John Taylor Free School

Consultation 2027/2028

2026/2027 & 2025/2026

Consultation on admission arrangements 2027/2028

The Local Governing Body of John Taylor Free School are consulting its stakeholders and partners on a proposed change to the admissions arrangements for September 2027. 

Reason for the proposal

John Taylor Free School opened in September 2018 with a PAN of 210.  This increased to 240 in September 2019. The school has had less than 240 for each Year 7 group for the last 3 years. There have only been 70 – 80 students in Year 7 living within the catchment area which is geographically very small. Even with the new housing being built around Branston Locks, it seems unlikely that the school will be able to fulfil a PAN of 240 year on year. 

Current Criteria and Proposed Criteria 

There are no plans to change the admissions criteria. 

Proposal for Change of PAN 

The consultation is proposing a reduction in PAN from 240 students to 210 students giving 7 classes of 30 students. 

Process

This proposed change if approved, will become operational from September 2027. 210 students will be admitted to Year 7 from September 2027 onwards. Your opinions are important and we are keen to receive any comments on the proposal before the changes are agreed. 

This consultation period opens on Monday 03rd November 2025 and ends on Friday 19th December 2025. 

All responses will be considered between Monday 5^th January 2026 and Friday 30^th January 2026. Admission arrangements will be determined by 28^th February 2026. 

A copy of this document along with a copy of the draft policy is available on the Trust’s website (www.jtmat.co.uk), the school website (www.johntaylorfreeschool.co.uk) and Staffordshire County Council’s admissions page (www.staffordshire.gov.uk/admissions). 

In line with the Admissions Code, the following bodies have been consulted:

• All other admissions authorities within a two-mile radius of John Taylor Free School
• JTMAT primary schools
• JTMAT secondary schools
• Staffordshire County Council
• Derbyshire County Council.
• Local primary and secondary schools outside of JTMAT. 

Notices have also been sent to the local library and post office to advise that the consultation is being carried out. 

In order to make your views known, please write to:

Consultation on Proposal to Reduce PAN

Clerk to Governors

John Taylor Free School

Branston Road

Tatenhill

Burton on Trent

Staffordshire

DE13 9SA 

Or email clerk@johntaylorfreeschool.co.uk.

Proposed admission arrangements 2027/2028

Planned Admissions Level

The Planned Admissions Level for each year 7 entry is 210.  This level has been agreed by the Local Governing Body.  This number may be exceeded at the discretion of the Governors, but they are not obliged to accept students in excess of this number unless parents have won their case at an Independent Appeal Panel.  (Governors are aware of the limited number of classrooms and restricted space of the school premises, and do not feel that it is in the interest of students for there to be overcrowding).

Admissions Criteria

All applications made for entry into Year 7 should be made via the relevant Local Authority admission to secondary school portal. The deadline for such applications is October 31^st the year prior to admission. It is the Local Authority that will then advise regarding the outcome on 1^st March.   

If the total number of preferences for admission to school exceeds the Published Admission Number (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places.  In accordance with legislation, children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan, that names John Taylor Free School, must be admitted.  This will reduce the number of places available: 

1. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. 

2. Children who have a sibling in attendance at the school at the time of application; (For admission purposes, a sibling is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parent’s marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.) 

3. Children who live within the catchment area of the school which constitutes the housing development including the Lawn’s Farm (Branston Locks) site, the development on Forest Road, Red House Farm and Beamhill Road sites. A map of the catchment area can be found here. 

4. Children of John Taylor Free School employees where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage or has worked within JTFS for a minimum of two years. 

5. Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school, determined by a straight-line measurement, as calculated by the local authority’s Geographical Information System. 

Additional Notes

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required in order for the application to be assessed against the published admissions criteria, the governors will not seek to obtain this information on behalf of the applicant. 

Children in care means children who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making the application.

The Local Authority’s Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to calculate home to school distances in miles.  The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant’s home address to the main front gate of the school.  The coordinates of an applicant’s home address are determined using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data. 

The home address is usually considered to be the child’s, along with their parent’s, main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places, i.e., where they are normally and regularly living. 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. 

Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for application purposes. The evidence could include the address where child benefit is received, should that be applicable or where the child is registered for the GP.  

If a place is offered on the basis of an address that is subsequently found to be different from a child’s normal and permanent home address, then that place is likely to be withdrawn. 

If a child’s home address changes during the admissions process it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the local authority immediately.  Where there is a proposed house move taking place during the admissions process the school will only accept the revised address for purposes of allocation where parents/carers can provide documentary evidence of the move. Proof of ownership or long-term rental arrangement may be requested, and could include: 

• a solicitor's letter upon completion (exchange of contracts not accepted) confirming your completion date was on or before the date of application; or
• a signed rental agreement (for at least 12 months) showing the start of your tenancy on or before the date of application; or
• evidence that you have relinquished ties with the address you originally declared on your application form. 

You must also send us proof that you and your child live at the new address. 

It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case.  We are not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately. 

If there are a limited number of spaces and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be random. This process will be independently verified by the Local Authority. 

