Holy Rosary Catholic Voluntary Academy

2027/2028

2025/2026 & 2026/2027

Consultation on admission arrangements 2027/2028 

A consultation will run from Thursday 23rd October 2025 until Thursday 4th December 2025 on proposed changes to 2027-2028 Primary Admission policy.

The Proposed Changes:

St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust (as its own Admissions Authority) is proposing to add further clarity to the Primary Schools Admissions Policy for 27/28 by updating the names of the schools and amending/updating the Parish Boundaries.

Consultation Information

Full details of St Ralph Sherwin Academy Trust admissions consultation including proposed admission arrangements for Primary Admissions Policy 2027-28 can be found on the website https://www.srscmat.co.uk/governance/admissions/

All consultation information (hard copy) is also available upon request from any school/academy, or the Trust.

Who are we consulting with?

The School Admissions Code 2021 requires that all admission authorities undertake a statutory consultation to seek the views and comments of parents/carers, other admission authorities, Primary and Junior schools in the relevant area, Derby City, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire County Council, Staffordshire and Stockport, including neighbouring local authorities and anyone else who may be affected by the proposed changes.

The consultation will run for six weeks commencing at 4pm on Thursday 23rd October 2025 and closing on Thursday 4th December at 4pm.

How can you respond to the consultation?

You can respond to this consultation before the closing date by completing and submitting the Microsoft form:https://forms.office.com/e/6QnXVLS2h5

Or

By posting a completed downloaded response form to the address below

The Governance Lead, St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust

St Katherines House,St Mary’s Wharf

Mansfield Road

Derby DE1 3TQ

Or

by email the Governance Lead govmanager@srscmat.co.uk

What Happens next?

After the consultation period has closed Directors will give consideration to the responses received and will then determine final admission arrangements for 2027-2028. Following determination, the arrangements will be published on each academy’s website

Proposed admission arrangements 2027/2028

The school’s published admission number is 30.

The Catholic academies listed above are under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Nottingham and belong to the Nottingham Diocesan family of schools. They were founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The academies are conducted by the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with their trust deed and articles of association, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

As Catholic academies, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic academy, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the academy. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and be admitted to a place at the academy in accordance with these admission arrangements.

The St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust is the admission authority for all the schools within the Trust and is responsible for determining the admissions policy. On behalf of the Trust the admissions process is coordinated by the relevant Local Authority. 

All decisions relating to admission applications will be taken by the local governing body of the school applied for.

Application procedure and timetable

Applications must be made on the Common Application Form provided by your home Local Authority. Applications must be made to your home Local Authority by the national closing date of 15 January. 

In addition all applicants wishing to apply for a place under a faith criterion (oversubscription criteria 1-7) should complete the Supplementary Information Form. This form can be downloaded from the Local Authority website within which the school is located and is also available from the schools. The completed form, together with any required evidence, (see notes 3-8), should be returned to each Catholic school for which a preference has been specified, also, by the national closing date of 15 January.

If you do not provide the information required in this form and return it to the academy, with all supporting documentation, your child may not be placed in the appropriate faith category and this may affect your child’s chance of being offered a place.

All Applications - How places are allocated

The Local Authority forward details of all applicants to the relevant school local governing body. Using the information on both the Common Application Form and the Supplementary Form, each school local governing body draws up a ranked list using the oversubscription criteria listed below. The Local Authority then allocates places on behalf of the school up to the admissions number. When a place can be offered at more than one of the schools listed on your application, the Local Authority will offer a place at the highest preferred school where a place is available. 

Admission of Children below Compulsory School Age, Deferred Entry and Summer Born Children

A child’s parents may defer the date at which their child, if they are below compulsory school age, is admitted to the school, until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age, or beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which an offer was made. A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his/her fifth birthday (or on his/her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31st December, 31st March and 31st August. The place will be held and will not be offered to another child provided the place is taken up within the same academic year.

A child may also attend school part time until the child reaches compulsory school age.

