A-Z of Services

Junior Admissions for September 2013

The School Standards and Framework Act (1998) enables you to express a preference for the junior school you would wish your child(ren) to attend. To help you to do this, the Local Authority (LA) has to publish certain information about its schools and policies, which, together with the prospectus that the school has prepared, will help you state your preference.

See the link to the County Borough’s Parents’ Guide to Education Services in Wrexham for further information. Copies are available at the Authority’s schools, offices and, for reference purposes, at public libraries. If you wish to visit a school prior to expressing your preference, you should arrange an appointment with the headteacher. You will then be able to express your preference on the basis of the information contained in these documents and on the basis of any visit(s) you have made to the school(s).

Please note that the law does not allow you to choose a school for your child, merely to state a preference for your child(ren) to attend at a particular school. Of course, every effort will be made to ensure that your child gets a place at your preferred school.

The Authority will accept only the pupil’s home address and not that, for example, of childminder or grandparents. Parents may be asked to provide official documentation showing home address. Parents are advised that a school place may be lawfully withdrawn if the information given on your application form is fraudulent or misleading, the consequence of this may be that there would be no place available at your next nearest school. If two parents cannot agree which school/schools they prefer, they must seek independent legal advice, and if necessary an appropriate court order, before submitting their one application form to the LA.

If your child has a disability which could affect his/her progress and participation in school life, please note this on the form.

If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Need, the LA will try its best to allow your preference of junior school but it has to make sure that the school can meet your child’s needs fully. After your form has been received, a Local Authority Officer will write to you and may wish to arrange a meeting to discuss your child’s education at junior school.

If your child has an older brother or sister currently registered at the preferred school who will still be registered at the time the younger one is due to start, please note on the admission form, giving his/her name and date of birth.

You can download and complete an admission form and return it to the headteacher of the infant school your child currently attends, by 3 December 2012. The LA will admit pupils up to the school’s admission number, this number is shown in the school list in the Parents’ Guide to Education Services in Wrexham. Late applications will be dealt with after all those that have been handed in by the deadline. It is, therefore, very important for you to meet the deadline referred to above.

Where the local infant and junior schools are separate schools, parents should not assume that there is an automatic transfer.

In the event that there are more applications made than there are places available at your preferred school, the Admission Authority will apply the criteria published in the County Borough’s Parents’ Guide to Education Services in Wrexham to allocate places at that school.

It will take some time for the allocation process to be completed but you will be informed by 22 March 2013 whether or not your child has been allocated a place at your preferred school. If the LA is unable to allocate a place for your child at your preferred school, you will have the right to make representations to an independent appeals panel.

If you wish to appeal in the case of a community or controlled school, you should write to the Head of Lifelong Learning. For pupils with statements or for whom a statement is in process this procedure is dealt with by The Pupil Support Officer, who is based at Lambpit Street and can be contacted on 01978 297401.

Admission to community or controlled junior schools is governed by the Authority’s Admissions Policy. Please note that, should you choose a community or controlled school other than the nearest junior school, the Authority will not be in a position to provide transport for your child(ren) and consequently you will have responsibility to make and pay for such arrangements. Details about the Transport Policy are set out in the County Borough’s Parents’ Guide to Education Services in Wrexham.

Contact

Should your circumstances change and you need to change your preference of school but have already returned the admission form, please contact the Admissions Office on 01978 297401.

View a list of schools from our Schools Database >>

Junior Admissions Pack

The Junior Admissions Pack is available to download in the following format:

Junior Admissions Pack - PDF format 95kb

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