Admissions Policy
The governing body of Wallsend St Peter’s (C of E) voluntary aided Church of England Primary School is the Admissions Authority for the school and they intend to admit up to 30 pupils to the reception year group in September.
The school is open to receive applications for admissions from the parents of all children. We must give priority to children in the care of the local authority (looked after children) or that were previously looked after, but immediately after being looked after became subject of an adoption, residence or special guardianship order (see definitions) and those with a Statement of Special Educational Need or with an Educational, Health and Care (EHC) Plan that names the school. In the event of the number of applications exceeding the number of places available, priority will be given to applications in the order of priority indicated below.
Over-subscription Criteria
1. Children who are in Local Authority Care. (See definition).
2. Children with a brother or sister at the school at the time when they would be admitted to the school. (See definition)
3. Children who have special medical needs or other special circumstances, supported by medical/professional opinion.
4. Other children.
Tie Breaker
Where there are places available for some but not all applicants within a particular criterion, distance from home to school will be the deciding factor, with preference given to those whose home address is nearest to the school, measured in a straight line from a single fixed central point of the home address (including flats) to the central point of the school using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS/ONE).
N.B The above distance measurement will also be used as a ‘tiebreaker’ within each criterion, if necessary. In the case of flats if there is more than one home address with the same measurement the flat with the lowest number will be offered the place. In all other cases of the same measurement, random allocation will be used.
Waiting List
If you are refused a place at the school you may request to place your child’s name on the waiting list. Children are placed on the waiting list according to the above over-subscription criteria regardless of when their application was received and within each criterion their place is ordered by shortest distance measured in a straight line from a single fixed central point of the home address (including flats) to the central point of the school using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS/ONE). If pupil numbers fall below the published admission number the place will be offered to the child at the top of the waiting list. This means a child who is on the waiting list will move down the list if another ‘late’ application is received that falls within a higher priority under the over-subscription criteria. The waiting list will be held by the Local Authority on behalf of the Governing Body until the end of the Autumn Term. The list will be kept thereafter, by the school.
Notes
- Parents are asked to let the Headteacher know at the time of application whether their child has a disability. Parents should be assured that the nature of the disability is not grounds for refusing the application. The school will make every reasonable adjustment to ensure that disabled children are not put at a substantial disadvantage in accessing a full curriculum and that they will not be treated less favourably, without reasonable justification, than their able-bodied peers.
- If applicants are seeking admission under criterion 3, above, they will be asked to provide appropriate evidence, e.g. a letter from a doctor or specialist. The governors must be satisfied that there is a specified medical reason which makes attendance at this school essential.
- Nursery admissions are entirely separate and parents are asked to note that attendance at the school’s nursery does not guarantee a place in the reception class. The Nursery policy follows the same oversubscription criteria as the school admissions policy as stated above. Children will be admitted to Nursery at the beginning of the term following their third birthday. Places are not given on a first come, first served basis.
- Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.
- If a place is offered on the basis of false information (e.g. address) or if parents do not respond within the stated timescale to the offer of a place, the governing body reserves the right to withdraw their offer.
Definition of Children in the care of a Local Authority
A looked after child is a child who is in the care of a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time the application for admission to school is made and whom the local authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the date of admission.
An adoption order is an order made under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
A residence order is an order outlining the arrangements as to the person with whom the child will live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989.
A special guardianship order is an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian or guardians.
Definition of Sibling
Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.
Admission of children below compulsory school age and deferred entry to school
The School Admissions Code 2014 requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. However, a child is not required to start school until they have reached compulsory school age following their fifth birthday. For summer born children (those born after 1 April) this can sometimes be almost a full school year after the point at which they could first be admitted.
Some parents may feel that their child is not ready to start school in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents are entitled to request in writing that:-
- their child attends part-time until they reach compulsory school age, or
- that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the same academic year or until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age. The school will hold any deferred place for the child, although, in the majority of cases, we find that children benefit from starting at the beginning of the school year, rather than part way through it.
- that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until the term after the child reaches compulsory school age.
The child must, however, start school full-time in the term after their fifth birthday.
If parents of summer born children wish to defer entry, as outlined above, and wish them to be admitted to the Reception Year in the term following their fifth birthday, rather than year 1, then parents should apply at the usual time for a Reception place in the September of the next academic year. This application should be accompanied by a written request that the child is admitted outside of his or her normal age group to the Reception Year in September the following year. The letter must provide supporting reasons for seeking a place outside of the normal age group. This should be discussed with the Head Teacher as soon as possible and a decision, either way, given before the national offer day.
If their request is agreed, then their application for the normal age group may be withdrawn before any place is offered and they should reapply in the normal way for a Reception place in the following year. Parents must be made aware that re-application for a Reception place in the following year will be subject to the normal over-subscription criteria in this policy.
If their request is refused, the parents must decide:
a. whether to wait for any offer of a Reception place in the current academic year. Which will still be subject to the over-subscription criteria in this policy; or
b. to withdraw their application and apply for a year 1 place the following year. Parents should be aware that the Year 1 group may have no vacancies, as it could be full with children transferring from the previous Reception Year group.
Further information/advice on the admission of summer born children is available on the school’s website and North Tyneside Council School Admissions.
The school finds it very helpful to have an early indication of the number of children to be admitted to the reception class the following September. However, it must be stressed that formal written applications for admission must be made on the form provided by the Local Authority and returned to the Local Authority by the stated date. Places will then be allocated by strict application of the above criteria, with no reference to the date of application. Parents will be notified as to whether or not their child has been allocated a place by the Local Authority.