Parents who wish to defer their child’s start in reception class until later in the school year or for their child to attend school part-time should advise the school prior to the start of the autumn term.

Parents of summer born children, i.e. a child born between 1st April and 31st August, may choose not to send their child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted outside of their normal age group to Reception Year rather than Year 1. However, parents need to be aware that if the request is approved (see below on decisions on applications for ‘admission outside of normal age group) they will need to apply again in the next admissions round for a place in that Reception Year and should be aware that a place is not guaranteed as the application will be considered alongside all other applications in that year and the Oversubscription Criteria will still apply.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside of the normal age group for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child, i.e. a child born between 1st April and 31st August, may request that the child be admitted out of their normal age group, to reception rather than year 1.

Should you wish to seek a place for your child outside of their normal age group you should still make an application for a school place for your child’s normal age group and you should also submit a request for admission out of the normal age group. This request should be made in writing (including any supporting evidence) to the Chair of the Local Governing Body, c/o the school at the same time as the admission application is made.

In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the school local governing body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals. A decision will then be made on which age group the child should be admitted taking into account the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child.

Once that decision has been made the oversubscription criteria will be applied to determine if a place can be offered at the school.

Your statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which you have applied is unaffected. However, the right to appeal does not apply if you are offered a place at the school but it is not in your preferred age group.

The school is not required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with the Local Authority Primary Coordinated Admissions Scheme within which the school is located. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on time.

Applications during the school year (In-Year Applications)

Details of the application process are available from the school and from the Local Authority (see details below) within which the school is located. Once an application has been made, it will be passed to the school local governing body for consideration.

Offers of places may be withdrawn if they are offered in error, a parent has not responded within 10 school days of the offer letter issue or it is established that an offer was obtained through a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.

In cases involving school transfers that do not require a house move or where there is no need for an immediate move, arrangements may be made for the child to start school at the beginning of the following term to minimise disruption to their own and other children’s education.

If your application is refused you have a statutory right to appeal (see ‘Appeals’ below). Your appeal should be lodged within twenty school days after the date of the decision letter.

Waiting Lists

Parents whose children have not been offered a place at a school in the normal admissions round will be added to the school’s Waiting List unless they have been offered a place at a higher preference school. The Waiting List will normally remain open until 31 December in the application year. However, some schools may maintain the Waiting List until the end of the academic year. Parents should contact the relevant school to request further details.

Waiting Lists are maintained in the same order as the oversubscription criteria listed below and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the Waiting List.

Any late applications will be added to the Waiting List in accordance with the oversubscription criteria and each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria, therefore your child’s position on the Waiting List may change and a child’s Waiting List position during the year could go up or down.

Inclusion on a school’s Waiting List does not mean that a place will eventually become available.

Parents must make a further application for a school place in respect of a later academic year and if a place is not available the child’s name can be added to the Waiting List for that academic year.

Appeals

If a child is not offered a place, parents/carers have a statutory right to appeal. This should be done by writing to the school setting out your grounds for appeal no later than twenty school days after the decision letter has been received. The appeal will be arranged on behalf of the school local governing body by the Catholic Schools Appeals Service and be heard by an independent panel. For St Mary’s, Marple Bridge appeals are arranged by Stockport Local Authority Democratic Services Department and should be submitted via the LA’s online form at www.stockport.gov.uk . All panel decisions will be binding on the school.

Fair Access Protocols

Local Authorities are required to have Fair Access Protocols in order to make sure that unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admission authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any locally agreed protocol. The admission authority has this power, even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the PAN (subject to the infant class size exceptions).

Infant Class Size Regulations

Infant classes may not, by law, contain more than 30 pupils with a single qualified teacher. Parents/carers should be aware that when the school local governing body is considering applications for places, they must keep to the 30 limit. However, in accordance with the School Admissions Code 2021 (2.16) additional children may be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain as ‘excepted pupils’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. Parents do have a right of appeal in accordance with the Infant Class Size Regulations if the school is oversubscribed and their child is refused a place.

