The Sele School

Admission Arrangements 2023 - 2024

Full details of The Sele School Admission Arrangements for 2023 - 2024 can be found below. 

To apply for a place at this school please complete the Hertfordshire County Council's Secondary Transfer Form (STF). Applications should be made online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions or parents can request an application form from the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043. The time scale for admissions can be found on the Hertfordshire County Council website.

To find the Parish in which you reside, and the priority area for schools please visit ‘Find your nearest school’ service available at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions 

   The Sele School Admission Rules for 2023 – 2024

The Sele School is an all ability Academy secondary school.  The number admitted at age 11 to Year 7 is 120. Boys and girls will be admitted at age 16+ provided they meet the entry qualifications for their proposed programme of study. 

Under Section 324 of the Education Act 1996 The Sele School will admit children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) that names the school.

Rule 1:   Children looked after and children who were previously looked after, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England, and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order¹ or a special guardianship order². 

Rule 2:   Medical or Social:  Children for whom it can be demonstrated that they have a particular medical or social need to go to the school.  

Rule 3:    Sibling:  Children who have a sibling at the school at the time of application, unless the sibling is in the last year of the normal age-range of the school.   

Rule 4:   Children who live in the priority area for whom it is their nearest Hertfordshire maintained school or academy that is non-faith, co-educational and non-partially selective.  

Rule 5:  Children who live in the priority area who live nearest to the school.  

Priority Area – Hertford and Ware and the Parishes of Bayford, Bengeo Rural, Bramfield, Brickendon Liberty, Datchworth, Essendon, Great Amwell, Hertford, Hertford Heath, Hertingfordbury, Hunsdon, Little Berkhamsted, Little Munden, Sacombe, Stanstead Abbotts, Stanstead St. Margarets, Stapleford, Tewin, Thundridge, Ware, Wareside, Watton-at-Stone and Welwyn.  

Rule 6:   Children living outside the priority area on the basis of distance, with those living nearest to the school given priority.

These rules are applied in the order they are printed above.  If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, a tie-break will be used by applying the next rule to those children. Where there is a need for a tie-breaker where two different addresses measure the same distance from a school, in the case of a block of flats for example the lower door number will be deemed nearest as logically this will be on the ground floor and therefore closer. If there are two identical addresses of separate applicants, the tie-break will be random. Every child entered onto the HCC admissions database has an individual random number assigned, between 1 and 1 million, against each preference school. When there is a need for a final tie break the random number is used to allocate the place, with the lowest number given priority. 

Notes  

Rule 1:  Places are allocated to children in public care according to Chapter 7, Section 2 of the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012.

These children will be prioritised under Rule 1. 

Highest priority will also be given to children who were previously looked after, including those looked after outside England, but ceased to be so because they were adopted, or became subject to a child arrangement order or a special guardianship order.

A “child looked after” is a child who is:

  1. a) in the care of a local authority, or
  2. b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (section 22(1) of The Children Act 1989) 

All children adopted from care who are of compulsory school age are eligible for admission under Rule 1. 

Children in the process of being placed for adoption are classified by law as children looked after providing there is a Placement Order and the application would be prioritised under Rule 1. 

Children who were not “looked after” immediately before being adopted or made the subject of a child arrangement order or special guardianship order, will not be prioritised under Rule 1. Applications made for these children, with suitable supporting professional evidence, can be considered under Rule 2. 

¹ Child arrangements order Under the provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014, which amended section 8 of the Children Act 1989, residence orders have now been replaced by child arrangements orders which settle the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live. 

² Special guardianship order Under 14A of The Children Act 1989, an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian or guardians. 

Children previously looked after abroad and subsequently adopted will be prioritised under Rule 1 if the child’s previously looked after status and adoption is confirmed by Hertfordshire’s “Virtual School”. 

The child’s previously looked after status will be decided in accordance with the definition outlined in The Children & Social Work Act 2017:

  1. to have been in state care in a place outside England and Wales because he or she would not otherwise have been cared for adequately, and
  2. ii. to have ceased to be in that state care as a result of being adopted. 

A child is in “state care” if he or she is in the care of, or accommodated by – (a) a public authority, (b) a religious organisation, or (c) any other organisation the sole or main purpose of which is to benefit society. 

