Admissions Policy
Spring 14
To be reviewed Spring 16
Equality statement
The school will only commit to policies and practices which will eradicate
discrimination and promote equality for all, regardless of age, gender,
disability, religion and belief, race and ethnicity and sexual orientation. This
policy will be reviewed to meet needs of the wider community or individual
concerns.
Safeguarding statement
The school recognises that safe guarding is everyone’s responsibility. Staff
are appropriately trained and understand their roles and responsibilities. The
school has a designated Child Protection Officer. The school knows how to
raise concerns about the safety and welfare of all children and takes concerns
seriously. The school understands it’s duty providing support and care for
children in care.
Procedure
East-the-Water Primary School will follow the ‘Admissions Scheme’which will
take affect from September 2011. Parents will make an application using a
Common Application Form (CAF) when admitting children into the reception
year at East-the-Water Primary School. Addition information and CAF will be
available at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline. Devon LA are responsible
for informing parents with information prior to their child starting primary
education. The Devon LA will inform parents when their child is due to reach 5
years of age between 1st September and 31st August and advise them of the
application process and the closing date. All completed CAFs must be
returned to the LA. CAFs submitted by post will meet closing date using date
of posting as confirmation. The LA will not accept more than one home
address for a child. Terms of residency and address of child benefit payments
will clarify the home address. Any applications sent to the school will be
forwarded directly to the Admissions Team and not at any point managed by
the school.
Appeals
Parents who are dissatisfied with their school allocation have the right to
appeal and must contact the Admissions Team directly.
Waiting lists
Waiting lists are kept to a minimum of 1 term and are held by the LA
Admissions. Team.
Admissions
Devon LA offer admission to reception children at the beginning of the term
following their 4th birthday and is not considered before this. A parent wishing
to transfer to a junior school or before the child is of year 3 age, the CAF
should be completed and early transfer may be considered. Delayed transfers
need to be applied for with evidence and approved by the LA.
Deferred admissions
Where a place is offered for a child to enter the reception class, the school
must accommodate a parental wish to defer entry to the start of the school
term after the child’s 5th birthday and within the same academic year. The
place will be retained and not offered to another child. Parents are
encouraged to discuss deferment with the school and early years settings in
order to reach an informed decision regarding the child’s best interest.
A parent will have these options in response to the offer of a place for
admission at the beginning of the September term following the child’s 4th
birthday;
 Fulltime reception in the reception class at school
 Part-time in the reception class at school
 Defer admission to the reception class taking up a part-time EY setting
placement
 Defer admission to the reception class taking up a full-time EY setting
placement
Conditions regarding part-time hours in the reception class.
At East-the-Water Primary School, parents taking up a part time reception
place must attend the reception class for no less than 4.5 hours each day
including lunchtime provision. Parents can take up a part –time place in the
reception class but would need to fund any additional part time sessions in an
EY setting. Parents can request nursery sessions directly from the school by
completing a nursery application form. These applications are managed by
the school and not by Devon LA. Any additional nursery hours provided in
East-the-Water Primary’s nursery will be agreed by the parents and the
school in a written contract. Parents will be invoiced directly by the school for
additional nursery sessions as the 15 hour free entitlement for EY provision
will no longer apply. Any outstanding payments, beyond a two week period of
asking, will result in the additional sessions being withdrawn and offered to
another child.
Free school meals
Parents should take into account that free school meals are not provided
unless the child attends for the entire day.
Over subscription
A child who has a statement of Special Educational Needs where the school
is named on the statement or a Child In Care will have precedence
If there are insufficient places available to meet the demands, these will be
allocated to children in accordance with the following list of priorities;
 Children in the care of the local authority;
 Children who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of
admission and live in designated area;
 Other children living in designated area;
 Children living outside designated area with sibling in school at time of
admission;
 Other children living outside designated area;
Late applications
All applications will be considered on an individual basis by the Devon County
Council. If evidence can be produced why an application is admitted late, the
Admissions Manager may consider the closing date may be waived.
Applications considering a Child In Care will be considered along side those
on time even if the school has reached it’s planned admission number.
In year or casual admissions
Applications should be made on the CAF and be forwarded to the Devon
County Council Admissions Team. The Admissions Team will allocate a place
accordingly.
Responsibility of school staff
The Governing Body will support the efficient operation of the Admissions
Procedures and Scheme by encouraging that parents apply on time and refer
families to the Admissions Team where necessary. The Governing Body will
support the Admissions Team with required addition information beyond the
CAF eg appeal process, Children in Care. The school should continue to
support parent choice by enabling parents to access and view school prior to
making preferences. The school will not at any point indicate whether a place
will be made available or if the parent’s preference will be successful. The
school will only respond to parents when confirmation of a placement is
received from the Admissions Team has been received.