School - transition between schools
Secondary education is provided for pupils aged 11 and over in
the following types of school.
- Community schools are set up and maintained by
the Council. Religious education covers all religions and follows a
syllabus agreed by the Council.
- Voluntary Aided (Roman Catholic) schools. We
maintain the schools but the governing body employs the staff,
decides which pupils are offered places and has different financial
responsibilities. The governing bodies also control religious
education.
- Foundation schools. The governors of the
schools are responsible for running the school within the our
framework and deciding which pupils are offered places.
Some secondary schools are designated as specialist
schools/colleges. In Rochdale these are:
- Balderstone Technology College
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School (Sports College
Status)
- Falinge Park High School
- Hollingworth High School
- Middleton Technology School
- Oulder Hill Community School and Language College
- New joint faith Roman Catholic/Church of England High School
(formerly St Joseph’s RC High School)
- Springhill High School
- Siddal Moor Sports College
- Wardle High School and Arts College
The Council’s policy does not give any priority for admission to
these schools on the basis of ability or aptitude for a particular
specialism.
Please note: We are only responsible for the admission criteria
and procedures in community schools.
For Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools the governing body is
responsible for admission arrangements so they may be different in
each case. You should consider these carefully before you make your
preferences. You should contact the schools to obtain further
information about their policies. You may have to provide
additional information in support of your application.
Deciding on a school
You will probably already have an
idea of some of the things about a school which are going to be
important to you and your child. You may have talked to parents,
staff and children attending particular schools.
Their ideas may be helpful but do
not just rely on these. Anything as important as your child’s
school should always be based on your own judgement, with as much
information as you can get to help you make that decision. Do not
base your decision on other people’s opinions or perceptions – they
will be based on their own child and you should think about what is
best for your child.
Find out as much as you can about what each school has to offer.
You should go to secondary school open evenings (the dates of which
are on page 17), read the schools’ prospectuses, visit school web
sites and view OfSTED reports before you decide on your
preference.
The type of school
If the school is a community
school, the admission criteria are listed below.
If the school is a Voluntary Aided or Foundation school you will
need to check with the school what the admissions creteria are. The
governing body of the school concerned is responsible for
admissions and you may also be required to provide additional
information in support of your application.
Admission criteria
If the school is a church school you will need to check if it
gives preference to church members.
The size of the school
How many pupils are there? How many pupils does the school admit
in its intake each year? How many first preference applications did
the school have last year?
Getting to school
How far will your child need to travel and how much will it
cost? Will your child qualify for free travel
Distance from school
Will the distance from your home
affect your ability to support the school and your child’s
education as fully as you would want? Will the distance from
your home affect your chances of getting a place for your child in
a particular school? Will the distance be a problem if your child
wants to take part in after school activities?
Every school produces a school
prospectus each year. The prospectus will contain certain basic
information about the school and the way in which it provides for
the pupils at the school. Individual prospectuses are available
from schools.
Visiting schools
Visit as many schools as you can.
Secondary schools hold open evenings during the Autumn term each
year.
You may have already formed an
impression of the schools you are planning to visit from the school
prospectus and perhaps from other information you have
received.
You may want to consider asking
some questions during your visit. Try to speak to staff at the
school as well as the head teacher.
Please note that the head teacher
or staff cannot offer you a place at the school or give you an
indication of your chance of getting a place at the school. It
is us (or governing body for Foundation and Voluntary Aided
schools) who decide who is allocated a place based on the number of
applications and the admissions policy.
Remember, every maintained school
in Rochdale will want to do its very best for your child.
You do not have a right to choose which school
your child will go to. You only have a right to express a
preference for a school. Our ability to satisfy your
preference will depend not only on the demand for places at an
individual school but also on the total number of places available
at that school. The fact that you name a school as one of your
preferences does not automatically mean that your child is entitled
to a place at that school. If a school is oversubscribed, the
admissions criteria explained under will be used to work out
which pupils will be offered places.
Transition
Rochdale has
produced a booklet that explores the issues around transition from
foundation stage into Key Stage One. The booklet documents a
transition project through photographs, observations and comments
from children in local schools.
The 32 page booklet provides a theoretical overview of
transition followed by presentations by six schools in Rochdale who
share their development.
The booklets cost £7.50 each plus £1 postage and packing (per
booklet) and are available by contacting the number on this page or
by emailing
everychildmatters@rochdale.gov.uk.