Admissions
To download the School Prospectus please click on the link below.
To download an Admission Form please click on the link below.
If you have any questions please call the School Office on 01753 823 501
Click on the links below to download:-
School Admission Form - DOC Format
Admission Religious Questionnaire Reception - DOC format
Admission Religious Questionnaire Year 1 - 6 - DOC format
School Admissions Policy
Click here to download a copy of the admissions policy
KHALSA PRIMARY SCHOOL
SCHOOL ADMISSIONS POLICY - October 2011
Introduction
Khalsa Primary School is a VA school in the trusteeship of the Slough Sikh School Trust. The school is conducted, by its Governing Body as part of the Sikh community in accordance with its Trust Deed and Instrument of Government. The school exists primarily to serve the Sikh community, but welcomes applications, from those of other faiths or no faith, who support and respect the religious ethos of the school. The Governing Body is the ‘Admissions Authority' for the school. The Admission Panel (on behalf of the Governing Body) makes all the decisions about admissions, the Headteacher is not involved.
The Governing Body applies the regulations on admissions fairly and equally to all those who wish to attend this school. All applications will be treated on merit and in a sensitive manner. The background, level of ability of a child or any special needs that he or she may have plays no part in the admissions policy of this school.
Admissions Information
•· The area served by the school includes all Slough wards and neighbouring boroughs.
•· The number of pupils in any one year group from Reception to Year 6 is limited to no more than 60 and each class size to 30 pupils.
•· Sibling - qualifying relationship is immediate brother or sister only; this means children sharing one or both common parents, step brother or step sister, or legally adopted children, who live in the same household and are attending the school at the time the child is due to start the school. Other extended family relationships (e.g. cousin-brother or cousin-sister) DO NOT qualify for sibling consideration.
•· Admission to the Nursery class does not guarantee admission to the school (i.e. Reception), a separate application is required.
Admissions Procedures
•· To apply for a place at our school, parents/legal guardians/carers have to complete the Common Application Form (CAF) from their ‘home' Local Authority naming our school (returnable to the ‘home' LA) and a Religious Questionnaire (RQ), which includes a statement of commitment to be signed by their local place of regular worship. These are the two parts to the application process.
The Religious Questionnaire (RQ) is obtainable from the school office or website and LA, but only returnable by post to: Admissions, Slough Sikh School Trust, PO Box 4255, Slough, Berks, SL1 0RJ by noon Friday 13 January 2012. This should be sent by a recorded delivery method that records the name and address of sender and the address that it is posted to, which will act as your receipt.
•· Parents are also strongly advised to keep a photocopy of their completed RQ should any query arise or in any case of appeal.
•· For parents/legal guardians/carers who do not submit a Religious Questionnaire in respect of their child's place, the application will not be considered.
•· Any questionnaires received after the closing date will be deemed late and be given lower priority than those received on time, regardless of their RQ score and will be placed on the waiting list as detailed below.
•· The religious questionnaire is marked objectively by The Slough Sikh School Trust (SSST).
•· Answers in English or Punjabi are acceptable. Support will be given to parents who require translation or a scribe.
Admissions Criteria
The Governors will admit children according to the availability of places and the following criteria in order of priority.
Non-Sikh children
20% of places will be reserved for children from a non-Sikh background. In the event that these places are not taken up by the end of the academic year or LA deadlines for statutory schooling applications, these places will instead be offered to Sikh children.
The admissions criteria will remain the same as below, from number 2 onwards, but they will have to demonstrate a commitment to their faith using the RQ (including a reference from their Minister of Religion), confirming that they at least attend worship monthly in the tradition of their faith. Those of no faith must also complete this section describing their voluntary work - Other Faith Form Part 1, Question 2 only.
Sikh Children
1. Sikh Looked After children who are in the care of the Local Authority or children with a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN), where Khalsa Primary School is named in Section 4 of the SEN statement.
