The Michael Sobell Sinai School is a United Synagogue School which teaches Orthodox Jewish belief and practice, embodied in the principles of Torah and Halachah. They include the welcoming of every Jew, creating a sense of belonging, encouraging and preparing for lifelong learning, spiritual growth and practice, mutual responsibility within the community and the wider world, and the importance of Israel in Jewish life. We welcome all children into the school community whose families are able to respect the School’s ethos and its importance to our school community.

The School will admit 30 children per class – 90 children (which is the School’s Published Admission Number (PAN) for each year group) to Foundation Stage II (Reception) each September *(a). In 2011 161applications were received. The School will also admit at any time children to Years 1 to 6 inclusive, provided the admission of a child does not bring the number of children in the relevant year to more than 90.

The School is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admissions round the Governing Body is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the (name of faith partner) and the Governing Body for the current school year. The Governing Body has this power even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.

Parents can defer entry for their child until their child is statutory school age. Statutory school age begins the first day of term after your child’s fifth birthday. Parents cannot however defer entry for children born in the summer term for the whole school year. Parent’s wishing to defer entry must contact the school advising them on this after a place has been offered. Parents can also request that their child attends part time until their child reaches statutory school age.

Consideration of Applications

The School gives priority, up to the Published Admission Number, to children who meet the School’s religious practice test by virtue of their commitment to one or more aspects of Judaism, namely Jewish study and knowledge, the life of religious observance and prayer, and acts of kindness and social responsibility. Points for adherence to the above will be attributed in accordance with the Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP).

Application Procedure

Application for a place in Foundation II (Reception) and Years 1-6 is by completion of a Common Application Form (CAF). The form is available from, and must be returned to, the local authority where the child lives. The deadline for applications for a place in Foundation II (Reception) for September 2012 is 15 January 2012.

Applications received after the closing date will be considered as late applications and processed after those received on time.

A Supplementary Information Form (SIF) and Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP) must also be completed. These forms can be obtained from the School Office or downloaded from the School’s website (www.sinaischool.com) and should be completed and returned, with supporting documentation, if required, to the School by 15 January 2012.

A letter informing parents, whether or not their application for a place in Foundation II (Reception) has been successful will be sent by their local authority on 18th April 2012. Parents must indicate in writing whether or not they will be taking the place by 2nd May 2012.

The school will give priority to twins and multiple births based on the criteria below. They will, as far as possible, receive offers at the same time, in line with class size regulations. Consultation will be taken with parents to decide on whether to split the multiples or educate them together in the same class. This decision will be taken after places are offered.

Parents of children already attending the Michael Sobell Sinai School Nursery must make a separate application as described above for a place in Foundation II (Reception) they must also complete a revised CRP for 2012. Attendance in the Nursery does not guarantee admission to the school for primary education and a separate application form must be completed for transfer from Nursery to Primary. (School Admissions Code 2010 – paras 2.65 and 2.66)

The Governors will rely upon the information contained in the Supplementary Information and Certificate of Religious Practice Forms and reserve the right at any time to withdraw an offer of admission if it transpires that any information is false or misleading in a material way.

The Admission of children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs is dealt with by a completely different procedure. Such children who have the school named in their Statement will be admitted to the school.

Waiting Lists

In all cases where there is a year group that is full, all remaining applicants for places in that year group will be placed on a waiting list. The child’s place on the waiting list will be determined at all times in accordance with the oversubscription criteria below.

Following the application procedure for Foundation II and once initial offers have been made, the waiting list will be adjusted to include late applications. A child’s position on the waiting list does not depend upon the time they have been on the list but will be determined by how they meet the oversubscription criteria. This means that a child’s position on the list can go down as well as up, depending upon the child’s circumstances and those of other applicants.

In the event of a vacancy occurring, the place will be offered to a child on the waiting list, starting with the one at the top of the list and working downwards until the vacancy is filled.

The waiting list will be closed at the end of the academic year and will not roll over. Parents wishing to stay on the waiting list will be required to submit a request to Brent Council’s School Admissions Service.

It will be necessary for parents who completed a CRP 2011 to complete a revised CRP 2012 in order to remain on the waiting list.

Oversubscription Criteria

In the event of the School being oversubscribed, the Governors will apply the following criteria in order of priority as set out below.

1. The Governors will give priority, up to the published admissions number, to Jewish children who meet the School’s religious practice test in the order 1.1-1.5 below. Points gained will be attributed in accordance with the Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP) 2012.
   1. Children who are “looked after”, that is to say children who are in the care of a local authority, or provided with accommodation by that authority (see section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
   2. Children attending The Michael Sobell Sinai School Nursery at the deadline for application to Reception.
   3. Siblings of pupils attending The Michael Sobell Sinai School on the date of admission. A sibling is taken to mean the brother or sister of a pupil where they share the same mother or father. This includes step-siblings and adopted siblings and children living in the household, for whom the householders are acting in loco parentis.
   4. Twins and other multiples
   5. All other children
2. All other children who are looked after.
3. All other applicants.

Within each criterion, the tie-beaker will be the distance from the home to the school gates, measured in a straight line and as determined by Brent Local Authority using their computerised mapping system. In the case of families living in apartments, priority will be given to families living on the ground floor, then first, then second, etc. In cases where applicants live equidistant from the school and places cannot be offered to both children, the available place will be allocated using a random computer selection. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined by the address where the child spends the majority of the week.

Admissions Outside of Foundation Procedure

Application for a place in Years 1-6 is by completion of a Common Application Form (CAF). The form is available from, and must be returned to, the local authority where the child lives. Parents must also complete the school’s own SIF and a CRP. Outcomes of applications will be sent to parents by their local authority on behalf of the Governing Body and unsuccessful applicants will be placed on the waiting list.

Appeals

In the event of parents being refused a place for their child, they are entitled by statute to appeal against such refusal. Notification that the parents intend to appeal and the grounds relied upon must be sent by them in writing to the Clerk to the Governors care of the School within 10 school days of receipt by the parents of a letter from their local authority informing them that a place is not available.

For further information, please contact the School on 020 8204 1550.

• Infant classes must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher and, therefore, admissions must be refused on ‘infant class size prejudice’ grounds where the published admission number allows for classes of 30 and the school would have to take ‘qualifying’ measures to keep the statutory class size limit if more children were admitted, e.g. employ another teachr.  (School Admissions Code 2010 – para 2.62)

Download forms

CRP In Year

CRP Primary