Admissions Policy
2017.18
Our Mission Statement
To develop young people:
who are confident, reflective, responsible and resilient learners;
who understand that learning is for life and
who are able to become all that God created them to be.
INTRODUCTION Wardour Catholic Primary School is a Catholic School within the Diocese of Clifton.
By law, the Governing Body of the School control admissions and admit children in accordance with
this published policy.
Applications for a place at the school should be made to the LA on the LA Common Application. In
addition, parents are required to complete a supplementary information form to be returned to the
School by 15th January 2017 to enable the Governing Body to apply their admission criteria. For
admission in September 2017, the LA has set a closing date of midnight on 15 January 2017. The
notification letter will be posted to parents (who submitted their application before the deadline) on
16th April 2017.
This policy is written in compliance with the statutory School Admissions Code (December 2014) and
Wiltshire LA Circ. A018/15.
2. ADMISSION CRITERIA
Applications will be considered in the following order of priority:
CATEGORY 1
Baptised Catholic, looked after or previously looked after Children and baptised
Catholic, adopted children who have previously been in care. A baptismal certificate
must be submitted with the school’s supplementary information form for
applications to be considered within this category.
CATEGORY 2
Baptised Catholic children who live within the designated area for The Sacred Heart,
Tisbury and All Saints Chapel, Wardour and who have the written confirmation from
their Catholic priest on religious grounds showing evidence of commitment to the
Faith. Wardour has been designated by the Diocese of Clifton in consultation with
Wiltshire Council as serving the Roman Catholic parishes of: The Sacred Heart,
Tisbury and All Saints Chapel, Wardour. A baptismal certificate Must be submitted
with the school’s supplementary information form for applications to be considered
within this category.
CATEGORY 3
Baptised Catholic children from outside the Parish for whom Wardour is the nearest
Catholic Primary School. A baptismal certificate Must be submitted with the school’s
supplementary information form for applications to be considered within this
category.
CATEGORY 4
Looked after, or previously looked after children and adopted children who have
previously been in care.
CATEGORY 5
Other children who have siblings in years Reception – 6 at Wardour at the time of
their admission. Within this category, priority for admission will be given in the
following order to:
a.
Children of a Catholic parent. Evidenced by a parent’s baptismal certificate,
which Must be submitted with the school’s supplementary information form
for applications to be considered within this category.
b.
Children from Christian families. Applications Must be supported in writing
by their recognised Priest or Minister of a Christian religion and submitted
with the school’s supplementary information form to be considered in this
category.
CATEGORY 6
Children of a Catholic parent. Evidenced by a parent’s baptismal certificate, which
Must be submitted with the school’s supplementary information form for
applications to be considered within this category.
CATEGORY 7
Other Christian children, as defined by Churches Together who live within the
designated area for Wardour and who have the written confirmation from their
recognised Priest or Minister of a Christian religion on religious grounds showing
evidence of commitment to the Christian faith. Evidence Must be submitted with
the school’s supplementary information form for applications to be considered
within this category
CATEGORY 8
Applicants who do not fall within any of the categories above.
3. THE PUBLISHED ADMISSION NUMBER (PAN)
The Published Admission Number to be admitted to any year group including Reception for the
2017-2018 academic year is 17. This is the maximum number that the Governing Body will admit to
any year group. If more than 17 places are sought, the Governing Body will admit according to
section 2 and section 4, without preference to children from any particular pre-school or nursery.
4. OVER SUBSCRIPTION / TIE BREAK
Should there be more applications than places in any of the above categories, or where the offer of
places to all the applicants in any of the categories listed above would lead to oversubscription an
decisions have to be made between applications within a category, the information provided by an
applicant’s recognised Minister of Christian religion will be taken into account. Commitment to Faith
is prioritised on attendance in the following order – weekly, fortnightly, monthly and never. Where
there are two or more applicants in any of the above categories who are of comparable status
distance will be calculated using the RAC Route Planner, taking the shortest route from the home
postcode to the school postcode of SP3 6RF with preference being given to the applicant having the
shortest distance. Should there still be a tie, this will be decided by random selection (lottery) by an
independent adjudicator from the Wiltshire Council Clerking Service.
