Admission to Primary Schools

Primary School Admissions - 2011 onwards

Your child can start school full-time in the September prior to their fifth birthday.

September 2011 (dob 01.09.06 - 31.08.07) application packs available from your preferred school early November 2010.
September 2012 (dob 01.09.07 - 31.08.08) application packs available from your preferred school during the Autumn Term 2011. September 2013 - (dob 01.09.08 - 31.08.09) - application packs available from your preferred school during the Autumn Term 2012.

For the answers to many frequently asked questions please click the link "FAQ" on the left hand side of this page. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please contact the team on 01785 278593.

September 2010 Primary School Offers

Allocation of Places

To view the summary of how places have been allocated for admissions in September 2010 please open the document below:
pdf document Summary of Primary Admissions 2010 (191 kb)

Acceptance Slip

Please ensure that you complete the acceptance slip for the school place you have been offered, this is available at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/education/admissions

When completing your acceptance of a school place please type the information into the available text boxes - do not cut and paste details such as school name and email address into the available text boxes.

Please note that if the school your child has been allocated is oversubscribed and has a waiting list of unsuccessful applicants, failure to submit an acceptance by the deadline may put your child's place at risk.

The offer of a place for your child is on the basis of information you have provided, including your home address. If there has been any change in your circumstances, or will be before the place is taken up at the school, please let the School Admissions and Transport Service know immediately on the telephone number given above.

Where the authority has reasonable grounds for believing that the home address given on the application form is not your child's only or main residence it reserves the right to carry out investigations which may include visits to the property between now and the start of the academic year. The Authority reserves the right to withdraw any offer of a school place which has been obtained as a result of misleading or fraudulent information.

Have you been refused admission to your preferred school?

If it has not been possible to offer your child a place at a more preferred school this is because the school received more applications than places available. Your application will have been refused for one of the following two reasons:

1) All applications have been considered against the published admissions criteria and the available places have been offered to children with a higher priority under the admissions criteria than your child.

2) Your application was received after the closing date and the available places were already allocated to those applicants that applied on time.

For information on how places were allocated at primary schools in Staffordshire in September 2010 please view the following document pdf document Summary of Primary Admissions 2010 (191 kb)

For schools which have reached their Published Admissions Number it is felt that admitting further pupils would be prejudicial to the provision of efficient education of other pupils at the school (i.e. be detrimental to teaching and learning of other pupils) or would prejudice the efficient use of resources at the school. In addition some schools are affected by infant class size regulations and these are marked in the column ICS in the above pdf document.

Waiting Lists

Waiting lists will be maintained by the Authority for all oversubscribed Community adn Voluntary Controlled Staffordshire schools and will be maintained until the end of the Autumn Term 2010. However if you child has been refused a place due to infant class size legislation the waiting list will remain in place until the end of Year 2. If your child has not been offered a place at your most preferred school(s) then his/her name will automatically be included on their waiting list.

Waiting lists are kept in accordance with the schools admission criteria. Your child's position is not fixed and is subject to change during the life of the waiting list i.e. they can go down the list if late applicants with a higher priority under the admissions criteria apply.

Some voluntary aided and foundation schools maintain their own watiing lists and you should contact the school direct if you wish your child's name to be included on their list.

Infant Class Size Legislation

Government legislation requires the Directorate for Children, Young People and Families to ensure that no Key Stage 1 class will contain more than 30 pupils if there is only one qualified teacher available. Key Stage 1 classes include Reception Class and Years 1 and 2. The following leaflet provides information on the Class Size Regulations.
pdf document Infant Class Size Legislation Leaflet

Right of Appeal

If it has not been possible to agree to a request for a place at a school which you listed as a higher preference you do have a right to appeal against the decision to an Independent Appeals Panel. Further information is available at: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/education/admissions/admissionappeals

For your appeal to be heard by the end of the Summer Term you should complete and return your appeal form by 30 April 2010. If you submit your appeal after this date there is no guarantee that it will be heard alongside those who appealed within the timescale.

For further information in relation to the school admission process please refer to the Primary Information for Parents 2010 booklet. To view a copy of the booklet please click the following link Information Booklet.

Home to School Transport

If the school you have been allocated is within Stafforshrie and is your correct catchment area school, and the distance criteria is met, then your child will be entitled to free home to school transport. An acceptance of Home to School Transport Form will be included with your offer letter if your child is entitled and should be returned by 30 April 2010.

If you have any queries relating to your child's entitlement to transport to school, please view the information available at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/schooltransport

Making a Late Application for Primary School

The closing date for receipt of applications was 11 December 2009. if you missed the deadline please download an application form from the school admissions home page - see link to application forms. An application should be completed and returned to School Admissions and Transport Service as a matter of urgency.

Compulsory School Age

Your child can start full-time in a reception class in the September prior to their fifth birthday.
September 2010 - children's dates of birth 01.09.05 - 31.08.06
September 2011 - children's dates of birth 01.09.06 - 31.08.07
September 2012 - children's dates of birth 01.09.07 - 31.08.08 September 2013 - children's dates of birth 01.09.08 - 31.08.09

Reception Class forms part of a child's entitlement to the "Early Years Foundation Stage".

Children are not classed as compulsory school age until the term after their fifth birthday and therefore legally do not have to be in receipt of full time education until this time.

Where parents of "summer born babies" do not opt to send their children to school until they reach statutory school age, the children will then join Year 1 (if a space remains available in the year group). Consequently, these children will have missed the completion of their foundation stage education before they begin Key Stage 1.

Submission of Baptism Certificates

If the school for which you are applying requires a copy of your child's baptism certificate please scan and email to admissions@staffordshire.gov.uk or copy and post to the School Admissions and Transport Service, address details are given on left hand side of this page under contacts.

Coordinated Admission Arrangements

Whilst governing bodies of Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools are the admissions authority for their school and apply their own admissions criteria, Staffordshire operates a co-ordinated admissions process with all schools within Staffordshire. This means that parents will receive only one offer of a place for a school in Staffordshire on the same day.

To view the co-ordinated admission arrangements which will be used in the allocation of places to schools for the academic year 2010-2011 please select the document below:
Co-ordinated admission arrangements

Please click on the following link Admission Criteria for details of the admissions criteria used for allocating places at Community and Controlled, Church of England Aided, Catholic Aided and Foundation schools within Staffordshire.

Published Admissions Number

Each school has a Published Admissions Number (PAN) which indicates the number of pupils that may be admitted to the school in each year group. This number may only be exceeded in exceptional circumstances. For details of individual school published admissions numbers please see Information Booklet.

Infant Class Size Legislation

Government legislation requires the Children and Lifelong Learning Directorate to ensure that no Key Stage 1 class will contain more than 30 pupils if there is only one qualified teacher available. Key Stage 1 classes include Reception Class and Years 1 and 2. The following leaflet provides information on the Class Size Regulations.
pdf document Infant Class Size Legislation Leaflet

To contact the School Admissions and Transport Service for further information please email
admissions@staffordshire.gov.uk

or telephone 01785 278593.

Last Modified: 16/06/2010 10:14:52
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