Admissions policy

Overview

1. The Fulham Boys School is a publicly funded Church of England Secondary School for boys with a distinctive Christian ethos at its heart. The following admissions policy is designed to deliver the school’s educational vision for an inclusive and supportive environment where boys will learn and flourish in a setting shaped by Christian values.

2. The school welcomes applications from all members of the community – Christian, of other faiths and of no faith – but expects all parents/carers and applicants to respect the Christian ethos of the school, recognising that the Christian values of compassion, inclusion and generosity will be at the school’s heart and central to its commitment to providing a secure learning environment and opportunity for all.

3. Responsibility for the admission of pupils rests with The Fulham Boys School Trust.

4. All applications for places at the school will be considered in accordance with the arrangements set out below.

Published Admissions Number

5. The school will admit a maximum of 120 boys to Year 7.

Applications

6. Admissions at the start of Year 7 will be administered by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as part of the Pan-London co-ordination scheme, with in-year admissions processed by the school.

Boys with Education, Health & Care (EHC) Plans

7. Boys with Education, Health & Care plans naming The Fulham Boys School will be admitted before the application of the over-subscription criteria.

Oversubscription Criteria

8. If The Fulham Boys School is oversubscribed, the following over-subscription criteria will be applied to support the school’s vision of being an inclusive, Christian and local school, providing opportunity for applicants of all abilities:

Banding

9. To ensure a comprehensive intake, the school will assess all applicants in the November prior to entry via independently assessed cognitive ability tests (CATs).1 Applicants must sit the banding test to be assured of priority in the following steps. Applicants not sitting the test will be treated as ‘Unbanded’ unless there is a proven legitimate reason for not being able to attend. ‘Unbanded’ applicants will not be considered until all banded applicants have been offered a place. Where places remain after all banded applicants have been offered places, the ‘Unbanded’ applicants will be offered places in accordance with the criterion in points 15 to 18 below, up to the published admission number.

10. On the basis of their score in these tests, all applicants will be placed in one of three bands: Band 1 (top 25%), Band 2 (middle 50%) and Band 3 (bottom 25%), with the banding determined by that year’s group of applicants (norm- referenced banding). If all applicants in a Band are offered places, additional places will be added to the adjoining Band (e.g. once all Band 3 applicants have been offered places, any unfilled Band 3 places will become additional places in Band 2).

Looked after children & previously looked after children

11. After places have been allocated within relevant bands to boys with a statement of special educational needs, priority for remaining places will be given to looked after children and previously looked after children. A looked

after child or previously looked after child is defined as a child in the care of a Local Authority or provided with accommodation by that Authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989.

Admissions on medical or social grounds

12. After admissions in paragraph 11, priority will be given to boys whom the Governors accept have an exceptional medical or social need for a place at The Fulham Boys School based on evidence from the relevant authorities.2

Founders’ children

13. After admissions in paragraph 12, priority will be given to the sons of Founders (see paragraph 25 below).

Children of Staff

14. After admissions in Paragraph 13, priority will be given to children of Fulham Boys School staff who have been in post for at least two years at the time of the application and / or have been recruited to fill a vacant post in a demonstrable skill shortage area. To qualify under this criterion the member of staff must have been employed on a permanent, full time contract.

Faith and Open places

15. After admissions in paragraph 14, to support the school’s vision of being a Christian learning environment half of the remaining places within each band will be offered to boys from Christian families (faith places). The other 50% of places will be offered to boys of all faiths and none (open places). Note that any unfilled faith places within a band will automatically become additional open places, and vice versa. See paragraph 23 below for the definition of Christian faith.

16. To support the school’s vision of being a local Fulham school two Admissions Zones will be identified for both faith and open places:
a) Admissions Zone 1. Boys living within one and a half miles of the school. For admissions in 2018, or until the School’s permanent location is confirmed, this distance will be measured from Fulham Library (SW6 5NX) as defined by Google Maps.

b) Admissions Zone 2. Boys living within a two and a half mile radius of the school. For admissions in 2018, or until the School’s permanent location is confirmed, this distance will be measured from Fulham Library.
See paragraph 22 below for the definition of residence.

