Secondary School Placement Notices
Dear parents of pupils in Year 6
On March 1st (this Wednesday) Derby City Council (DCC) Local Authority will be contacting parents to inform them of their child’s secondary school placement. This will be a direct contact with you and Ashgate Primary School will not receive this information.
Around 85% of families in England are offered their first-choice placement in 2022 and this is a similar pattern to that seen in previous years.
What do I do if I do not get the placement I wanted?
There is an appeal process if you are not satisfied and the details of this will be contained in the letter/mail offering the placement. If you wish to appeal against the decision, you need to follow the instructions given by the Local Authority. Appeals are time limited, so if you are wishing to take this path, you need to ensure any timelines you are given are followed; this is usually around 20 days after notice.
Staff at Ashgate Primary School are not in a position to appeal on your behalf or make recommendations, provide references. You must contact Derby City Council (DCC) if you wish to receive support or have questions.
I have not been informed of my child’s placement and the 1st March has passed. What should I do?
Contact the Local Authority School Admissions team direct.
tel: 01332 956988
email: admissions@derby.gov.uk.
I missed the October 31st application deadline, what should I do?
Contact the Local Authority School Admissions team direct.
tel: 01332 956988
email: admissions@derby.gov.uk.
You will be able to apply for a placement, however, not until after March 1st deadline has passed and the chances of receiving your preference will be reduced.
Separated parents
If the child’s parents are separated or divorced, there are various things that need to be considered depending on the situation.
What if the child’s parents live at separate addresses?
If the residency of your child is split between both parents, DCC consider the home address to be the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week (Monday to Friday).
If the child spends equal amounts of time at both addresses, you will be asked to nominate which address you wish to use for the purpose of allocating a school place.
If you fail to do so, we have the right to nominate the address that DCC consider appropriate, which will normally be that at which Child Benefit is received.
We may ask for evidence of your child's place of permanent residence.
What happens if both parents cannot agree on the choice of schools?
You are advised to reach an agreement with any other person who may submit an application for your child, such as another parent.
If one parent has parental responsibility (as evidenced by documentation), that parent's application is the one that will be accepted.
If parents are separated and both have parental responsibility, then they must determine between them who will make the application. If they cannot agree, then either parent may seek to have that determined by a Court.
In the event of a dispute between parents who do not have this matter resolved by the Court by the closing date, DCC will accept the application by the parent with whom the child resides the majority of the school week.
Where that is equal DCC will determine whose application is progressed with reference to the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit.
If no one is in receipt of Child Benefit DCC will consider all of the circumstances and make a determination as to the application which will be accepted and provide our reasons for doing so. This will ensure the child has an active application for a school place.