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Welcome!
Parents are the major users of the website and so this section has been planned to be especially useful for you. There is a diary of events, including trips and assemblies, with any last minute changes highlighted. Further on you can access various official documents about the school including the parents' handbook, the annual governors' report and the latest OFSTED inspection report.
The Friends of Harlands have their own area to keep you up to date with events, fundraising and what they are buying for the school.
The photograph below, taken at the Summer Fair, shows the full extent of the school site, and its woodland setting. The playing field to the right of the picture belongs to Sussex Central College, but the school is able to use it extensively.
Our school aims to...
* Encourage independence and a love of learning to enable children to reach their full potential;
* Enable children to understand and respect themselves and others;
* Provide a happy, safe and well-managed environment;
* Forge an open partnership between home and school;
* Encourage children to make a positive contribution to school life;
* Prepare children for the challenges and opportunities awaiting them.
Admission to Harlands Primary School
We are always delighted to show prospective pupils and their parents around Harlands, and to answer any questions they may have. For many parents, a visit is a useful way to get to know a school and can be helpful in deciding their preferences.
Although all our admissions are handled by the County Admission Service, we do have vacancies in some year groups. It is always worth calling the School Office (01444 450782) first to check.
Admission for Children starting School for the First Time
First time admission to school is managed by West Sussex County Council Admissions Department. Parents are sent a letter in the late summer or early autumn before their child’s fourth birthday. This letter will contain an offer of a place for the nearest local school (or catchment school) to your address for your child to attend the following September. It will also contain a form for you to complete.
On that form you will be asked to
• either confirm your acceptance of the place offered
• or state your preference for a different school.
All local schools hold open events and welcome visits from prospective parents to help you decide which school you would like your child to attend.
The local authority will allocate places according to parents’ preferences unless a school is over-subscribed.
When more applications are received than places are available, the following criteria are used to allocate places:
• Children with an address in catchment who have brothers or sisters currently at the school.
• Children with an address in catchment.
• Children beyond catchment with older brothers or sisters at the school, priority given to those living closest to the school.
• Other children, priority given to those living closest to the school.
Parents are notified of the school in which their child has been allocated a place by the end of December. Parents who still wish for their child to attend a different school usually opt to put their child’s name on a waiting list. For those parents who still do not secure a place at their preferred school there is an appeal process. Infant class sizes are kept to 30 pupils by law. It is rare for this to be overturned on appeal.
IF YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED
We recommend that you ask for your child to be placed on the school waiting list. Many children who are not offered a place in January actually start with us in the following September because places become available due to children moving out of the area or to their parents’ preference for an alternative type of school.
Notes
Admissions Department, Centenary House, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 8GP - Telephone 01293 894318
Catchment area - The eastern boundary is the railway line. The southern boundary is currently Wealden Way, but this may change with the opening of Bolnore Primary School. The western and northern boundaries are the Haywards Heath boundaries with Cuckfield, Lindfield and Balcombe.
Distances from school - are measured as the crow flies. WSCC has all distances logged and available.
Appeals process - information about this process can be obtained from the Admissions Office at Crawley or from the School.
Class sizes - the class size at Harlands is 30 children and, in the Infant Department, this is governed by law.
For more information about what happens when children actually start coming to school, please see the Admissions Section in the Parents Handbook.
Admission for Children already attending School
The admissions of children already attending school are managed by the County Admission Team in conjunction with the School Office. If you apply for a place and there is a vacancy, your child will be able to start school. If at all possible, it is customary for parents to visit our school to ensure that they are happy with our provision and to give the school a little information to enable their child to settle in happily. Induction days for the child are usually arranged.
For year groups that are full, a waiting list is kept. As soon as a place becomes available, the parents of the child at the top of the list will be informed. The position of each applicant on the list is determined by the criteria listed above (see section on starting school for the first time) and not by the length of time the name has been on the list. (For example, if a family move into the area and the school has space for one, but not the other, the second child will be placed high on the waiting list because of the other sibling just admitted. ) This process is also subject to appeal if parents wish to demonstrate that their application has not been handled fairly.
It is also our policy at Harlands for transition from another local school to be an open process, discussed by parents with senior staff at both schools. This policy is not intended to infringe parents rights in any way, but is to ensure that all decisions are taken in consideration of the child’s best interest.
If you would like us to send you an application form, an appeals form, or any other information about the school, please contact us
Links
Please click here to link to PDF files for current trip letters, or other forms that the school needs completing.
Extended Schools Information Point
This very helpful WSCC link provides lots of information about Extended School provision and also has many other useful links that will offer support and advice to parents.
When the page opens, please "log in as a guest" to access the home page of the information point.