Faith places

17. If faith places in any band are oversubscribed, applications will be prioritised in the following order:
a) boys with a sibling in the school on the date of admission (see paragraph 21 below)3

b) boys who themselves or their parents/carers are practicing members of the Church of England, who are resident in Admissions Zone 1
c) boys who themselves or their parents/carers are practicing members of other Christian churches, who are resident in Admissions Zone 1

d) boys who themselves or their parents/carers are practicing members of the Church of England, who are resident in Admissions Zone 2
e) boys who themselves or their parents/carers are practicing members of other Christian churches, who are resident in Admissions Zone 2

f) other boys who themselves or their parents/carers are practicing members of the Church of England or other Christian churches.
See Paragraph 23 below for how to apply for a Faith Place.

Open Places

18. If open places in any band are oversubscribed, applications will be prioritised in the following order:
a) boys with a sibling in the school on the date of admission (see paragraph 21 below)3

b) boys who are resident in Admissions Zone 1 c) boys who are resident in Admissions Zone 2 d) other boys

Tie break

19. If any band remains oversubscribed after application of the above criteria, places will be assigned by random allocation. The process will be conducted independently by computer programme.

Sixth form admissions

20. The school will be admitting its first intake to sixth form in September 2019. The admissions policy for sixth form applications and relevant oversubscription criteria will be consulted on two years prior to this date.

Definitions

Siblings

21. A sibling is defined as a full brother, a step/half brother living at the same address, a child who is living at the same address as part of the family by reason of a court order, or a child who has been placed with foster carers as a result of being looked after by a Local Authority.

Residence

22. For the oversubscription criteria locality will be defined by the child’s normal residence during term time. Where parental responsibility is shared, this will be taken to be the residence where the child lives for the majority of the school week.

Faith places

23. Faith places will be offered to boys who themselves or whose parents/carers are practicing members of a Christian church. For the purposes of admissions,

this is defined as attendance at a Christian church which is a full member of “Churches Together in Britain and Ireland” or “The Evangelical Alliance” at least twice a month for two years. Anyone applying for a faith place must obtain an Additional Information Form from the school (or download it from the school website) and have the support of their priest/minister as indicated on the form.

Open Places

24. Any boy unsuccessfully applying for a faith place will automatically become an applicant for an open place, and will be subject to the same oversubscription criteria as applicants of other faiths and no faith as laid out in paragraph 18.

Founders’ Children

25. The Founders of Fulham Boys School have received permission from the Secretary of State for derogation from the school admissions code giving priority in the oversubscription criteria to their children. This is limited to the individuals who played a major role in establishing the school, during the application and pre-opening stages, and who have continued to play a significant role in the running of the school, but are not required to do so. A list of relevant founders is available from the school on request.

Further information on the applications process

Offers

26. Offers of places are administered by the Home Authority who will post them to parents in March. The offer letter will specify the date by which applicants must inform the Authority of their decision to accept or reject the offer.

Waiting list

27. All unsuccessful applicants will be placed on the waiting list. The waiting list will be ranked in accordance with the over- subscription criteria set out earlier in this policy and will be open until December each year.

Appeals

28. The school will abide by the School Admission Appeals Code and any parents whose applications for places are unsuccessful will be given an opportunity to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel set up in accordance with statutory provisions.

In-year admissions

29. Applications for vacancies that arise outside the normal annual admission round will be considered at any time during the year. Information and application forms may be obtained from the school. Where there is more than one application for a vacant place, the offer of a place will be prioritized in accordance with the Admission zones in paragraph 16, with a tiebreak as in paragraph 19.

Verification of information

30. All applicants will be required to produce proof of residence (i.e. a utility bill) and an original or certified copy of the child’s short birth certificate (a passport

will not be accepted in place of a birth certificate). The Governing Body also reserves the right to seek verification from the local authority in which the applicant is resident.

Notes

1  For 2018 admissions, the assessment will be held in November 2017. Full details of timing and location will be notified to applicants and published on the school website

2  e.g. from a senior social worker, or medical consultant, making clear connection between the boy’s need and Fulham Boys School, and an explanation of the difficulties which would be caused if the child were to attend another school.

3  where applications are received from twins, triplets or same-year siblings the following procedure will be followed: if one child is selected for a place within their band, the twin/triplet/same year sibling will be ranked in their own band immediately after looked after children.