The school is part of the Chorus Education Trust, however Sheffield Local Authority manages the admissions process on behalf of the school. All admissions to the school are made through the Local Authority, including the allocation of places and requests to transfer schools. You can expect to hear from the Local Authority at the beginning of March to find out where your child has been allocated a school place. Contact details for the local authority can be found at: www.sheffield.gov.uk/schools-childcare/apply-school-place

Silverdale School offers an in-depth transition programme to all Year 7 students, including an opportunity to meet their form group, transition days and summer school. Information will also be shared on the school website, but please check your emails (including your spam/junk folder) from March for detailed information from Silverdale School.

We have a dedicated team who support the Year 7 students. This includes the Head of Year 7 and the Year 7 Pastoral Support Manager. The Year 7 team work closely with the wider school community including SEND, safeguarding and wellbeing. When your child starts at Silverdale they will have a dedicated form tutor, or tutors, who will also support them.

At Silverdale, we run a summer school, called Summer's Cool, each year. This is an opportunity for students to get used to being in the school building, work with a variety of teachers and enjoy a range of fun activities including team-building, sport and creative activities. Summer's Cool is a brilliant opportunity for students to make new friends and feel excited about starting Year 7 in September. Summer’s Cool is optional, and families will need to book a place. A fee is payable for your child to attend.

Information regarding booking onto summer school will be shared with parents and carers following the confirmation of school places.

The SEND and Year 7 teams work closely together with primary schools to support all students in their transition to secondary school. For students identified as potentially benefitting from additional transition support, the Silverdale team will communicate directly with primary schools and parents/carers to arrange this.

There are opportunities to explore the school at the Year 6 Open Evening held in September, and during the transition events in the summer term for students offered a Year 7 place at the school. In addition, there are various videos on the Silverdale School website that show you different parts of our school. Please see below if your child has specific SEND or additional needs.

Your child’s form group is the group of which they will be a part during their time at Silverdale. Each form group has a dedicated form tutor, or tutor team, who meets with the form each morning during form time. Forms are made up of students within the same year group as your child. The forms are called S, I, L, V, D, A, L and E. You will be informed of the form to which your child has been allocated in advance of the Induction Evening in June.

Some students and parents/carers can be worried about which form group their child will be placed in. In order to allocate students to a form group, we use a variety of data to organise groupings. This includes (but is not limited to) information from your child’s primary school, which primary school they have attended, gender, ethnicity, additional needs and the Year 7 form tutor team. This is a complex process, which the Year 7 team are experienced in managing.

We do not place any student into a form based on parental requests or ‘friendship requests’ either from parents or primary schools. In exceptional circumstances, we may approach a small number of parents/carers for input into their child’s form where specific needs necessitate this, for example twin preferences. Whilst we understand that this can be challenging for some students, our experience shows that it works very well for the majority of students who are able to settle into life at Silverdale quickly and happily, expanding their friendship groups.

In Year 7, your child will mostly be taught in their form group. During PE and Design Technology students may be mixed with students in other form groups. At Silverdale we have sets for maths. These are organised by our experienced Maths Department using a variety of information once students have settled into Silverdale.

Every year we have a number of students who come to Silverdale either by themselves or with a very small number of students from their primary school. At Silverdale, we take extra care to ensure these students settle in quickly through our carefully planned transition programme. Please check your emails from 1 March for specific messages regarding transition activities offered for our students from non-catchment schools.

The move from primary school to secondary school is a significant one that must not be underestimated. It is not uncommon for some children to find this transition difficult. Our experience shows that, by engaging in the transition process, students feel more confident about moving to Silverdale. Talking to your child about transition and the exciting opportunities available at secondary school also often helps, as well as encouraging your child to talk to family, friends or relatives. Your child’s primary school is often able to give excellent support in preparing your child for secondary school. The Silverdale Year 7 Pastoral Team is also available if needed to support your family in the transition process. Please do get in touch with us at y7admissions@silverdale.chorustrust.org. Your child may also find online transition resources helpful, for example from the NSPCC or Young Minds.

If your question has not been answered here please get in touch with the Year 7 Pastoral Team at: y7admissions@silverdale.chorustrust.org.

We will respond to your query as quickly as possible.