Admissions
Admission InformationIf your child was born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 they will be due to start school at the beginning of the academic year commencing 1st September 2026.
Applications should be made using the Calderdale Admission procedures. See the last section of this page for admissions to Nursery.
Please see http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/education/schools/admissions for further information.
In Year Admissions
The same criteria will apply for in-year applications as outlined in the policy below in section 2 and the appeals processes outlined in section 5. In year places will become available when the number in each class falls below 30. Parents wanting to apply for a place for their child should apply direct to the Academy on 01422 883034 or via email to admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk.
Please note that all schools that have places available must offer a place to every child who has applied for one, without condition or the use of any oversubscription criteria, unless admitting the child would prejudice the efficient provision of education or use of resources. If dealing with multiple in-year admissions and the school do not have sufficient places for every child who has applied for one, places must be allocated on the basis of the oversubscription criteria in the policy below.
Parents must not be refused the opportunity to make an application or be told that they can only be placed on a waiting list rather than formally apply. Upon receipt of an in-year application the admission authority should aim to notify the parents of the outcome of their application in writing within 10 school days, but they must be notified in writing within 15 school days. Where an application is refused, the admission authority must also set out the reason for refusal and information about the right to appeal.
Please note that the academy has a duty to inform the local authority of every application and its outcome as soon as reasonably practicable, but should aim to be within two school days.
Admissions Policy 2026/2027 (updated to comply with Schools Admission Code 2021)
This document sets out the admission arrangements for Burnley Road Academy and complies with Annex 1 to the Funding Agreement which is an agreement between the Academy and the Secretary of State.
Any changes to the arrangements set out in the Funding Agreement must be approved in advance by the Secretary of State. The Academies will comply with all relevant provisions of the statutory codes of practice (the School Admissions Code of Practice and the School Admission Appeals Code of Practice) as they apply at any given time.
The Executive Board of the Trust is the Admissions Authority and therefore any reference in the codes to admission authorities shall be read as the Trust’s Executive Board. In particular, the Trust will take part in the Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme run by Calderdale Local Authority.
1 Application for Places
Parents are asked to apply for a place at Burnley Road Academy using the common preference form supplied by the local authority, which must be returned as specified on the form. Alternatively, parents may apply direct to the local authority online. https://new.calderdale.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/admissions and admin@burnleyroad.calderdale.sch.uk
2. Allocation of Places
Burnley Road Academy has an intended admission number of 15 places in Reception. The academy will normally admit children to primary education at a single point at the beginning of the school year in which they reach the age of 5. Parents have the right to defer their child’s start date (known as deferred entry) until later in the school year, but not beyond the beginning of the term after they turn 5 and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year in April. Parents who are planning to defer their child’s start date must still apply at the usual time for primary places and should also speak to the headteacher to discuss potential deferment. The allocation of places is made using the following criteria:
2.1.1 Where 15 or fewer applications are received the school will offer a place to all those who have applied.
2.1.2 Children with an EHCP which names the Academy/School will be allocated a place. This is a statutory entitlement under the S.324 of the Education Act 1996.
2.2 Where the number of applications for admissions exceeds 15, applications will be considered against the criteria set out below and in the priority order stated:
2.2.1 Looked after children (including those who were in care but now adopted or subject to a residence or guardianship order) will be allocated a place. Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
2.2.2 Pupils who have a brother or sister (including step/half brothers and sisters) permanently resident in the same household and who will be at school at the start of the academic year.
2.2.3. Places will be offered to children of permanent staff where the member of staff has been employed at the Trust for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. Page 2 of 4
2.2.4 Proximity of the pupil’s home address to the school. Distance will be calculated using a straight line measurement from the pupil’s permanent home to the closest designated school gate. Distance will be calculated using the Local Authority’s GIS system (Geographical Information System). To ensure consistency applies, all measurements will be carried out by the Local Authority’s GIS system and no other method of measuring distance swill be considered. Each property has a coordinate take from Ordnance Survey ADDRESS-POINT data. This is the point which distance measurements will be taken from.
· If there is oversubscription within any category, the next criterion would be applied.
· Random allocation will be used as a tie break in category 2.2.4 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between two children’s homes and the academy are the same. This process will be independently verified (see attached procedure).
3. Notification of Places
In accordance with the Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme run by Calderdale MBC, the local authority will make the formal offer of a place to parents or guardians on behalf of the Academy Trust. These letters will be sent via the academy, who will ask parents/carers to contact the academy by telephone or letter to either accept or reject the offer of a place. Parents rejecting an offer must complete the reallocation form if they wish to be considered for a place after offer day. Failure to complete a form may result in a child missing out on a place as the local authority will still deal with the co-ordination of admissions at this point in time. This will in no way affect parents’ right of appeal for a place at another school but will allow the Academy to re-allocate a rejected offer to another child.
4. Fair Access Protocol
As part of the Co-ordinated Admissions arrangements with the local authority the Academy may accept hard-to-place pupils onto the school role from time to time in accordance with the Local Authority In-Year Fair Access agreement. These are special cases arranged outside the boundaries of this admissions policy.
5. Appeals Procedure
Parents who want to appeal against the decision not to offer their child a place at the school must appeal directly to the school. Appeals should be addressed to the Admissions Officer at the Academy within 20 school days of receiving the decision letter from the local authority. The appeals will be heard by an independent appeals panel set up by the Academy to hear the case for the appellant. Parents will receive advanced notification of the date and time of their appeal hearing, to which they can go and make their case (please see the flow chart in Page 3 of 4 appendix 1 which includes a timetable of events). If they wish, parents may be accompanied by an advisor or friend who can be a locally elected politician. Following the appeal, the Clerk to the independent appeals panel will write to parents with the decision and full reasons for the decision. The decision of the independent appeals panel is binding and final.
6. Re-Allocation (Waiting) list
A reallocation list will be drawn up from parents who request their child’s name to be added to the list, giving priority for places that become vacant, in accordance with section 2.
Any places which become available will be filled from the re-allocation list. If a child has been placed on the re-allocation list, parents will be informed and asked to confirm annually that they wish to leave their child’s name on the list, which will be retained until the end of the autumn term.
7. In-Year Applications
The same criteria will apply for in-year applications as outlined in section 2 and the appeals processes outlines in section 5. In year places will become available when the number in each class falls below 15, although, due to the mixed class nature of the classes, this will be dependent upon overall class size. Parents wanting to apply for a place for their child should apply direct to the Academy in the first instance.
8. Requests for admission outside the normal age group
Decisions on requests for admission outside the normal age group will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child concerned. In accordance with the School Admissions Code, this will include taking account of:
Ø Parents’ views
Ø Information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development
Ø Where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional
Ø Whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
Ø Whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
Ø The headteacher’s views
Wherever possible, requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group will be processed as part of the main admissions round. They will be considered on the basis of the admission arrangements laid out in this policy, including oversubscription. Applications will not be treated as a lower priority if parents have made a request for a child to be admitted outside the normal age group.
Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to. Parents do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school, but it is not in their preferred age group.
9. Consultation
The Trust will consult with local groups and schools if changes to these arrangements have been proposed. They will consult on the full admission arrangements every seven years even if no changes are proposed. Admission information will be made available on the academy’s website.