2. Children living with parents, legal guardians or carers who demonstrate a commitment to the Sikh faith. Evidence of this commitment is required by parents completing a Religious Questionnaire (RQ).
The religious questionnaire is marked into one of three categories; good, satisfactory and insufficient.The total marks are out of 30 (5 marks per question), where a mark of 20-30 represents good, 10-20 satisfactory and below 10 insufficient. Within each category, preference is first given to siblings and then by distance from home to school (as in 3b below). This is applied firstly to the good category, then to the satisfactory category and finally to the insufficient category.
Oversubscription
3. In the case of oversubscription the date of application will be taken into account and the following will apply in order of priority:
a. Children who have at least one sibling attending the school at the time the chid is due to start the school.
b. Children who live in closest proximity to the school. Proof of residence is required. Where two children meet the same criteria, the shortest distance from the school will be the deciding factor in offering a place. Proximity to the school will be measured in a straight line from the school to the child's permanent address, using the Slough Geographical Information System.
Verification of the applicant's permanent residence at the time of allocation will be required before a school place can be offered. This documentation e.g. Council Tax, Utilities bill, Child Benefit, house purchase contract, Electoral Roll etc. as decided annually by the Admissions Panel. If the address is a rented property the original properly witnessed lease, signed by a solicitor must be provided - we will not accept photocopies or downloaded agreements. The tenancy agreement must extend at least 6 months prior and beyond the admissions date. The governors define a permanent residence to be where the family live, eat and sleep 7 days a week.
c. Children who have strong medical or social grounds for admission. In such cases, parents will need to provide supporting information from an appropriate professional at the time of application.
Nursery Admissions
The Nursery class has provision for 52 children part- time. Attendance is either five morning or five afternoon sessions of 3 hours each. The minimum age of Admission is three years old. The aim is to offer a minimum of two term's placement in the Nursery class.
In the Nursery, applications are grouped into termly admission, by age, and places are offered in date of birth order. If the number of applications exceeds the number of places available then places will be offered using the oversubscription criteria stated above and priority will be given to children who will be four years old at the time of admission. If a child has been attending a nursery class or school in another area, a place will be offered as soon as possible. If a child is absent for more than two weeks without notification, they will be taken off roll. Should the parent want to re-admit the child, the name will be placed on the waiting list.
Admission to the Nursery class does not guarantee onward admission to the school (i.e. Reception), a separate application is required.
Waiting List
A waiting list will be maintained by the Governing Body in the order of the oversubscription criteria and not in the order in which applications are received unless they are late. Any late applications will form part of this list, but these will be placed after those applicants who gave their RQ in on time, regardless of their score.
When a vacancy occurs at the school, the Governors will offer the place to the child who is listed first in the reserve list as judged by the admission criteria. The awarding of the place will depend on whether the vacant place is Sikh or Non-Sikh, and will be awarded to the child in the relevant age group who most closely matches Criteria 2, as assessed by the Religious Questionnaire.
Allocation will not be based on the length of time a child's name has been on the list. Parents/carers will be required to confirm in writing by June to the school that they wish to remain on this list. The list will be retained for the remainder of the school year.
Withdrawal
DfES Code of Practice states ‘an offer of a school place may be withdrawn if fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent/carer is made (e.g. a false claim of residency in a catchment area)'. The burden of proof lies with you and your application.
Admission Appeals
Parents who are dissatisfied with the decision of the Governing Body not to admit a child may appeal. Appeals should be made within 14 days of receiving the decision and should be made in writing to: Admissions Officer, Khalsa Primary School, Wexham Road SL2 5QR.
An independent appeals panel's decision is binding for all parties concerned. Details of appeal arrangements are set out in the School Admissions Appeals Code, January 2008.
There is no right of appeal for Nursery as this is non-statutory.
Review
The Governing Body of Khalsa Primary School, as a Voluntary Aided (Faith School) determines their admissions criteria. The Local Authority administers the offer of places on its behalf.
This policy will be reviewed annually by the Governing Body in the light of any changed circumstances in our school or the local area.