It means that Kirklees parents only have to complete one common application form to apply for a place at any three secondary schools in
Kirklees and/or any other local authority, including voluntary aided, free, trust school or academy.
Under the Kirklees co-ordinated admissions scheme, all Kirklees parents will be sent a single offer of a secondary school place on the
National Offer Day of 1 March 2012. If the place offered is at a voluntary aided school, free school, trust school or at an academy, or at a school in another local
authority, Kirklees makes the offer on behalf of the admission authority for that school.
All the school preferences you name on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) will be assessed to decide at which schools, if any, your child
would qualify for a place.
Preferences for community and voluntary controlled schools are assessed by the Kirklees local authority, which is the admissions
authority for these schools.
Preferences for voluntary aided, free, trust schools and academies are assessed by the schools' governing bodies, which are the admission authorities for these schools. We will send details of all applications (with any supporting information parents provide) to the school's governing body.
The following schools all ask that parents also complete the school's Supplementary Information Form (SIF). The SIF collects information not obtained on the
common application form, but which the governing body requires to apply the school's oversubscription criteria.
All Saints Catholic College - Specialist in Humanities
We will not disclose parents' order of preference to these voluntary aided, free, trust schools or academies.
The governing body will determine the order of priority in which each application is ranked according to the school's
oversubscription criteria and provide us with a list, which ranks all the applications for that school.
Preferences for schools in other local authorities are assessed by the admission authorities for these schools. We will send details
of all applications (with any supporting information parents provide) to the maintaining local authority for the school. The maintaining
local authority will tell us which children qualify for a place at the school.
If your child qualifies for a place at only one school, we will offer you a place at that school.
If your child qualifies for a place at more than one school, we will offer you a place at the one school where your child qualifies
which you have ranked highest.
If your child does not qualify for a place at any of your preferred schools and you live in Kirklees, we will offer you a place at
your catchment school, if places are available, or the next nearest available school.
We will post out your offer letter, first-class, on the National Offer Day of 1 March 2012. Please note that this is not the date
that you will receive your offer letter.
If you apply online you can choose to receive an email offer on 1 March 2012 and you will also be able to view your offer online on
this date. Online applicants will also receive an offer letter.
Please note you will need to be using Internet Explorer 7, or later, or an alternative browser for the form to work at this time.
After National Offer Day children are automatically placed on waiting lists for any higher preference Kirklees schools where they
have been refused a place. This does not include Heckmondwike Grammar School and you should contact the school directly to enquire about its
waiting list procedure. Other local authorities may also have different waiting list procedures.
If you have been unsuccessful you may also lodge an appeal to try to secure a place at your preferred school.
You must apply using your home local authority's common application form. Your home local authority is the one to which you pay your Council
Tax. Kirklees residents may complete the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) on paper or apply online.
Please note you will need to be using Internet Explorer 7, or later, or an alternative browser for the form to work at this time.
Child's details (Section 1 on the paper SCAF)
Please complete your child's personal details and information about your child's current school by filling in all the boxes in this
section of the form. Please make sure you give us your child's full legal name as shown on their birth certificate.
Remember! The allocation of a school place is based on your child's permanent address and not on the school your child currently
attends. A child is normally regarded as living with a parent or carer. You will need proof of any other situation. You cannot lodge a
child with a friend or relative to gain a place at a school.
Parent or carer details (Section 2 on the paper SCAF)
Please complete your personal details by filling in the boxes in this section of the form. Please give us at least one contact
telephone number in case we have any queries about your application.
Siblings (Section 3 on the paper SCAF)
Please give us details of your child's siblings, including the name of the school they will be attending in September 2012.
School preferences (Section 4 on the paper SCAF)
This is a very important section of the form. You should name up to three schools in order of preference, putting the school you most
prefer first. It is important that you put the schools in order of preference. If your child qualifies for a place at more than one of
the schools you name, you will be offered a place at the one school which is your highest preference.
You may name any school in Kirklees or any other local authority (such as Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds) but not private schools.
Please look carefully at the admission criteria for each school when you make your preferences and be realistic in your choice of
school. For example, your chances of obtaining a place at a school a long way away from where you live may well be less than at a school
nearer your home.
We strongly advise you to name second and third preference schools in case a place is not available at your first preference school.
Naming only one school or naming the same school more than once does not increase your chances of gaining a place at the school.
We recommend that you make your catchment school one of your preferences. If you do not, please be aware that a
place may not be available at your catchment school if you do not qualify for a place at any of your preferences.
For applications to All Saints Catholic College - Specialist in Humanities, Batley Grammar School, Heckmondwike Grammar School and St John Fisher Catholic
High School you must make the school one of your preferences on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) or online application, and
you should also complete the school's own Supplementary Information Form (SIF). SIFs should be returned to the school itself.
Remember - if you do not name a school on the SCAF, your child cannot be considered for a place at that school.
Additional information (Section 5 on the paper SCAF)
If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or is in public care (a looked after child), please ensure that you show
this on the form.
If you wish, you may state reasons for one or more of your school preferences. The admission policies of the various admission
authorities may not allow them to take account of your reasons. However, if you ever wish to appeal for a place at a school it may help
your case to have mentioned reasons for your preference on your application.
Please attach any evidence of your stated reasons securely to the form. Don't forget to keep a copy of the evidence for yourself.
Declaration (Section 6 on the paper SCAF)
Please sign and date the form to confirm that you have parental responsibility for the child and the information you have provided
is correct.
If your child is in their final year at a Kirklees school and you complete the paper SCAF, we strongly recommend that you return the
completed SCAF to that school. This enables schools to ensure that all their transferring pupils have returned a SCAF and, as schools
send the SCAFs to us through the internal post, it is more secure than posting the SCAF directly to us.
If your child is not attending a Kirklees school or is not in their final year and you complete the paper SCAF, you should return
the completed SCAF to the School Admissions Team (address on the SCAF). You should get a free proof of postage
certificate from the Post Office and enclose a stamped-addressed envelope for safe receipt to be acknowledged. If you have not received
an acknowledgment within 21 days of posting the form you must telephone to check the form has been received.
Please do not post the completed SCAF to the school or the School Admissions Team unless it is absolutely necessary. We cannot be
responsible for forms lost in the post.
The closing date for applications is Monday 31 October 2011.
We will treat any applications received after the closing date as late. This can severely reduce your chances of obtaining a place
at one of your preferred schools. We do not consider late applications until places have been allocated to all on-time applicants.
This means that when late applications are dealt with many popular schools may already be full.
Please note you will need to be using Internet Explorer 7, or later, or an alternative browser for the form to work at this time.
You can make your application online - which means you need not wait for the post before finding out at which school your child has been
offered a place at. If you have applied online you can view your offer online on 1 March 2012. You can also choose to receive your offer by email on this date. We post out offer letters on 1 March 2012.
The online application form is available from 12 September 2011 until the deadline on Monday, 31 October 2011.
It enables you to make your application and send it to us immediately.
We will confirm that we have received it.
Even if you have made your application you can come back and amend it any time until the deadline.
You can be assured that your application has been received.
You can keep a record of the application you made.
The process should be easy to follow but if you have any problems you can email the School Admissions Team.