Applications for twins / multiple birth children

Where the final place available is offered to a child from a twin or multiple birth the school local governing body will normally offer places to both twins, triplets etc even if this means exceeding the published admission number as long as the governing body decides that the education of pupils in that year group would not be detrimentally affected.

Attendance at Nursery

For children attending the school’s nursery, application to the reception class of the school must be made in the normal way, to the home local authority using the Common Application Form. Attendance at the school’s nursery or a pre-school setting on the site of the school does not guarantee that a place will be offered at the school and does not give any priority within the oversubscription criteria.

Transfers from Infant Schools

This policy also applies to applications from parents who wish to transfer children from an infant school to Year 3 in one of the schools. Your home Local Authority will provide information about how this can be done. However, parents need to be aware that the schools are primary schools (age 4–11) places may have already been filled.

Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces) and returning crown servants

For families of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or crown servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the Governors will:

•Process an application in advance of the family arriving in the area provided it is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address to use when considering the application against the school's oversubscription criteria.

•Accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for admissions purposes for a service child.

The Governors will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area.

Fraudulent Information

The school local governing body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place or, if a child is already attending the school, the place itself, where it is satisfied that the offer or place was obtained on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information.

Oversubscription Criteria

Where a school has more applications than places available, the school local governing body will draw up a ranked list based on the criteria listed below and will allocate places accordingly.

In accordance with legislation Pupils with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) (a plan made by the Local Authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which specifies the special educational provision required for a child) which names the school will be allocated a place first. This will reduce the number of places available.

1.Catholic looked after or previously looked after children including those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted (See Notes 1 and 2).

2.Catholic (see Note 2) children living in the parish(es) served by the school

3.Catholic (see Note 2) children living outside the parish(es) served by the school

4.Other looked after or previously looked after children including those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted (see Note 1).

5.Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches (see Notes 3, 4 and 5)

6.Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion (see note 6)

7.Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader (see note 7)

8.Any other children not within categories 1-7.

First priority within the individual criteria will be given to applications for children who will have siblings (see Note 8) attending the school in years R - 6 at the proposed time of admission.

Distance Measurement

Within each criterion applications will be ranked on distance with priority given to children who live nearest to the academy using the same method of measurement as used by the Local Authority within which the academy is located (see below).

Distance measurement – Staffordshire

The local authority uses a geographical information system (GIS) to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant's home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant's home address are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.

Tie Breaker

In a very few cases, it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers for a place (e.g. children who live at the same address or have the same distance measurement). In this exceptional situation, if there is no other way of separating the applications then the school local governing body will admit the additional child above the published admission number. If, however, and subject to the limited exceptional circumstances set out in the School Admissions Code 2021 (2.16) where additional children may be admitted, where admission would result in the legal limit of 30 children being exceeded, then the place will be allocated by the drawing of lots supervised by someone independent of the school.

1. A ‘looked after child’ has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means any child who is

(a) in the care of a local authority or

(b) being provided with accommodation by them in the exercise of their social services functions (e.g. children with foster parents) at the time of making an application to the school.

A ‘previously looked after child’ is a child who was looked after, but ceased to be so because he or she was adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order. Included in this definition are those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and who ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

2. ‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church signed by a Catholic Priest and stamped with the parish stamp. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (i.e. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family).

For a child to be ranked as Catholic within the oversubscription criteria, evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest who, after consulting with the Diocese, will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the law of the Church.

3. ‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens or a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp.

4. ‘Candidate’ means a candidate for reception into the Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp

5. ‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is normally evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church.

6. ‘Children of other Christian denominations’ means children who belong to other churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service to the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above.

All members of Churches Together in England (CTE) and Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN) are deemed to be included in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the above basis.

Evidence will be a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification confirming the membership of the child signed by the minister of religion for that church.

