St. Thomas the Martyr C.E. Primary School – Determined Admission Policy 08/062
PRIMARY ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS 2024/25
Making an application
Applications for admission to the school should be made on the online admissions system accessed via www.lancashire.gov.uk (search A-Z for ‘school admissions’) and also on the School’s own form.
Letters informing parents of whether or not their child has been allocated a place will be sent out by the Local Authority in April, 2024. Parents of children not admitted will be informed of the reason and offered an alternative place by the Authority.
Admission procedures
The number of places available for admission to the Reception class in the year 2024 will be a maximum of 30. This arrangement follows consultation between the governing body, the Diocesan Board of Education, Local Authorities and other admissions authorities in the area. The governing body will not place any restrictions on admissions to the Reception class unless the number of children for whom admission is sought exceeds this number. By law, no infant class may contain more than thirty children.
The Governing Body operates a system of equal preferences under which they consider all preferences equally and the Local Authority notifies parents of the result. In the event that there are more applicants than places, after admitting all children with a statement of educational need naming the school, the governing body will allocate places using the following criteria, which are listed in order of priority:
1a) Children in public care and previously looked after children. This includes any “looked after child”, “previously looked after children” and any child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. ‘Looked after’ means that the child was (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions.
This criteria also includes looked after children and all previously looked after children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
1b) Special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met in this school
- Children who have a sibling attending the school on the date of application and on the date of admission.
- Children whose parents live within the ecclesiastical parish of Up Holland
- Children with a parent/guardian involved in the life of a church in membership of Churches together in Britain and Ireland.
- Other children.
- Children whose parents live outside the parish
- Children with a parent/guardian involved in the life of a church in membership of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
- Other children.
Notes:
- Professional supporting evidence from e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school.
- Siblings include step, half, foster, adopted brothers and sisters living at the same address and full brother and sister living apart.
- Churches Together in Britain and Ireland is taken on the 1st September in the year prior to admission to the school. “Parental involvement” is normally taken to mean a minimum of monthly attendance at church or public worship for over at least six months prior to 1st September in the year before admission to the school. The governors will request confirmation of this from the relevant member of the clergy.
- Where there are more applicants for the available places within a category, then distance between the Ordnance Survey address points for the school and the home, measured in a straight line, will be used as the final determining factor, nearer addresses having priority over more distant ones. This address point is within the body of the property and usually located at its centre. Where the cut off point is for addresses within the same building, then the single measure between address points will apply and the Local Authority’s system of a random draw will determine which address(es) receive the offer(s).
Late applications for admission
Where there are extenuating circumstances for an application being received after the last date for applications, and it is before the governors have established their list of pupils to be admitted, then it will be considered alongside all the others.
Otherwise, applications which are received after the last date will be considered after all the others, and placed on the waiting list in order according to the criteria.
Waiting list
Where we have more applications than places, the admissions criteria will be used. Children who are not admitted will have their name placed on a waiting list. The names on this waiting list will be in the order resulting from the application of the admissions criteria. Since the date of application cannot be a criterion for the order of names on the waiting list, late applicants for the school will be slotted into the order according to the extent to which they met the criteria. Thus it is possible that a child who moves into the area later to have a higher priority than one who has been on the waiting list for some time. If a place becomes available within the admission number, the child whose name is at the top of the list will be offered a place. This is not dependent on whether an appeal has been submitted.
This waiting list will operate for the full autumn term in the academic year of admission.
Address of pupil
The address used on the school’s admission form must be the current one at the time of application. If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Where the parents live at different addresses, the current-at-the-time-of-application, normal address of the child will be the one used. This will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of Monday to Friday mornings. Parents may be asked to show evidence of the claim that is being made for the address, e.g. identity cards of various sorts showing the child’s address as the one claimed. Where there is dispute about the correct address to use, the governors reserve the right to make enquiries of any relevant third parties, e.g. the child’s GP. For children of UK Service personnel and other Crown Servants returning to the area proof of the posting is all that is required.
In-year admissions
In-year admission is the process of applying for a school place during the school year. Any applications for the intake made after the start of the autumn term will be treated as an in-year application. The in-year admission process is managed by the school. Parents are required to complete the in-year application form, which is available from the school website. Where a place cannot be secured, parents will be offered a legal right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.
Appeals
Lancashire County Council administers the appeals process on behalf of the school. Parents can complete the school’s appeal form on Lancashire County Council’s website.
Fraudulent applications
Where the governing body discovers that a child has been awarded a place as the result of an intentionally misleading application from a parent (for example a false claim to residence in the catchment area or of involvement in a place of worship) which effectively denies a place to a child with a stronger claim, then the governing body is required to withdraw the offer of the place. The application will be considered afresh and a right of appeal offered if a place is refused.
Deferred admission
If your child is due to start school during the next academic year, it is important that you apply for a place for September. If your child’s fifth birthday is between the months of September and December, then, if you wish it, admission may be deferred until January; if it is between January and April, then admission may be deferred until the start of the summer term though it is likely to be in your child’s interest to start no later than January. You may also request that your child attend school part time until he/she reaches his/her fifth birthday.
Twins etc.
Where there are twins, etc wanting admission and there is only a single place left within the admission number, then the governing body will exercise as much flexibility as possible within the requirements of infant class sizes. In exceptional circumstances cases we are now able to offer places for both twins and all triplets, even when this means breaching infant class size limits. This may also apply to siblings who are in the same year group.
- THOMAS THE MARTYR C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOL
Supplementary form Admission to Church of England/Methodist Schools 2024/25
Name of Child: Surname ……………………………. Christian names ……………………………………………….
Date of Birth …………………………….. Boy Girl
Name of parent/guardian ……………………………………………………….
Address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Post code ……………………
Telephone ………………………… Mobile ……………………………………………..
Are you applying for a place because of: (You may tick more than one box)
Living in local area Special social/medical needs
Sibling in school Parental faith commitment
If you are applying on faith grounds, complete the following sections:
Place of worship one of parents / guardians regularly attends:
Name of place of worship ………………………………………………………………
Address ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name of vicar/priest/minister/faith leader/church officer:
…………………………………………………………………..
Address …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Post Code …………………………
Telephone …………………………………….………..
Your faith leader will be contacted in order to provide the information