no legal requirement to charge for any form of education or related activity, but to give LA's and governing bodies the power to charge for optional activities they provide completely or mainly out of school hours
• confirm the right of LA's and governing bodies to ask for voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school, or to support any activity organised, in or outside, school hours

The policies determined by individual governing bodies may differ but there is a statutory duty on all governing bodies to act in accordance with the 1996 education act and all policies must adhere to legal requirements. Please contact the school's head teacher for details of the school's policies.

The 2018 guidance Charging for school activitiesclearly identifies those activities which school governing bodies and local authorities can and cannot charge for, they include:

School governing bodies and local authorities, cannot charge for:

• an admission application to any state funded school - paragraph 1.9 (n) of the 'School Admissions Code 2014' rules out requests for financial contributions as any part of the admissions process
• education provided during school hours (including the supply of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment)
• education provided outside school hours if it is part of the national curriculum1, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education
• instrumental or vocal tuition, for pupils learning individually or in groups, unless the tuition is provided at the request of the pupil's parent
• entry for a prescribed public examination, if the pupil has been prepared for it at the school
• examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit(s) at the school

Schools and local authorities can charge for:

• any materials, books, instruments, or equipment, where the child's parent wishes him or her to own them
• optional extras
• music and vocal tuition, in limited circumstances
• certain early years provision
• community facilities

Residential visits

Schools cannot charge for:

• education provided on any visit that takes place during school hours
• education provided on any visit that takes place outside school hours if it is part of the national curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education
• supply teachers to cover for those teachers who are absent from school accompanying pupils on a residential visit

Schools can charge for:

• board and lodging and the charge must not exceed the actual cost

When a school informs parents about a forthcoming visit, they should make it clear that parents who can prove they are in receipt of the following benefits will be exempt from paying the cost of board and lodging:

• Universal Credit in prescribed circumstances
• Income Support (IS)
• Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA)
• support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit, provided that Working Tax Credit is not also received
• an income-related employment and support allowance
• Working Tax Credit

Board and lodging

Schools can charge for:

• overnight board and lodging providing the charge does not exceed the actual cost
• extended day services offered to day pupils, for example breakfast clubs, after-school clubs, tea and supervised homework sessions

Any extended day services for day pupils at state boarding schools, and the associated charges, must be optional.

Schools cannot make attendance at and the payment of charges for extended day services compulsory.

Primary schools and academies

Secondary schools and academies

Specialist schools

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