Transition to Secondary School Officer (a.k.a. Choice Adviser)/Administrator

Did you know, every year 6% of admissions forms are not returned on time. This means that these parents/carers will not have an equal chance, with every other parent/carer in Norfolk, of getting a preferred school. The secondary admission application forms are sent out on 25th September and should be returned by 14 November.

My name is Wendy Bradnam and I am the Transition to Secondary School Officer (a.k.a. Choice Adviser) for Norfolk. In 2006, the then Department for Education & Skills (now DCSF) released funding and guidance to Local Authorities in order to create a national network of 'Choice Advisers' - our role is to focus on the secondary school transition admission process and to encourage parents/carers, who face barriers to accessing the secondary admissions process, to fill in and return their forms on time. I will work with the families who find the system difficult to negotiate, or who are unable or unwilling to engage with the process. I am assisted by the Transition to Secondary School Administrator, John Bale.

The target group of parents/carers I will work with are:-

1. parents of children in care/carers of Looked After Children
2. have English as an additional language
3. are frequent movers, i.e. Travellers
4. have children with Special Educational Needs
5. live in areas of deprivation and who self-refer
6. find it difficult to engage with their child's current primary school
7. experience problems with their own reading and writing
8. are new arrivals to the county
9. belong to other vulnerable and minority groups

I am responsible for developing and implementing ways of contacting, offering support to and working with these target families. As part of Norfolk Parent Partnership, I am at 'arms length' from Norfolk County Council and, therefore, I am able to offer independent advice, information and support about the transition to secondary school admissions process and secondary schools.

What you can do -

Please can you emphasise why it is important for the form to be completed on time, i.e.

1. to have an equal chance of getting a preferred school
2. if you do not choose a school you will not know where your child is going to and might waste money by buying the wrong uniform
3. the school need to know your child is coming so that they can fit them into a class, organise meals for them, make sure they have any support they might need and that they are all at the same stage in their education

Please could you also let me know if you need this translated into any other languages.

Schools may refer parents/carers to me and I will be sending out a referral form in the near future. School staff, particularly Year 6 teachers, may like to help parents/carers complete the form although, of course, should not say which schools to enter as the preferred schools. Parents/carers could be directed to the local secondary school open evenings, so that they can get a personal feel of a particular school and ask any questions they may have, and to school brochures or parents/carers living locally who have children at those secondary school.

NB the secondary admissions form can be filled in from 25 September and should be returned by 14th November 2007.

The following contacts may be of interest to parents/carers:-

Admissions service (applying for schools)
Tel: 0344 800 8020
Fax: (01603) 222119
Email: admissions@norfolk.gov.uk

Norfolk Parent Partnership (information and advice for parents/carers of children with special educational needs)
Tel: (01603) 704070
Fax: (01603) 704072
Email: parent.partnership@norfolk.gov.uk
Website: www.NorfolkParentPartnership.org.uk

Ofsted (school inspection reports and performance information)
Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly Department for Education and Skills)
Website: www.dcsf.gov.uk

Direct.gov (national site about choosing a school, understanding the curriculum etc.)
Website: www.direct.gov.uk

Advisory Centre for Education (independent national advice centre for parents/carers on all education issues)
Website: www.ace-ed.org.uk

Parents Centre (help for parents/carers regarding choosing a school and local authorities)
Website: www.parentscentre.gov.uk

Admissions Code Of Practice (new code that local authorities legally have to abide by)
Website: www.dcsf.gov.uk

If you have any queries/comments regarding any of the above, please contact me.

Wendy Bradnam
Transition to Secondary School Officer
Norfolk Parent Partnership
Woodside Road
Norwich NR7 9QL
(01603)704070 or (07747) 757540