YEAR 7 ADMISSION 2023 - NEXT STEPS
On 1st March 2023 the Local Authority will send an offer of a school place to all those who had applied to transfer from Primary School to Secondary School in 2023. Naturally, when this notification is received it can prompt lots of questions for parents. We hope that the following, brief information will help to answer initial queries about what happens next.
By 15th March you need to let the school that you have been offered know if you wish to accept or refuse the place. We ask you to do this by email to admin@sandwich-tech.kent.sch.uk. (If you are unhappy with the school that you have been offered, we do recommend that you accept the place in the first instance. You can withdraw that acceptance if you manage to secure a school of your choice at a later date.)
If you have not been allocated the school of your choice, there are two paths open to you:
You can ask to join the waiting list of any school named on your application. This is managed by the Local Authority and they will have provided instructions on how to do this within their offer notification. The deadline for doing this is, again, 15th March.
You also have the right to lodge an appeal. Please find further information regarding appeals in the Transfer to Secondary Education information below.
For those who have been offered a place at STS, the School Admissions Code requires us to verify that both you and your child were resident at the address given on your application on the final closing date of 31st October 2022. We understand that the Local Authority has already made you aware of this requirement, but we felt it would be helpful to confirm what we need from you.
We are asking that the following documentary evidence be scanned or photographed and emailed to admin@sandwich-tech.kent.sch.uk:
Proof of your address, which can be –
- Recent Council Tax statement; or
- Signed Tenancy Agreement; or
- Exchange of Contracts/Completion document for a house purchase.
Plus at least one of these –
- Child/Working Tax Credit/Child Benefit/JSA/Disability Benefit letter or statement;
- Driving Licence;
- Schedule of Motor Insurance;
- Utility bill (such as Gas/Water/Electricity/Sky/Virgin Media/BT/Broadband, etc);
- Pay slip.
Proof that your child lives at the same address, which can be any one of the following –
- Doctor/Hospital appointment letter in the child’s name;
- Savings account or bank statement in the child’s name;
- Child Benefit statement;
- Letter from their current school.
In addition to proof of address, we also need proof of your child’s date of birth. Again, our preference is that documentary evidence be emailed to us.
If it isn’t possible for you to send this information electronically, we would ask you to post or hand deliver the documents to our Admissions Officer. Our postal address is:
Sandwich Technology School, Deal Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 0FA
Please do get in touch if you have any further enquires and we will endeavour to answer any additional questions that you might have and will do all that we can to help you to achieve a smooth transition.
TRANSFER TO SECONDARY EDUCATION
The transfer from Year 6 to Year 7 is co-ordinated by the Local Authority and all applications are made via their Admissions Team. Further information about the process can be found on the KCC website:
You will be asked to name your school choices on a Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) and each of the schools that you name will be asked by KCC to rank all applications received in priority order according to the school’s over-subscription criteria. The Local Authority will then offer you the highest available ranked preference for which you are eligible – it is essential, therefore, that you name your genuine first choice first, your second choice second, etc.
For those wishing to transfer to Sandwich Technology School in September 2022, our over-subscription criteria is set out in our published Admissions Policy:
View Admissions Policy 2022 2023
Appeals
On 1 March 2023 the Local Authority will inform parents of the place that has been allocated for their child. At this point, if they are disappointed with the place offered, parents will be given the opportunity to appeal against the decision and/or join the waiting list for their preferred school. Details of how to do this will be provided with the offer.
If your child is due to start secondary school in September 2023 you can appeal between 1st March -28 March 2023 to guarantee that your appeal will be heard by 15 June 2023. For applications made in the normal admission round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals. For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 schools days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 schools days of the appeals being lodged.
Where parents have lodged an appeal and a place becomes available at their chosen school, the place can be offered without the appeal being heard provided there are no other applicants ranked higher on the school’s waiting list.
The following documents provide general guidance on the appeal process:
IN YEAR ADMISSIONS
Parents who wish to apply for a school place in any year group outside of the normal admission round must complete an In Year Admission Form (IYAF). A paper copy can be collected from our School Reception or, on request, our Admissions Officer will gladly post one to you. Alternatively, you can download and print your own:
The completed IYAF should be returned to our Admissions Officer, who will process your application and inform you whether or not a place can be offered. This will depend upon a space being available in the relevant year group. If a place is available, you will receive a formal offer and a welcome pack, including forms to be completed. The Head of Year will then arrange an integration meeting with you, where your child’s induction and start date will be discussed. If a place is not available, information about joining the waiting list and your right of appeal will be provided.
For further enquiries, please contact our Admissions Officer, Mrs Thompson, on 01304 610001 or email the following address:
admin@sandwich-tech.kent.sch.uk
If you would like to arrange a school tour, please contact our Reception Manager, Jojo Kelderis, on 01304 610000.
SIXTH FORM ADMISSIONS
Our published Admissions Policy includes information about entry requirements and over-subscription criteria for the Sixth Form and there is also a dedicated section on this website that provides a wealth of information about our Post 16 offer.
View Admissions Policy 2021 2022
View Admissions Policy 2022 2023View Admissions Policy 2023 2024 enquiries, please contact our Sixth Form Manager on 01304 610070 or email:
CHILDREN WITH AN EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE PLAN (EHCP)
Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan do not apply to schools for a place through the main round admissions process.
Any application received for a child with an EHCP will be referred directly to Kent County Council’s Special Educational Needs Services (SEN), who must have regard to Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996:
"The LA must name the maintained school that is preferred by parents providing that:
- the school is suitable for the child's age, ability and aptitude and the special educational needs
- the child's attendance is not incompatible with the efficient education of other children in the school, and
- the placement is an efficient use of the LA's resources"
Where a pupil is resident in another Local Authority, the home Authority must again comply with Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996 which states:
"A local education authority shall, before specifying the name of any maintained school in a statement, consult the governing body of the school, and if the school is maintained by another local education authority, that authority."
Other Authorities looking for Kent school places for EHCP pupils will need to contact Kent County Council’s SEN team in addition to the relevant school.
The following link will take you to additional information on the Local Authority’s website: