All policies (10)

IB-mandated policies (5)

School-specific policies (5)

Admissions Policy

Purpose of admission policy

ATo ensure that the school gets the maximum admissions possible without making compromises.
BTo have a fair and transparent policy for all parents
CTo make the admission process easy for all stakeholders

Connection with school mission statement

Fountainhead School Mission Statement

“To Nurture leaders with character and competence”

The kind of leaders that the school hopes to nurture are those who can take charge of their lives, work effectively with others, do the right thing even when no one is watching them, and are internationally minded. Such leaders need both character and competence to survive and succeed.

Fountainhead School Malgama (FSM) aims to provide a high-quality educational experience through a fair and transparent admission system and avoid unfair discrimination on grounds of disability, gender, religion or belief systems. The policy ensures appropriate procedure in respect to each application received for admission. It also seeks to set a selection criteria which is transparent, fair and consistent.

Connection with school values

Fairness: The school ensures that every applicant is evaluated holistically, considering diverse backgrounds and experiences, with clear and transparent criteria. Our commitment to equity ensures that all candidates have an equal opportunity to join our inclusive community.
Responsible: The school emphasizes responsibility in our admissions process and holds itself accountable for transparent and ethical practices, ensuring that every decision is made with integrity and respect for all applicants. Our goal is to foster a community where responsibility and accountability are paramount.
Integrity: Integrity is at the core of the school’s admissions process. The school is committed to honesty, transparency, and ethical decision-making, ensuring that every applicant is treated with respect and fairness. Our dedication to integrity fosters a trustworthy and principled school community.

Connection with learner profile attributes

Inquirers: The admission policy seeks students who demonstrate curiosity and a love for learning. This can be assessed through their previous academic records, involvement in extracurricular activities, and responses during interviews that show an interest in exploring new ideas and asking questions.
Knowledgeable: The school reviews the student’s academic history and then prospective students may undergo tests and interviews to evaluate their knowledge base and critical thinking abilities. The applicants show a breadth of knowledge across various subjects and a willingness to engage with complex global issues. The policy includes evaluating prior coursework, standardized test scores, and any additional academic achievements or projects.
Principled: The school aims to act with integrity, honesty, and a strong sense of fairness and justice during the complete admission process.

Connection with IB standards and practices

Culture (03) - Culture through policy implementation (0301)

The school secures access to an IB education for the broadest possible range of students. (0301-01)

The school implements and reviews an access and/or admissions policy that clearly describes the conditions for participation in the school’s programme(s). (0301-01-0100)
The school provides relevant support materials, resources and structures to promote access to the school’s programme(s) for as many students as reasonable. (0301-01-0200)
The school provides opportunities to access the programme(s) for the broadest possible range of students. (0301-01-0300)

PYP 1: The school articulates and demonstrates the PYP to include all students, regardless of learner variability, unless the school’s regulatory environment precludes full enrollment and requires the school offer the relevant national or state/provincial curriculum to certain students. (0301-01-0311)
PYP 2: The school implements the PYP across all early years and/or primary grade levels offered at the school. (0301-01-0312)

Pathways of education at Fountainhead School Malgama

1Early Years Programme

Jr. KG & Sr. KG

2Primary Years Programme

Grades 1 - 6

Admission process timeline across the school

For ease of administration, the school conducts admissions in phases:

Phase	For which grades	Typical timelines/ months
Phase 1	Junior KG	September - October (e.g. Admission procedure for June 2024 begins in September 2023)
Phase 2	All other grades	December - January (e.g. Admission procedure for June 2024 begins in December 2023)

The dates for admission are published on the school website.

In addition, the school accepts admissions year-round for the PYP grades, subject to seat availability.

Admissions team constitution

The school has an admissions team led by the Deputy Head of School that oversees admissions to all grades. Other members of the admissions team include an admissions incharge and an admissions coordinator. Coordinators, principals, teachers and other administrative staff participate in the admissions process as per specific duties assigned to them.

The school has a 5 member “Parent Admission Committee” (PAC) comprising existing parents of Fountainhead School Malgama. The PAC acts as an observer of the admission process and certifies that the school has followed the admission policy as outlined. The objective of PAC is to ensure that the admission process is consistently monitored and that every stakeholder is communicated about the integrity, transparency and fairness of the process.

Age criteria for different grades

The age criteria is as follows:

Grade	Age Criteria
Junior KG	Should complete 4 years on or before 31st May of their year of entry
Senior KG	Should complete 5 years on or before 31st May of their year of entry
Grade 1	Should complete 6 years on or before 31st May of their year of entry
Grade 2	Should complete 7 years on or before 31st May of their year of entry

Beyond Grade 2, if the candidate has completed the previous grade and has performed satisfactorily in the previous school and in the readiness test for admission, then they will be admitted to the next class.

Admission in the Early Years Programme (EY)

Admission Criteria

For Junior KG admission, the following categories will receive priority in the order listed below:

Categories	Priority
Category A	This category is for children of Fountainhead School Malgama staff. No priority will be given if the staff joins after the admission process is completed.
Category B	This category is for siblings of Fountainhead School Malgama students (the younger child of a parent who already has a child studying in Fountainhead School Malgama).
Category C	Students who are admitted to The Village Early Learning Centre & Flutterby Early Learning Centre are considered as Category C candidates Students enrolled before 30th June are also considered under Category C. An equal 50:50 ratio of boys and girls is maintained during the admission process. The school reserves the right to change the ratio of 55:45 either way based on the gender ratio of candidates. If number of applicants are more, a draw is conducted to select candidates for admission
Category D	Admissions open as per seat availability, for other preschool candidates.

The waitlist of Junior KG is carried forward to Senior KG and Grade 1. Hence, a separate admission process is not required for these grades. If the waitlist is exhausted and there are vacancies in these grades, then the admission committee is empowered to make a fair decision on the admission process to be followed.

Steps for admission process in Early years

1Attend the Education for Tomorrow (EFT) workshop. It is a mandatory workshop for all parents interested in seeking admission at Fountainhead School Malgama
2Submit online form and required documents
3Review of submitted online form and documents by admissions team
4Interaction with parent/candidate (if necessary)
5Draw to select students for admission (if necessary)
6Publication of admission list and waitlist
7Confirmation of admission after payment of fees

The school reserves the right to retain 1 or 2 seats for staff which may be released latest by 31st May or 1st week of June of the academic year.

Admission in the Primary Years Programme (PYP: Grades 1-6)

Admission criteria

Grade	Selection criteria
Grade 1 - 6	Interested candidates appear for a readiness test which gives an insight into the candidate’s prior knowledge and deficit areas with respect to the grade level curriculum. The readiness test includes the following: Written test for English, Math, Hindi Reading and comprehension test Oral interaction A consolidated cut off score (CCS) is determined by the school for each grade. The following points are considered while calculating the CCS (Appendix 2) for each candidate: Readiness test performance Previous report cards Children of staff, siblings of current students, female candidates, former students, students from other IB schools earn 5 additional points while calculating the CCS Candidates who clear the cutoff are considered for admission. These candidates are offered admission or a waitlist number.

Grade

Selection criteria

Grade 1 - 6

Interested candidates appear for a readiness test which gives an insight into the candidate’s prior knowledge and deficit areas with respect to the grade level curriculum. The readiness test includes the following:
- Written test for English, Math, Hindi
- Reading and comprehension test
- Oral interaction
A consolidated cut off score (CCS) is determined by the school for each grade. The following points are considered while calculating the CCS (Appendix 2) for each candidate:
- Readiness test performance
- Previous report cards
- Children of staff, siblings of current students, female candidates, former students, students from other IB schools earn 5 additional points while calculating the CCS
Candidates who clear the cutoff are considered for admission. These candidates are offered admission or a waitlist number.

Steps for admission process in PYP

1Collect admission packets from school
2Submit online form and upload required documents
3a. Candidate appears for readiness test and oral interaction
b. Parents attend the EFT workshop
4Review of submitted documents and results of readiness test by admissions team
5Publication of admission list and wait list
6Confirmation of admission after payment of fees

The school reserves the right to retain 1 or 2 seats for staff which may be released latest by 31st May of an academic year.

Admission of candidates with previously identified learning needs

Admission of candidates with previously identified learning needs is done on a case-to-case basis. The school may admit such candidates if it is established that the school can offer the required support and that the candidate can be integrated in the classroom. The following steps are followed in such cases:

The parent meets the admission in charge and submits documentation of the candidate’s learning needs. This includes a recent psychological report, cognitive record and medical records.
The admissions head along with the well-being counselors review the submitted documentation. The additional learning support team is involved if needed. A meeting with the parents, an interaction with the candidate and an assessment of the candidate may be scheduled.
Based on the results of the above and the school’s ability to support the candidate within the given setup, the admissions team will make a decision, subject to the availability of seats.

Rejection/cancellation of admission

Fountainhead School Malgama may reject/cancel an application under the following cases:

Candidate fails to secure minimum CCS as pre-defined by the school. In such cases, candidates may choose to re-appear for the readiness test. Decision for re-appearing for the readiness test is made by the admission head.
Fees are not received within the given timeline.

Ethical practices followed for admission

The admissions team is committed to the school values and objectives of the admission policy.

While the school already follows a fair and ethical process, to make the process more robust and watertight, the PAC serves as an invigilator / external auditor for the entire admission process.
The school does not consider donations or the ability to donate as a factor in the admissions process.
The admission process does not ask for any religious / caste / political / social affiliations and is neutral in this regard.
Any recommendation or influence from an external source to secure admission will result in immediate cancellation of the application.
Siblings will get preference for admission only once for that academic year. If the parent fails to complete the admission process during the given timeline, then no sibling preference will be given.

Connection with other policies

Language policy: The student language profile is collected at the time of admission. This provides information to the school about the language preferred by parents, home and family languages of the candidate and whether the candidate is a first generation learner of English. See the FSM Language Policy.
Learning diversity policy: The readiness test conducted at the time of admission gives an insight about the learning needs of the candidate. Some candidates require additional support to enable them to access the school curriculum in a manner that allows them to reach their full potential. See the FSM Learning Diversity & Inclusion Policy.

Bibliography

“Programme Standards and Practices 2020.” IBO, IBO, Apr. 2020, www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/become-an-ib-school/pdfs/programme-standards-and-practices-2020-en.pdf.

Appendix 2: Decision table for Grades 1-6 for admission

The CCS is the key factor which decides whether a student has qualified for admission or not.

1The CCS for a student is calculated.
2Depending on the CCS of the cohort of applicants, a cut off for each grade is decided. The admissions head has the authority to make this decision and it may change from year to year. The admissions head may choose to make two cutoffs (Qualified and Conditionally Qualified)
3Category B is defined as siblings of current students at FSM who have qualified and conditionally qualified. Category B is given first preference for admission. There will be a draw amongst Category B students for determining admission / waitlist sequence.
4Category D is defined as general applicants who are not children of staff/ siblings of current FSM students. In Category D, a draw is done to determine admission/ waitlist sequence. Candidates who have qualified will be included in one pool and once that is exhausted, candidates who have conditionally qualified are included in the next pool of students.