5. CLOSING DATE FOR RECEPTION APPLICATIONS
Applications for a place at the school should be made to the LA on the LA Common Application. In
addition, parents will be required to complete a supplementary information form to be returned to
the School by 15th January 2017 to enable the Governing Body to apply their admission criteria. For
admission in September 2017, the LA has set a closing date of midnight on 15 January 2017. The
notification letter will be posted to parents (who submitted their application before the deadline) on
16th April 2017.
6. ACCEPTANCE DATE FOR RECEPTION
The notification date is the 16th April 2017 and the date for acceptance is 30th April 2016.
7. STARTING AGE
Children will normally be admitted at the start of the academic year following their fourth birthday.
Parents may choose for their child to start on a full or part time basis (see para 10, (6)).
8. DEFERRED ENTRY
Where children are under compulsory age parents may choose to defer entry till later in the school
year. In these circumstances, a place will be held for the child. Parents may not defer entry beyond
the start of term following the child’s fifth birthday (compulsory school age) nor beyond the
academic year for which the application was accepted – should this occur the offer would be
considered “declined” and a new application would be required. If a parent wishes to defer entry for
their child, they should indicate this when accepting an offer of a place.
9. SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Baptismal certificates are required as evidence of baptism. These can be obtained from the Parish in
which the baptism took place. The signature of your Parish Priest or recognised Minister of a
Christian Religion will be required as evidence that you are a practising member of your church.
10. DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this policy:
1. Children in Care (Looked After Children) a ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked
after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence, or special
guardianship order. A looked after child is a child who is (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 (see the definition in section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989).
2. A baptised Catholic who attends Mass according to the obligations placed on them by the Church.
This would normally be weekly.
3. Where any doubt exists concerning the Catholicity of a child or a parent advice will be sought from
the Parish Priest and the Diocese of Clifton. Any Church that is in Full Communion with the Roman
Catholic Church will be treated equally.
4. A child’s home is normally considered to be the place where they are evidenced to live for the
majority of their time (address where child benefit is paid to).
5. The term sibling is defined as either a brother or sister who lives at the same address and who
shares one natural parent. Step-brother or Admissions Policy Page 7 step-sister or a child who has
been legally adopted or fostered into the family.
6. The term “part time” at section 7 is defined as attendance for five mornings per week (8.45 am –
12 pm) in the Foundation Class. However, this may not continue beyond the point at which they
reach compulsory school age.
11 WAITING LIST
At the parents’ request, the Governing Body will place any unsuccessful applicant’s name on a
waiting list in case a place should become available in the relevant class. If two or more children are
named on the list, and one place becomes available, it will be awarded to the child in the highest
admissions category detailed above. If necessary, the tie break will apply. The waiting list will be
reviewed at 31 August each year. Parents will be contacted before this date and asked to confirm if
they wish to remain on the waiting list for the new academic year. Unless such confirmation is
received the applicant will be removed from the list. They will be given a copy of the relevant
admissions policy and asked to confirm any relevant changes.
12. CHILDREN WITH STATEMENTS OF SPECIAL EDCATIONAL NEEDS
There is a different procedure for children with statements of special educational needs as it is
administered by the Local Authority in whose area the family lives. The LA is responsible for issuing
the Statement and consulting with parents and the Governing Body if a preference has been made
for the school before the school is named in the statement. The school recognises its responsibility
to admit any child who has a statement which names the school.
13. CASUAL APPLICATIONS
Applications falling outside the normal admissions dates for Reception Class intake will be
considered by the Governing Body against the oversubscription criteria listed above. For families
moving into the area, proof of an address in the area served by the school will be required before an
application can be considered by the Governing Body. This proof could be a rental agreement,
exchange of contracts, army posting order, or similar. The School will respond in writing directly to
Applicants (with copy to the LA) within 10 Schools days from receipt of Application advising of the
Governing Body’s decision.
14. APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE NORMAL AGE GROUP
All applications for children requesting admission outside their normal age group will be processed
as outlined in Wiltshire Council’s Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme, which has been drafted in line
with the School Admissions Code.
15. APPEALS PROCEDURE
Parents have the right of appeal against the refusal of the Governing Body to admit their child, and
should put their appeal in writing to the Clerk to the Governing Body within 14 days of receiving the
letter of refusal. Appeals will be arranged by the Diocesan Department for Schools and Colleges and
conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice on School Appeals. Please address appeals in
writing to: Clerk to the Governing Body Wardour Catholic Primary School, Wardour, Nr. Tisbury.
Wilts. SP3 6RF.