Admissions

ADMISSIONS CONSULTATION 2027 – 2028, PROPOSED ARRANGEMENTS

In line with the Department for Education’s statutory School Admissions Code (2021), the Trust, as the Admissions Authority, is required to consult on its academies’ admission arrangements when changes are proposed and at least once every seven years. This consultation ensures we meet that statutory duty. We are inviting parents and key stakeholders to take part in a consultation on the proposed admissions arrangements for academies within the Trust for the 2027–2028 academic year.

Consultation Period: 15 December 2025 – 30 January 2026 (closing at 5:00 pm).

During this time, you are welcome to share your views and any concerns regarding the proposed arrangements.

View the draft arrangements and how to reply:
The letter to interested parties which explains the various options for submitting your response is available here and the draft 2027–2028 admissions arrangements are available here.

Copies can also be obtained from the office of each academy.

As a Multi Academy Trust, we are the Admission Authority for our schools, which means we are responsible for setting and applying the admission arrangements. We are committed to ensuring that our admissions process is fair, clear, and objective. Our policies comply with the School Admissions Code and the School Admission Appeals Code, as well as other relevant legislation like the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

a. The Schools within the Trust are –

i. Secondary 

• Ashby, Nottingham Road, Ashby-De-La-Zouch, LE65 1DT  
• Bosworth, Leicester Lane, Desford, Leicester, LE9 9JL 
• Countesthorpe, Winchester Road, Countesthorpe, LE8 5PR
• Ibstock, Central Avenue, Ibstock, LE67 6NE
• Ivanhoe, North Street, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE65 1HX
• The Winstanley, Kingsway North, Braunstone Town, Leicester, LE3 3BD

ii. Primary

• Braunstone Frith, Cuffling Drive, Leicester, LE3 6NF
• Desford, Kirkby Road, Desford, Leicester, LE9 9JH
• Dove Bank, Bagworth Road, Nailstone, Warwickshire, Nuneaton, CV13 0QJ
• Kingsway, Kingsway North, Braunstone Town, Leicester, LE3 3BD

b. Information on our Trust & School Websites – as a Multi Academy Trust we must publish information on our school's website by the 31st August each year detailing how in-year applications will be handled for further information please go to Section 2 below. 

c.  Review our Admission Arrangements/Policy - as the admission authority, we must set and publish our Admission  Policy annually. This policy outlines how children will be admitted, including our oversubscription criteria if we receive more applications than available places a copy of the policy is available HERE 

The arrangements within the policy must be fair, clear, and objective and comply with all relevant legislation, including equalities legislation. The key priorities in our oversubscription criteria are -

1. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names our school must be admitted.
2. Looked after children and previously looked after children in line with the Children Act 1989 definitions are given the highest priority.
3. Our policy includes an effective, clear, and fair tie-breaker,  distance from school,  to decide between applications that cannot otherwise be separated.
4. We do not use prohibited criteria, such as placing conditions on applications, giving extra priority based on ranking preferences ('first preference first'), or interviewing children or parents (with limited exceptions for sixth form).
5. Proof of Address/Birth Date - we may request proof of address if it is unclear whether your child meets our oversubscription criteria. Once a place has been offered, we may ask for proof of birth date.

Our full admission arrangements, including our Published Admission Number (PAN), which is 195 and are part of the local authority's composite prospectus.

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BELOW IS A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR PARENTS WISHING TO APPLY FOR A SCHOOL PLACE AT OUR ACADEMY.

1. Applying for a School Place at the Main Point of Transfer (e.g., Reception, Year 7)

For the main points of transfer (e.g., starting Reception or Year 7), there is a nationally coordinated approach to applications that all state-funded schools, including academies, participate in.

a. Apply to Your Home Local Authority (LA):

• Parents must apply for a school place through their own local authority (LA), where you actually live, regardless of whether our academy school is in that geographical area.
• The home LA provides a Common Application Form (CAF) that enables parents to express a preference for a place at any state-funded school. You can express a preference for at least three schools*in rank order, giving reasons for your preferences.

For our schools (with the exception of Braunstone Frith) the Local Authority is –

Leicestershire County Council this is the link to their school admissions page. 

For Braunstone Frith the Local Authority is Leicester City Council this is the link to their school admissions page.

b.  Adherence to Deadlines:

• The national closing date for secondary school applications is the 31st October or the next working day. .
• The national closing date for primary school applications is the 15th January or the next working day. .

c.  National Offer Day:

• Your home local authority will make the offer of a place on National Offer Day: 1 March for secondary schools and 16 April for primary schools.
• If our school is undersubscribed, any parent who applies will be offered a place unless a child has been twice permanently excluded or whose behaviour may be classed as challenging at a mid year application point.

d.  Right to Appeal:

• If your child is refused a place at our academy, you have an absolute right to appeal once each academic year.
• As the admission authority, our Academy Trust is responsible for arranging an Independent Appeal Panel to hear the appeal.
• The refusal notification will include the reason for refusal, information about the right to appeal, the deadline for lodging an appeal, and contact details.

2. Applying for an In-Year Admission (Directly to the Academy Trust)

An in-year admission is when a child needs to move schools outside the standard main points of transfer (e.g., during the school year). Local Authorities are not required to coordinate in-year applications for their own admission authority schools like academies. Therefore, our Academy Trust, as the Admission Authority, manages its own in-year admissions, to contact the admissions team within the Trust and its schools please email – admissions@lifemultiacademytrust.org.uk.  

a. Direct Application to Academy Trust:

• A parent can apply for a place at any school at any time (outside of the main point of transfer window), however only one application will be processed each academic year unless there is a significant change in circumstances. A copy of the application form is available HERE 

3.  Application Processing

• Upon receipt of an in-year application, we aim to notify parents of the outcome in writing or email within 10 school days but must do so within 15 school days.
• If a place is offered and accepted, we will make arrangements for your child to start school as soon as possible, especially if they are currently out of school.
• We also notify the Local Authority of every in-year application and its outcome as soon as reasonably practicable, to help them maintain up-to-date figures on place availability.

4. Admission Criteria for In-Year

• If our academy has places available, we must offer a place to every child who has applied, except a child who is twice permanently excluded or fits within the criteria of displaying challenging behaviour as set out in the School Admission Code. 
• If we are dealing with multiple in-year admissions and do not have sufficient places for every child, we must allocate places based on our published oversubscription criteria.

5. Waiting Lists

• We must maintain a clear, fair, and objective waiting list for at least the first term of the academic year of admission (until at least 31 December).
• Any child added to the list will require the list to be ranked again in line with our published oversubscription criteria. Looked after children and previously looked after children take precedence on waiting lists.
• No Waiting list is maintained beyond 31 December for any school in the Trust.

6. Right to Appeal:

• If your in-year application is refused, we must set out the reason for refusal and provide information about your right to appeal.
• Our Academy Trust is responsible for arranging this appeal via an Independent Appeal Panel.

For further details regarding the appeals process, including information on independent appeal panels and relevant legislation, please refer to the School Admission Appeals Code guidance, which governs how appeals are heard. If you wish to appeal against the decision not to offer your child a place please complete the Appeals application HERE and return it to admissions@lifemultiacademytrust.org.uk.