Admission arrangements
All Pupils with statements of Special Educational Needs or Educational Health & Care Plan where The Mendip Studio School is named on the statement/plan will be allocated a place.
Applications are made using an online form from the school website. Where the number of applications for admission is greater than the published admission number, all applications will be placed in a rank order against the oversubscription criteria set out below:
(a) Looked after Children and previously looked after children (who are children who were looked after, but ceased to be because they were adopted or became subject to child arrangement orders or special guardianship orders).
(b) Children who are on the roll of schools within the MAT in the academic year of admission.
(c) Siblings of children who are still attending the school in the academic year of admission – children are siblings if they are step siblings, adopted or foster brothers or sisters living in the same family unit at the time when the child is due to start in the school.
(d) Children of staff working at the Mendip Studio School that have been employed for two or more years or have been recruited to a post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
(e) Children residing within a 20 mile distance of the Mendip Studio School and within the target area as indicated on the map will be allocated a place by a random allocation method.
This random allocation will be overseen by an independent appointee of The Mendip Studio School Trust and means that applicants living close to The Mendip Studio School will not have priority over other applicants within the 20 mile radius.
(f) Children residing outside the designated target area with priority being given to those living nearest to the School as measured in a straight line from the applicant’s home address to the school. Measurements will be determined using the Local Authority’s GIS computerised mapping system with those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority.
Other considerations
(a) In the event of the school being oversubscribed where the applicant for the final qualifying place(s) available within the admission number is a twin, triplet or other multiple births the Governors will consider this as a single application and admit over the published admissions number if necessary.
(b) Unsuccessful applicants will have a right of appeal to an independent admission appeals panel.
(c) The home address used on the school’s admission form must be the current one at the time of application, i.e. the family’s main residence. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship) the friends or relatives’ address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
(d) If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Where the parents live at different addresses, and there is shared parenting, the address used will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of Monday to Friday mornings. Parents may be asked to show evidence of the claim that is being made for the address.
(e) Where there is dispute about the correct address to use, the trust reserve the right to make enquiries of any relevant third parties, e.g. the child’s GP, Council Tax Office, Electoral Registration Officer, utilities provider.
(f) For children of UK Service personnel and other Crown Servants returning to the area proof of the posting is all that is required before processing the application.