Admissions procedure

How will we use data provided on the admissions form

This information will be used by the School during the admissions process in order to manage your application. More information about how your data is used, stored and shared can be found in the Data Protection Policy.

If your child is not offered a place, or if you don not accept the offer of a place, we will only retain this information for as long as we need to. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, information is kept for 12 months after the end of the admissions process.

All families considering registering a prospective pupil are encouraged to visit the school on Open Mornings (generally held in October and March) or to make an individual appointment during the working day.

Parents should then complete the Registration Form and return it to the Admissions Secretary along with the non – refundable registration fee. Parents will then be contacted to arrange a convenient day on which the prospective pupil may spend a morning at the school.

West House is not rigorously selective on academic criteria. However, external candidates for Years 1 and 2 will undertake an assessment of reading, writing, spelling and maths. External candidates for Years 3 to 6 will be assessed more formally in English and maths.

At the time of registration, parents are asked if there are any serious medical conditions or disabilities in respect of the prospective pupil that the school should be made aware of.  In assessing any prospective pupil, the school may request specialist advice and assessments as appropriate so that it can plan for any reasonable adjustments that may be necessary.  The school will be sensitive to any requests for confidentiality.

Prospective pupils should wear clothes that they feel most comfortable in when spending their morning at the school.

Offer of a Place

Following the initial visit, a member of the Senior Management Team will discuss with parents the outcome of assessments, where relevant, and provide general feedback. Parents will receive a verbal indication of whether a place is to be offered at that meeting, where possible.

The formal offer of a place for pupils entering the school at any stage is subject to:

  1. The availability of a place;
  2. A consideration of whether the care and education provided by West House School is in the best interests of the prospective pupil (please refer to the Disability and Discrimination policy).
  3. A consideration of which pupils applying for a place will most benefit from the education that the school will provide (please refer to the Disability and Discrimination policy).
  4. A preference being given to siblings of existing pupils.
  5. The school being satisfied that the offer would not have an adverse effect on the care and education of other pupils at the school (please refer to the Disability and Discrimination policy).
  6. A satisfactory performance in the assessments.

The offer of a place will be confirmed in writing by the Headmaster. Should parents wish to accept the offer, they are required to complete the Conditions and Acceptance Form and return it to the school. This should be accompanied by an Acceptance Deposit for all pupils. The deposit is offset against the leaver’s bill when the pupil finishes at the school with the net balance refunded.

Where the school agrees to provide additional educational input, such as in the case of addressing aspects of dyslexia, there is no additional charge for the service.

The offer of a place at the school remains at the discretion of the Headmaster, after consultation with appropriate members of staff.

Admissions Relating to Pupils from Overseas

While the school does not actively seek to recruit from overseas, such enquiries are given due consideration based on the criteria above and on the basis that the child has a right to be educated in the UK. In making an offer of a place to a foreign national, the school will follow the requirements of UKBA. The school is not registered to accept Tier 4 students.

Admissions and Progression through the School

Admission to West House Early Years Department is open to both boys and girls with places allocated on ‘first comers’ basis and thereafter if there is a vacancy, in accordance with the criteria outlined above. However, pupils entering the school before Year 1 are not subject to an assessment. The school may wish to liaise with the Early Years setting from which a child might be moving but will only do so with parental permission.

Moving from West House Pre-School to Reception for existing boys is usually automatic, but parents are required to complete a transfer form. Admission to Reception from within the school is not subject to academic ability. However, should the school have any significant concerns, these will be discussed with the parents in advance of the completion of the transfer form.

Moving from Pre-Prep to Prep at the end of Year 2 for existing pupils is usually automatic and is not subject to academic ability. However, should the school have significant behavioural concerns, these will be discussed with the parents.

Disability

While the school does not wish to exclude any prospective pupil on the grounds of disability, it is important that it is in a position to deliver an education and individual development in line with the general standards achieved by the pupil’s potential peers.

However, should the school be made aware of a disability in respect of a prospective pupil, it acknowledges its legal and moral obligation under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 to make reasonable adjustments so as not to put any disabled candidate at a substantial disadvantage to any other candidate.

The School has a policy on Disability and Discrimination and a Three Year Accessibility Plan, which should be read in conjunction with this policy.

Assisted Places

The school provides a small number of means tested bursaries which are subject to an annual review. Further details are available from the Bursar who can be contacted via the main office on 0121 440 4097.

Admissions Register

In accordance with The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, a record of the admission of every pupil – including those in EYFS – is kept and contains the following information:

  • Name in full;
  • Sex;
  • Name and address of every person known to be a parent of the pupil (and an indication of the parent with whom the pupil normally resides);
  • Where a parent notifies a school that a pupil will live at another address, in addition or instead, the new address, the full name of the parent with whom the pupil will normally live in future and the date from which it is expected the pupil will normally live there, where it is reasonably practicable for the school to ascertain this information
  • At least one telephone number at which the parent can be contacted in an emergency;
  • Day, month and year of birth;
  • Day, month and year of admission or re-admission to the school;
  • Name and address of the school last attended, if any;
  • The name of the destination school notified by a parent and the first date of attendance, where it reasonably practicable for the school to ascertain this information
  • All records relating to individual pupils are retained for a reasonable period of time and in accordance with the GDPR and the school’s data protection policies.