If your child has not been offered a place, your child’s name will be automatically kept on the waiting list by the Local Authority.  The waiting list will continue to operate by the Local Authority until 31 December of the relevant academic year. It will then transfer to John Taylor Free School. 

The waiting list is held in accordance with the published admissions criteria and a child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year, as each child added to the list is subject to the over subscription criteria detailed above.  

Entry later than September, Year 7

Parents moving to the area, or those who wish to move their child to the school, should contact the school directly. Applications will need to be made via the Staffordshire Admissions Form which can be found here: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Admissions-primary/Apply/Application-forms-for-admission-to-school.aspx 

Email us your proof of address:

We need 2 documents showing your current address. At least one of them needs to be a council tax bill, utility bill, solicitor’s letter upon completion (exchange of contracts not accepted) or a signed tenancy agreement. 

If you are moving, we also need proof of your new address. This should be either a tenancy agreement showing the start date of the tenancy or a solicitor’s letter confirming the completion date. We won't use the new address until we have proof that the child is living there permanently. 

If you're moving to a rented property, send us evidence that you've sold or are in the process of selling your current property, or that your current lease agreement has ended. 

Admission Outside of the Normal Age Group

Following the non-statutory guidance “Guidance on handling admission requests for summer born children” April 2023, we expect parents of summer born children to secure the agreement from JTFS, should they intend to apply for a place out of their normal age group.  This should take place before the normal admissions round closes on 31 October.  We will ensure parents receive the response to their request before the normal secondary admissions round closes. 

If the parent’s request is agreed, they may withdraw their application for the normal age group place before a place is offered.  They will then need to make a new application for a school place during the following admission round. 

The school will make a decision based on the circumstances of the case and in the child’s best interests. Guidance indicates that it should be rare for an authority to refuse a parent’s request. 

JTFS must still consider requests that are made outside the timescales set out in the process. 

It is rarely in the best interests of a child to miss a year of school. If, however, a request for admission out of the normal age group is refused, the parent will have to decide between 2 options: 

• accept the offer of a place in year 7 in the school year following their child’s 11th birthday (meaning they would progress from year 5 to year 7)
• refuse that offer and make an in-year application for their child to be admitted to year 8 in the September following their 12th birthday (meaning they will progress from year 6 to year 8) 

This means the child will have no option but to miss either year 6 or year 7. 

The school will use all available information to decide on whether to admit a child out of normal year group.  This may include the views of the parent, the child’s current primary school and external professionals.  JTFS will make this decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the child’s best interests. 

Should a parent not be satisfied with the decision, they can follow the JTMAT Compliments, Comments and Complaints Policy and Procedure 

Oversubscription within a particular category

Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the school will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. 

Appeals

Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of your application, the applicant has the right to appeal which will be to an independent appeal panel. If this is for a place for a September start for a Year 7 student, details of this process will be sent with the decision of the placement by the Local Authority. All applicants are asked to read this information carefully and take note of the published deadlines. 

For in-year admissions, please contact the school for details about the appeals process. 

An appeal hearing will be arranged, which you can attend in person and/or contact your local County Councillor for support. Additionally, you may wish for your child’s name to be added to the school’s waiting list. Please advise the school of this and the school will contact you if a place becomes available in the future.  

There can only be one appeal for one rejection. Should a decision to appeal be taken, the appellant will be allowed at least 20 school days to appeal from when the decision letter is sent. There will also be a deadline set for submitting information and any supporting evidence. Any information provided after the deadline might not be considered or may result in a delay to the hearing. The appellant will be given at least 10 days’ notice of the appeal hearing, and the appeal must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal. 

Post 16 Admission Arrangements

Applications for admission to Post 16 should be made via the school. These applications will be dealt with in accordance with the Trust’s published admission arrangements. The standard entry requirements to Post 16 at JTFS is five GCSEs of grade 4 or above, including English and Maths. Each subject also specifies their individual entry requirements, and these can be found in the Post 16 Prospectus.     

Any applicant refused a place in year 12 is entitled to make an appeal to an independent appeal panel whether the child is already attending the school or is an external candidate. Minimum entry requirements are the same for internal and external applicants.    

Schools must not interview children or their families for entry to Year 12, although meetings can be held to provide advice on options and entry requirements for particular courses. Entry will not be dependent on attendance, behaviour record or perceptions of attitude or motivation.  

Admission Arrangements 2026/2027, 2025/2026

Planned Admissions Level

The Planned Admissions Level for each year 7 entry is 240. This level has been agreed by the Governors for the 2020 entry. This number may be exceeded at the discretion of the Governors, but they are not obliged to accept pupils in excess of this number unless parents have won their case at an Independent Appeal Panel. (Governors are aware of the limited number of classrooms and restricted space of the school premises, and do not feel that it is in the interest of pupils for there to be overcrowding). 

Admissions Criteria

All applications made for entry into Year 7 should be made via the relevant Local Authority admission to secondary school portal. The deadline for such applications is October 31 the year prior to admission. It is the Local Authority that will then advise regarding the outcome on 1 March.

