Admissions & Transfers

Simple management of admissions and transfers

One Admissions & Transfers (A&T) helps ensure the complicated process of managing the allocation of school places for children starting school, or transferring from one school to thenext is quick and easy for authority staff. Using A&T for the standard round of admissions, the challenge of finding school places for children in one of their preferred schools is simplified. The system uses the DfES’ admissions schemas to help authority staff manage the complicated interactions between partners in the admissions process effectively.

A more efficient admissions process

A&T helps manage applications for school places efficiently; whether a child is due to change or start school in September or during the course of the academic year. Child and school information on applications can be matched with existing information held in One, reducing data-entry work and the risk of duplication or error occurring.

School preferences can be entered manually by authority staff, via standard file transfer formats, by using a barcode reader to select favoured schools from a list or through the use of A&T Online. If applications are received electronically the child information and school choices are automatically matched or added to the system so authority staff do not have to re-enter data.

A&T supports all state school admissions and transfers, including those to Own Admissions Authorities (OAA), and the system complies with government guidelines on the secure exchange of data between admissions authorities and schools.

Fair allocation of school places

Processing applications for school places through A&T can help authorities ensure child admissions and transfers are managed fairly. The system automates the process of matching applications with available places. Multiple offers are reduced to one according to the Equal Preference process in the DfES’ 2003 and 2007 Codes of Practice and a school’s oversubscription criteria, where necessary. GIS is integrated into A&T to measure home-to-school distances, which can help inform decisions on school place allocation when a school is oversubscribed. If the local authority uses the One Transport module, GIS can also enable a home-to-school transport assessment to be calculated for every offered child; which will indicate if a child is statutorily entitled to free transport to and from school.

Easy management of waiting lists and appeals

Managing waiting lists and processing appeals against school place allocations can be simplified. The system sorts the children on the waiting list so that as vacancies become available, the highest-ranked child can be offered a place in the school.

Staff authorised to manage the appeals process can record and store details of any appeal submitted, including hearing dates, notes of meetings and the results of any decisions made. An appeal can be made online by any parent not just those who submitted their original application through A&T Online. Any online appeal can be tracked from a home or work computer so there is no need for them to spend time on the phone to authority staff.

(click here for more information on Admissions & Transfers Functionality Sheet)