Admission number - Every school has an
admission number representing the number of places available in the
year group which pupils normally enter on joining the school. This
is reception year in first, infant and primary schools,
year three for junior schools - except year four at St
Martin's Church of England Junior School in Worle - and year
seven at secondary school
Community schools - Schools maintained fully by
the Local Authority (LA)
Denominational schools - Schools run in
partnership between the Local Education Authority (LA) and usually
either Church of England (CE) or Catholic Church
schools. At St Mark's School in Worle the Methodist
Church is included in the partnership
First geographical area – Applies to secondary
schools only and is the area which a particular secondary school
services. Living within this area does not guarantee a place at the
school but children living in the area may have a higher priority
for places than those who live outside
First schools - There are three within
Weston-super-Mare which cover the reception to year three age
groups. Children normally transfer to year four at St Martin's
Junior School or year four at another junior or primary
school.
Foundation schools - These are publicly
maintained schools that are not controlled by a local authority
(LA). The school's governing body is responsible for setting their
own admission arrangements.
Infant schools - Cover the reception to
year two age groups. Children normally transfer to a
junior school or junior part of a primary school to continue their
education
Junior schools - Cover the year three to
year six age groups except for St Martin's CE Junior School
which covers year four to year six
Local Authority (LA) - It is the admission
authority and responsible for determining admission arrangements
and allocating school places. North Somerset Council is the LA for
the district. Our Children's and Young People's Services deals
directly with education and is based in the Town Hall
in Weston-super-Mare
Children in Care - are children who are
looked after by a local authority in accordance with section 22 of
the children act 1989(b).
OfSTED - The Office for Standards in Education
which is the Government department responsible for inspecting and
producing inspection reports on schools
Over-subscribed schools - Where there have
been more applications than places available
Over-subscription criteria - Policies deciding
which children will be given priority if the school receives more
applications than it has places available
Parent - Includes all of those people, including
carers, who have parental responsibility for a child as set out in
the Children Act 1989.
Primary schools - Cover the reception to
year six age groups
Secondary schools - Cover the year seven to
year 11 age groups plus year 12 and year 13 if the school has
a sixth form
Shared geographical area - Applies to secondary
schools only and is an area served by more than one secondary
school. Applicants living in a shared area normally qualify for a
place at one of the schools in the shared area but not necessarily
at the school nearest to their home. They may receive higher
priority for all the schools serving the area over children living
outside the area
Trust schools - These are state funded
foundation schools supported by a charitable trust. It is made up
of the school partners working together for the benefit of the
school. The school's governing body is responsible for setting
their own admission arrangements.
Under-subscribed schools - These are schools
where the number of applications is fewer than the places
available
Voluntary aided schools - Management
responsibility is shared between the Local Authority (LA) and the
Church of England with the Church playing a greater role.
The governing body is the admission authority with admission
criteria normally different from those used by the LA. The
governing body is responsible for deciding who should be allocated
places at the school
Voluntary controlled schools - Management
responsibility is shared between the Local Authority (LA) and the
Church of England*. The LA is the admission authority and
responsible for determining the admission arrangements and
allocating school places
*Except for Yatton Infant School which has links with the Durban
Trust.