Rule 2:   Governors will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficiently compelling to meet the requirements for this rule. The evidence must relate specifically to The Sele School and must clearly demonstrate why it is the only school that can meet the child’s needs.  

Rule 2 applications will only be considered at the time of the initial application, unless there has been a significant and exceptional change of circumstances within the family since the initial application was submitted.

All schools in Hertfordshire have experience in dealing with children with diverse social and medical needs. However, in a few very exceptional cases, there are reasons why a child has to go to one specific school. 

Few applications under Rule 2 are agreed. 

All applications are considered individually but a successful application should include the following: a) Specific recent professional evidence that justifies why only one school can meet a child’s individual needs, and/or

  1. b) Professional evidence that outlines exceptional family circumstances making clear why only one school can meet he child’s needs.
  2. c) If the requested school is not the nearest school to the child’s home address clear reasons why the nearest school is not appropriate.
  3. d) For medical cases – a clear explanation of why the child’s severity of illness or disability makes attendance at only a specific school essential. 

Evidence should make clear why only one school is appropriate. A Rule 2 application will generally not be upheld in cases where more than one school could meet the child’s need. 

In exceptional cases relating to a disability, where more than one school in the county can meet the child’s specific needs, a clear and compelling case can be made for the “nearest” school with the relevant facilities, environment or location. You must clearly explain why attendance at the “nearest” school with these facilities is essential. 

Applications under Rule 2 can only be considered when supported by a recent letter from a professional involved with the child or family, for example a doctor, psychologist or police officer. The supporting evidence needs to demonstrate why only one named school can meet the social/medical needs of the child. 

Applications for children who were not “looked after” immediately before being adopted or made the subject of a child arrangement order or special guardianship order may be made under this rule. 

Rule 3: (a) the ‘normal age range’ for The Sele School is Years 7 to 13.  (b) a sibling means the sister, brother, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, or foster brother or sister or child of the parent/carer or partner, and in every case living in the same house from Monday to Friday.  

Rule 4:  Non-partially selective means that the school does not offer any places based on academic ability.  

Rule 4, 5 and 6: A ‘straight-line’ distance measurement is used in all home to school distance measurements. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the AddressBase Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school. AddressBase Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences.

The address provided must be the child’s current permanent address at the time of application

  • At the time of application” means the closing date for applications
  • “Permanent” means that the child has lived at that address for at least a year

Where a family has not lived at an address for a year, they must be able to demonstrate that they own the property or have a tenancy agreement for a minimum of 12* months and the child must be resident in the property at the time of application.

The application can only be processed using one address. If a child lives at more than one address (for example due to a separation) the address used will be the one where the child lives for the majority of the time. If a child lives at two addresses equally, parents/carers should make a single joint application naming one address. 

If a child’s permanent residence is disputed, parents/carers should provide court documentation to evidence the address that should be used for admission allocation purposes. If two applications are received, with different addresses and/or different preferences, neither will be processed until the address issue is reconciled.

It is for a child’s home Local Authority to determine address. If two applications, with different addresses are received from the same Local Authority, it will be for that Local Authority to determine permanent address. If two applications are received from two different Local Authorities, the above process will be used

If two different applications are received for the same child from the same address, e.g., containing different preferences, parents/carers will be invited to submit a joint application or provide court documentation to evidence the preferences that should be used for the admission process. Until the preference issue is reconciled neither application will be processed.

For the transfer application rounds, if the initial differing applications (one or both) were received “on-time”, an amended joint application will also be considered “on-time” if received before the “late deadline”. If the amended joint application is received after the late date, it will be treated as “late”. The late deadlines for the 2023/24 transfer application process are 2nd December 2022 for secondary and upper applications and 1st February for reception, junior and middle applications. If these dates change, amendments will be published on the admissions web pages at the start of the 2023/24 application process in September 2022.

* If, because of the nature of the agreement, it is not possible to provide a 12-month tenancy agreement, alternative proof of address will be requested and verified as necessary with the Shared Anti-Fraud Service. 

Twins/Multiple Births

In the event that one child of a multiple birth is awarded a place but one or more other children of that same multiple birth, who have applied for a place at the school are not awarded a place, the school would take in all children in that multiple birth who have applied, even if this means that intake exceeds PAN as a result. 

