The entry of children into school’s is controlled and administered by ‘An
Admissions Authority’. In the case of community schools, the ‘Admissions Authority is Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. In the case of Church
Voluntary aided schools, the Admissions Authority is the governing body of the individual school.

Within Merthyr Tydfil each school has an area that it traditionally serves. Most parents/carers send their child to the ‘local’ school, but some parents exercise their right to state a preference for a different school.

There are two main categories of school admissions, the annual admission round and mid term admissions.

Annual Admission Round

The annual admission round covers all pupils who are due to change schools in September of each year.  This includes:

• Admission to nursery class/school
• Admission to the reception class of a school
• Admission to the infant school or the infant department of a primary school
• Transfer from infant to junior school
• Transfer from junior or primary school to secondary school

In all cases parents/carers of pupils who are due to change schools during the annual admission round will need to indicate, in writing, their preferred school.    Pupils who live in the catchment area of a school no longer have an automatic right to attend that school unless a written application is made.

Parents/carers may further express their right of preference for a Welsh medium school or a church voluntary aided school.

For entry into local authority maintained schools for September 2013, the following key dates should be noted:

• Applications for admissions to secondary schools submitted to Pupil Services by 26th October 2012
• Applicationd for admissions to nursery/primary schools submitted to Pupil Services by 23rd November 2012
• Parents and carers of secondary aged pupils informed of decision by 14th December 2012 
• Parents and carers of nursery/primary aged pupils informed of decision by 8th March 2013
• Appeals against any rejected applications to be made by 31st December 2012
• Appeals to be determined for secondary schools no later than 22nd February 2013
• Appeals to be determined for primary schools no later than 20th May 2013

Further information, including details of admissions procedures into church voluntary aided schools, can be found in the Guide to Policy and School Admission Arrangements booklet .

Mid Term Admissions

This applies to any requests made by parents to transfer their child from one school to another outside the annual admission round. If you would like to transfer schools please contact the Admissions Officer on 01685 724620 to discuss your options and the process you will need to follow.

Applying for a Place at a School

If you would like to apply for a place for your child at a school you must complete and application form.  application forms are available either directly from the school or by contacting the Pupil Services Team on 01685 724620 or by e-mail to educationwelfare@merthyr.gov.uk.

Our School Inspection Reports

Schools across Wales are subject to inspection by Estyn. Estyn is the office of Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales. You may find this information useful when deciding on a school for your child, and can download a copy of many of our primary and secondary school inspection reports from the Estyn Website.

School Admissions Appeals

Every school in Merthyr Tydfil has an admission number which is set by reference to the school’s capacity to accommodate pupils.  The following information relates to admission arrangements for community schools, admission arrangements for voluntary aided church schools can be found in the schools admission booklet or directly from the schools themselves.

A child will normally be offered admission to a community school of the parent/carer’s preference unless the admission number has been reached. Where applications exceed places the local authority will admit children in the following order of priority:

The highest priority will be given by the LA to children who are ‘Looked After’ at the time of the childs admission to the school.

In line with recent changes in legislation, the authority will give looked after children priority when schools are oversubscribed, subject to the following exceptions:-

·         schools designated as having a religious character must give higher priority to looked after children of the faith of the school over children of that faith. They should also give higher priority to relevant looked after children not of that faith than to other children not of the faith;

·         schools which have provision for selection by ability must give higher priority to looked after children who have been selected by ability over other children who have been selected by ability. Looked after children who have not been allocated a place on the basis of ability must be given priority over other children who have not been allocated a place on that basis;

·         schools which make provision for selection by banding must give priority to relevant looked after children within each band over another child who is eligible for a school within that band

• Children resident in the designated catchment area of the school.
• Children recommended for placement for medical psychological reasons (these must be confirmed by the LA’s professional advisers)
• Children with siblings (brothers and sisters) living in the same household attending the school in September 2013. If when applying the oversubscription criteria the last child to be admitted is one of a multiple birth i.g. twin or triplet then the authority will also consider admitting the other sibling (s), but will have due regard to class size legislation.
• Where places remain after all children in the above categories have been allocated a place, or where there is a need to differentiate between children in these categories, places will be allocated on the basis of distance between home and school (as identified by the authority’s ‘mapping schools’ electronic system in relation to the shortest available walking route between the school gate and the child’s front door) children living closest being given the highest priority

Please ring the Pupil Services Team for advice (01685) 724620

In the vast majority of cases children are offered places at their parents/carers first choice of school. However, if a child is unable to gain admission to a preferred school, parents/carers may appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel.  This panel will judge whether the school is full and, if that is the case, whether the parent/carers plea is so strong that the child should still be offered a place.