If the total number of preferences for admission to school exceeds the Published Admission Number (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places. In accordance with legislation, children who have a statutory statement of special educational need or Education, Health and Care Plan, that names John Taylor Free School, must be admitted.

1. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.  
2. Children who have a sibling in attendance at the school at the time of application; (For admission purposes, a brother or sister is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parent’s marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.) 
3. Children living within the catchment area of the school which constitutes the housing development including the Lawn's Farm (Branston Locks) site, the developement on Forest Road, Red House Farm and Beamhill Road sites.
4. Children of John Taylor Free School employees where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage or has worked within JTFS for a minimum of two years.
5. Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school, determined by a straight-line measurement, as calculated by the local authority’s Geographical Information System. 

Additional Notes

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required in order for the application to be assessed against the published admissions criteria, the governors will not seek to obtain this information on behalf of the applicant. 

Children in care means children who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application. 

The Local Authority’s Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant’s home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant’s home address are determined using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.

The home address is usually considered to be the child’s, along with their parent’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places, i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. 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. 

Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for application purposes. 

If a place is offered on the basis of an address that is subsequently found to be different from a child’s normal and permanent home address then that place is likely to be withdrawn. 

If a child’s home address changes during the admissions process it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the local authority immediately.  Where there is a proposed house move taking place during the admissions process the Academy will only accept the revised address for purposes of allocation where parents/carers can provide documentary evidence of the move. Proof of ownership or longterm rental arrangement may be requested, and could include: 

• a solicitor's letter upon completion (exchange of contracts not accepted) confirming your completion date was on or before the date of application; or
• a signed rental agreement (for at least 12 months) showing the start of your tenancy on or before the date of application; or
• evidence that you have relinquished ties with the address you originally declared on your application form. 

You must also send us proof that you and your child live at the new address. 

It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case.  The local authority is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately.

If there are a limited number of spaces and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be random. This process will be independently verified.

If your child has not been offered a place, your child’s name will be automatically kept on the waiting list by the Local Authority. The waiting list will continue to operate by the Local Authority until the end of the Autumn Term. It will then transfer to John Taylor Free School.

The waiting list is held in accordance with the published admissions criteria and a child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year, as each child added to the list is subject to the over subscription criteria detailed above.

Entry later than September, Year 7 

Parents moving to the area, or those who wish to move their child to the school, should contact the school directly. For the 2020-21 academic year the only other years of entry will be Year 8 and Year 9.  

Email us your proof of address:

We need 2 documents showing your current address. At least one of them needs to be a council tax bill, utility bill, solicitor’s letter upon completion (exchange of contracts not accepted) or a signed tenancy agreement. 

If you are moving, we also need proof of your new address. This should be either a tenancy agreement showing the start date of the tenancy or a solicitor’s letter confirming the completion date. We won't use the new address until we have proof that the child is living there permanently. 

If you're moving to a rented property, send us evidence that you've sold or are in the process of selling your current property, or that your current lease agreement has ended.

Admission outside the Normal Age Group

Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to school outside their normal age group, for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. Anyone wishing to apply for a place outside the child’s normal age group, will need to make an application alongside children applying at the normal age and should explain why it is in the child’s best interest to be admitted outside their normal age. This may include information such as professional evidence as to why this is the case and why an exception should be made in the case of the child. A decision as to whether this is an appropriate course of action will be made by the Local Governing Body who will take into account the circumstances of the case and views of the Head of School. Parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular year group.

Oversubscription within a particular category 

Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the Academy will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria.

Appeals

Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of your application, the applicant has the right to appeal which will be to an independent appeal panel. If this is for a place for a September start for a Year 7 student, details of this process will be sent with the decision of the placement by the Local Authority. All applicants are asked to read this information carefully and take note of the published deadlines.

For in-year admissions, please contact the school for details about the appeals process.

An appeal hearing will be arranged, which you can attend in person and/or contact your local County Councillor for support. Alternatively, you may wish for your child’s name to be added to the school’s waiting list. Please advise the school of this and the school will contact you if a place becomes available in the future.

There can only be one appeal for one rejection. Should a decision to appeal be taken, the appellant will be allowed at least 20 school days to appeal from when the decision letter is sent. There will also be a deadline set for submitting information and any supporting evidence. Any information provided after the deadline might not be considered or may result in a delay to the hearing. The appellant will be given at least 10 days’ notice of the appeal hearing, and the appeal must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal.

Post 16 Admission Arrangements

Applications for admission to Post 16 should be made via the school. These applications will be dealt with in accordance with the Trust’s published admission arrangements. The standard entry requirements to Post 16 at JTFS is five GCSEs of grade 4 or above, including English and Maths. Each subject also specifies their individual entry requirements, and these can be found in the Post 16 Prospectus. Any applicant refused a place in year 12 is entitled to make an appeal to an independent appeal panel whether the child is already attending the school or is an external candidate. Minimum entry requirements are the same for internal and external applicants. Schools must not interview children or their families for entry to Year 12, although meetings can be held to provide advice on options and entry requirements for particular courses. Entry must not be dependent on attendance, behaviour record or perceptions of attitude or motivation