Children Out of Year Group

The Sele School believes that children should be educated within their correct chronological year group, with the curriculum differentiated as necessary to meet the needs of individual children. This is in line with DfE guidance.

However, parents or carers may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, in which case they should, at the time of application, provide supporting evidence from relevant professionals who are working with the child and family, explaining why they believe the child should be educated outside their normal age cohort. It is for the parents or carers of the child concerned to ensure that supporting evidence is provided. 

Decisions on whether to accept a child out of year group will be made by Governors on the basis of evidence provided regarding the circumstances of the case. The Governor’s decision will be based on the facts of the case; the views of the parents and of the Headteacher will be taken into consideration as will circumstances of the case such as, details of the child’s social, emotional and academic development and whether the child has been educated out of year group previously. Refusal of acceptance of a child into the parent/carers preferred year group does not constitute refusal of a place and there is no statutory right of appeal. The internal management of the school, including placement of students into classes is a matter for the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team.

Appeals

Parents wishing to appeal who applied through Hertfordshire’s online system should log in to their online application and click on the link “register an appeal”.  Out of county residents and paper applicants should call the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 to request their registration details and log into www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals and click on the link “log into the appeals system”.  

Continuing Interest (Waiting lists)

After places have been offered, Hertfordshire County Council will maintain a continuing interest (waiting) list for all community and voluntary controlled schools. A child’s position on a CI list will be determined by the admission criteria outlined above and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it. The county council will contact parents/carers if a vacancy becomes available and it can be offered to a child. Continuing interest lists will be maintained for every year group until the summer term (date to be specified and confirmed to parents at the time of allocation). To remain on the CI (waiting) list after this time, parents must confirm they are still interested in a place by completing an In Year application form.

In-Year Admissions  

Parents can make an online in-year application via the Hertfordshire County Council website  www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions or contact the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 for a paper application form. Parents should return the application form direct to the County Council. 

The county council will write to you with the outcome of your application and if you have been unsuccessful, will include registration details to enable you to login and appeal online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals     

Fair Access 

The school participates in the County Council’s Fair Access protocol and will consider children under this protocol before children on continuing interest and over the Published Admission Number (PAN) if required.  

Sixth Form Arrangements

 The Sele School will accept applications from external students for places once all internal students have been accommodated. The Published Admission Number (PAN) to admit external Sixth Form students is 25.  

Sixth Form Entry Requirements 

  1. Children looked after and children who were previously looked after, including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England, and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order¹ or a special guardianship order². (See Notes to Rule 1 for Lower School Admissions for further details).
  2. Entry into The Sele School Sixth Form is dependent on meeting a GCSE or BTEC equivalent examination entry requirement of five (5) qualifications at Grade 5 or better. There is a minimum requirement of achieving Grade 5 in the subjects that they wish to continue at A Level. Students who wish to study a subject which has not previously been studied will be admitted according to the five (5) qualifications at Grade 5 or better ruling.
  3. However, consultation will take place between the Director of Sixth Form and Deputy Head where a student has failed to meet the examination entry requirement but has shown a serious intention to continue their education. 
  4. In exceptional circumstances, and after consultation with the Director of Sixth Form and other relevant staff, negotiated entry to the Sixth Form is sometimes possible if the normal entry requirements have not been met. 
  5. The Sele School will accept any Year 11 student wishing to continue their education at The Sele School Post 16, as long as they meet the examination entry requirement or have successfully negotiated entry to the Sixth Form as described in point 3. 
  6. The Sele School welcomes students from other schools who have a serious intent to enter post 16 education at The Sele School as long as they meet the same examination entry requirements as internal applicants.
  7. All members of The Sele School Sixth Form must agree to adhere to the standards criteria as set out in the Sixth Form Contract. 
  8. If oversubscribed and a tie break is needed this will be distance measured by a straight line as the deciding factor. Should two applicants live at exactly the same distance from the school the final tie break, which will be independently witnessed, will be random.

Sixth Form Application Form

To apply for a place in The Sele School Sixth Form please follow this link and complete and return the form, which can be downloaded by following this link: Sixth Form Application Form 

Sixth Form Appeals 

Parents or students whose application to the school is unsuccessful have the right to appeal and should contact the Admissions Officer at the school directly in the first instance.