Irlam and Cadishead Academy

Address:

2A Station Road
Irlam
M44 5ZR

Telephone: 0161 921 2100

Email: enquiries@irlamandcadishead.org.uk

Headteacher: Mr C Leader

School type: Academy

Total number of places for year 7: 180

Total applications received by offer day: 185

Breakdown of offers at offer day (1 March 2024): All applicants offered

Total numbers of offers made (including alternative offers): 163

Total vacancies: 17

The school is part of United Learning Irlam and Cadishead Academy seeks to bring out ‘The best in everyone’. The school serves all children in the local community. All children will be admitted without reference to ability or aptitude. There are no faith criteria as part of the admissions policy.

Children from families of all faiths, or none, are very welcome. Admission number(s) The school has an admission number of 180 for entry in Year 7 in September 2025. The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number for the relevant year group are received, places will be offered at the school to all those who have applied.

Application process

Irlam and Cadishead Academy participates in the Salford LA’s process for co-ordinating school offers. This means you will need to complete your local authority common application form which can be found here Schools admissions.

Oversubscription criteria When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order:

1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, a child arrangements order, or special guardianship order, including children who appear (to the trust) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
2. Priority will next be given to the siblings of pupils attending the school at the time the application is received.
3. Priority will next be given to children based on their exceptional medical or social needs. Each application must include evidence, from a medical specialist or social worker of the child’s need and why they must attend this school rather than any other, based on those needs. If evidence is not submitted to the school with the application, a child’s medical or social needs cannot be considered.
4. Priority will next be given to the children of staff who have been recruited to fill a skills-shortage area.
5. Other children 

Tie-break If in categories 2-5 above a tie-break is necessary to determine which child is admitted, the child living closest to the school will be given priority for admission. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. 

If there are insufficient places to accommodate all applicants and after using all oversubscription criteria, applicants for the final place(s) cannot be split, the remaining place(s), will be allocated using a random 3 allocation process (carried out by Salford City Council on the Trust’s behalf) if the distance between a child’s home and the academy is equidistant in any two or more cases.

Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twins and triplets etc.) from the same family tied for the final place. When considering twins, triplets or other multiple births places, where the final place available was offered to a twin, triplet or multiple birth, a place will be offered above the published admission number to the other twin, triplet or multiple birth children whose twin, triplet or multiple birth was offered a place within the admission number.

Late applications 

All applications received by the school after the deadline will be considered to be late applications. Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants the school is oversubscribed, parents may request that their child is placed on the school’s waiting list. 

Admission of children outside of their normal age group

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. To do so parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested. When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the Principal and any supporting evidence provided by the parent. 

Waiting lists 

The school will operate a waiting list. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the end of the school year. This will be maintained by Irlam and Cadishead Academy, and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant, they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

In Year Admissions: Arrangements for Admitting Pupils outside of the normal admissions round 

Applications outside of the normal admissions round are known as in-year admissions. Parents are encouraged to apply for a place in-year via Salford City Council by completing this form. Parents will be notified by Salford City Council of the outcome of their in-year application within ten school days of the receipt of the application. 

If the year group applied for has a place available, the child will be admitted unless there are reasonable reason(s) not to admit in accordance with Schools Admissions Code. If more applications are received than there are places available, the oversubscription criteria outlined above shall apply. Parents/carers whose application is turned down are entitled to appeal (see below). 

Appeals 

All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. The appeal panel will be independent of the Academy. The arrangements for appeals will be in line with the School Admissions Appeals Code published by the Department for Education. The determination of the appeal panel will be made in accordance with the Code and will be binding on all parties. 

Appellants should file an appeal via Salford City Council. 

If appellants decide to appeal, they will receive an advance notice of the hearing date. They will be invited to attend the appeal. The hearing will be conducted as informally as possible, and there will be an opportunity for parents/carers to put forward their case and ask questions. If the appeal is refused, the Local Governing Body will not consider a further appeal for admission in the same academic year, unless there is a significant material change in circumstances of the parent or child.

Fair Access Protocol Example School participates in the In-Year Fair Access Protocol managed by Salford City Council in order to minimize the number of students who are at risk of underachievement by being out of school. This is reviewed by the local Admissions Forum on a regular basis.

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