the school prospectus
By Pat Pryor
Publication date
Governing bodies of maintained schools must publish
a school prospectus for parents. This has to be
produced during the academic year preceding admissions;
thus, prospectuses published in 2002-2003 will
be for admissions in 2003-2004.
Secondary
schools must publish their prospectus at
least six weeks before the final date by
which parents have to apply for admission
to the school or express a preference for
a place.
Primary
schools must publish a prospectus once during
the school year, at a time of the school's
choosing, although they are encouraged to
follow the same timetable.
Distribution
Governing
bodies should ensure that copies of the
school prospectus are made available (if
necessary, in languages other than English)
at the school for reference, and free of
charge to parents on request.
Secondary
schools must send prospectuses to local
career officers, who will use it, along
with other materials, in their education
and guidance work with years 10 and 11.
Content
The
prospectus must set out the following:
- the
school's name, address and telephone number
- the
type of school
- the
names of the head and chair of the governing
body
- details
of the school's admissions policy and
any particular arrangements for
- prospective
parents to visit the school
- the
school's ethos and values
- a
summary of the governing body's policy
for pupils with special educational needs,
with and without statements
- details
of the religious education provided, a
reminder that parents can withdraw their
children from such education or worship
and particulars of any arrangements for
parents to exercise these rights
- the
affiliations the school has with a particular
religion or religious denomination
pupil absence rates (including details
of authorised and unauthorised absences)
- information
about the school's National Curriculum
(NC) assessment results
- national
information about NC results
Secondary
schools must provide additional information:
- details
of the number of school places available
in the current school year and the
- number
of applications and parents interested
in those places
- information
on the school's results for GCSE, A and
AS examinations and vocational qualifications
- local
and national average figures for GCSE,
A and AS examinations for schools with
pupils aged 16 and over
where leavers go after completing their
time at the school
Pat
Pryor, school governor, journalist and one-time
FE lecturer, now works as literature development
officer for Dorset Libraries & Arts
Service.
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