1. If the school is oversubscribed, what is going to be your admissions policy? What is the situation with siblings?

   Like Academies, Free Schools are required to adhere to the School Admissions Code and therefore have inclusive admission arrangements.

   If the school is not oversubscribed, all children who have applied will be offered a place. If it is oversubscribed,the oversubscription criteria are in the following order of priority:

   1. Children with a Special Educational Need that specify this school.whose Statement of Special Educational Need specifies this school.
   2. Children looked after by the Local Authority.
   3. Children with known compelling medical or other exceptional reasons for attending the school. Documentary evidence from a doctor, social worker, educational psychologist or other relevant professional should be submitted with the application.
   4. Sibling link – taken into account if the child is living in the same household as a child who is already attending/allocated a place at the Bilingual Primary School for Brighton & Hove, irrespective of their parents’ legal relationship. Twins or multiple births do not qualify for the sibling link unless one child has already been allocated a place or they have an older sibling attending the school who lives at the same address.
   5. Other Children – random allocation will apply thereafter as a tie-breaker

   Being a Spanish speaker will not be a criterion for admission.

   A draft of our admissions criteria is outlined on the admissions section of our website.

2. Have you got any experience running a school? What is the capacity of the group?

   The proposer group is made up of parents/carers and teachers with a passion for bilingualism and a clear vision for an outstanding education for our children. We have established a governing body with the experience and capacity in different fields (education, legal, business…) and we have been assigned an official from the DfE to guide us and support us through the process as well as a group of educational experts with the experience of establishing schools. The running of the school will be carried out by an experienced senior management team, headed by a Principal Designate who has been recruited specifically for their experience in the running of a bilingual primary school. Once the School staff and Governing Body are appointed, the School will be run in the same manner as other Academy Schools.

3. Where is the school going to be?

   We are currently weighing up the options available to us. We hope to be able to announce soon where our school will be located.

4. When is the admissions process going to be ready? When can parents apply?

   Our admissions process has begun, the application form is available online, as a downloadable and printable PDF. Please see website for details. This year only, applications to our school will be independently from the local authority admissions. The deadline to apply to our school has been extended due to the late start in the process (midday 16th April 2012).

   In future years the school will participate in the Brighton and Hove co-ordinated admissions process and parents will submit applications to the Local Authority.

5. What percentage of Spanish speaking children and non-speakers of Spanish is the school going to have? Are they going to be taught together?

   Speaking Spanish is not a criterion for admission. According to a survey we did in the summer, there was a balance of children from Spanish speaking families and non-speakers of Spanish (50/50 approximately) who registered an interest. We will not really know the percentage until all the applications are received. Children will be taught together, only separated when working in small focus groups for language and subject reinforcement. As they continue their education in school, all children will achieve the same or similar level of Spanish and English.

6. Which sports facilities will the school have?

   We are planning to offer a range of sporting activities (within school hours and/or afterschool) and we will equip the school according to our needs. We aim to find a site with outdoor space not only for outdoor learning, but also for participation in sports. However, if in the first year(s) we cannot offer this, we will transport children to a nearby sports facility (eg: swimming pool).

7. Are there going to be enough bilingual teachers? How is the recruitment of staff going?

   The Principal Designate has been recruited and will take part in the teaching staff recruitment, due to take place around April time, and once a Funding Agreement is in place with the Department for Education. Once the management team is in place, the open recruitment for the rest of the staff will follow. We have had a number of qualified teachers (Spanish and English speakers) approaching us regarding employment and we have links with the Spanish Department of Education who have offered us help in that respect. We aim to recruit outstanding qualified teachers and bilingual teaching assistants.

8. Where does the funding come from? What does it cover?

   The annual revenue funding for Free Schools will be based on the average funding received by maintained schools and academies in the same Local Authority using a simple and transparent formula. The funding will come directly from the Department for Education, and will be intended to cover all expenditure associated with the ongoing running of the school.

9. If government changes, could funding disappear?

   Government and Department for Education officials are very committed to the establishment of Free Schools, and our project supports the strong need for additional primary school places in the Brighton and Hove area. Whilst we cannot predict or account for future changes in Government policy, the Funding Agreement we are working towards agreeing with the Department for Education will stipulate that seven years notice will be required by either party prior to it’s being terminated. This length of time is intended to ensure that all pupils at the school can complete their education prior to any funding being withdrawn.

10. Are you going to offer other languages in the school?

    We are planning to offer other languages but we have not set a timetable for this yet. Once the school is established, we will be reviewing and updating our curriculum in line with current practice and looking at ways in which another language could be incorporated.

11. Why are you doing this? What would be your role in school?

    We are a group of parents and teachers who are passionate about bilingual education, some of us are bilingual or have bilingual children and we see how disadvantaged children in England are, in terms of learning languages.

    Our proposer group is very committed to the success of the school and aim to work closely with it into the future. Others wish for their children to have the advantage of becoming fully bilingual.

12. When you know the site, could potential parents visit it?

    If the site is safe to visit, we will aim to offer the option, otherwise we will show pictures of the development on the website

Please Note: there are more FAQ's related to Free school's on the Department for Education website