Laurence Jackson School

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after and previously looked after children — Looked after children and all previously looked after children, 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. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order). A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders). Child arrangements orders are defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ' special guardianship order' as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's special guardian (or special guardians).
2. 2Residence in the school's admission zone — Children who are permanently resident in the admission zone defined for the school. For the purposes of determining whether a child lives within the admission zone, only the address at which the parent / guardian ordinarily resides and with whom the child normally lives will be taken into account. If parents are separated and the child lives for periods of time with both parents, the address used will be of the parent who receives child benefit for the child (if eligible). If neither parent is eligible for child benefit, the address used will be that on the child’s medical registration card (proof may be required). Short term tenancies entered into with the prime objective of securing admission for a child at a particular school will not qualify as places of ordinary residence. The local authority will take action should false information be submitted in order to secure a place at a particular school.
3. 3Sibling link — Children who have elder brothers or sisters attending the school in the 2027/28 school year. Brothers and sisters and stepbrothers and sisters will qualify under this criterion as long as they both live at the same permanent address and the elder sibling is still attending the preferred school in the 2027/28 school year. ‘Sibling’ refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, stepbrother or sister, or the child of the parent / carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.
4. 4Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Children who have exceptional social and/or medical reasons for attending a particular school, professionally supported by an independent third party and sustained by the Authority’s professional advisors. Social reasons generally do not include domestic circumstances such as parents’ working commitments, childcare arrangements, or separation from friends. In the case of medical reasons, evidence would need to demonstrate the exceptional long- term nature of the condition. All mainstream schools are able to cater for a wide range of medical needs which may be encountered by children. You are strongly urged to provide independent third-party information (e.g., from a professional person who knows or is involved with your child) in support of any exceptional long-term medical or social reason why you think your child should be given special consideration for placement in a particular school. This written support must make clear why the preferred school is the only school which could meet your child’s needs. The submission of independent information will not automatically guarantee a place under this criterion. However, the evidence will be carefully considered by the local authority’s professional advisors as to whether or not your application falls into this category.
5. 5Distance from the school — Children living closest to the school The distance from home to school will be measured by computer on a straight-line basis using the number and postcode of the house and the postcode of the school. within categories 1 - 4, places will be offered determined by criteria 5 - measurement on a of the house and the postcode of the school. allocation will be determined using the shortest the house and the postcode of the school. be considered after applications that were their lateness. An example of this would be a placed on a

Read 2026-09-12 from Spark Education Trust's determined school admissions policy for entry in September 2027, the rendition the trust publishes for its schools in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. The trust is the admission authority and states that it has formally adopted the council's criteria and co-ordinated scheme with no changes. A child whose education, health and care plan names the school is admitted first; the trust's policy says explicitly that this is not an oversubscription criterion. The policy carries no admission number table, so no admission number is taken from it. The rules are printed as a two-column CRITERIA / EXPLANATORY NOTES table and each rule below carries its own explanatory note.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.