7. ‘Children of other faiths’ means children who are members of a religious community that does not fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at note 7 above and which falls within the definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to include:

•A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and

•A religion which does not involve belief in a God.

Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of belief in that supreme being through worship.

This is evidenced by a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification confirming the membership of the child signed by the faith leader of the community.

8. ‘Siblings’ means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters with either one or both parents in common, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, or the child of a parent’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. It also includes natural brothers or sisters where the child for whom the school place is sought is not living in the same family unit as the same address as that sibling.

(i)all natural brothers or sisters, half brothers or sisters, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, whether or not they are living at the same address; and

(ii)the child of a parent’s partner where that child lives for at least part of the week in the same family unit at the same home address as the child who is the subject of the application.

9. A ‘parent’ means all-natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility for a child, and any person who has care of a child.

10. Home Address: The governors of each school use the same definition as used by the Local Authority within which the school is located and these are set out below:

Staffordshire: The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent/carer’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship) the friends or relatives address will not be considered for allocation purposes.

Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.

11. For the purposes of this policy, parish boundaries are as shown on the map available on the school website.

Admission arrangements 2026/2027 & 2025/2026

The school’s published admission number is 30.

The Catholic academies listed above are under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Nottingham and belong to the Nottingham Diocesan family of schools. They were founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The academies are conducted by the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with their trust deed and articles of association, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

As Catholic academies, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic academy, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the academy. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and be admitted to a place at the academy in accordance with these admission arrangements.

The St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust is the admission authority for all the schools within the Trust and is responsible for determining the admissions policy. On behalf of the Trust the admissions process is coordinated by the relevant Local Authority. 

All decisions relating to admission applications will be taken by the local governing body of the school applied for.

Application procedure and timetable

Applications must be made on the Common Application Form provided by your home Local Authority. Applications must be made to your home Local Authority by the national closing date of 15 January. 

In addition all applicants wishing to apply for a place under a faith criterion (oversubscription criteria 1-7) should complete the Supplementary Information Form. This form can be downloaded from the Local Authority website within which the school is located and is also available from the schools. The completed form, together with any required evidence, (see notes 3-8), should be returned to each Catholic school for which a preference has been specified, also, by the national closing date of 15 January.

If you do not provide the information required in this form and return it to the academy, with all supporting documentation, your child may not be placed in the appropriate faith category and this may affect your child’s chance of being offered a place.

All Applications - How places are allocated

The Local Authority forward details of all applicants to the relevant school local governing body. Using the information on both the Common Application Form and the Supplementary Form, each school local governing body draws up a ranked list using the oversubscription criteria listed below. The Local Authority then allocates places on behalf of the school up to the admissions number. When a place can be offered at more than one of the schools listed on your application, the Local Authority will offer a place at the highest preferred school where a place is available. 

Admission of Children below Compulsory School Age, Deferred Entry and Summer Born Children

If your child is offered a full time place before s/he reaches compulsory school age, you have the option of deferring the child’s entry up until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age. A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his/her fifth birthday (or on his/her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August. The place will be held and will not be offered to another child provided the place is taken up within the same academic year. 

Parents can request that their child attends school part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age. 

Parents who wish to request to defer a place to later in the school year or to attend school part-time are advised they should agree this with the school prior to the start of the autumn term.

Parents of summer born children, i.e. a child born between 1 April and 31 August, may choose not to send their child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted outside their normal age group to Reception Year rather than Year 1. However, parents need to be aware that if the request is approved (see below on decisions on applications for ‘admission outside normal age group) they will need to apply again in the next admissions round for a place in that Reception Year and should be aware that a place is not guaranteed as the application will be considered alongside all other applications in that year and the Oversubscription Criteria will still apply. 

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside the normal age group for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child, i.e. a child born between 1st April and 31st August, may request that the child be admitted out of their normal age group, to reception rather than year 1.

Should you wish to seek a place for your child outside their normal age group you should still make an application for a school place for your child’s normal age group and you should also submit a request for admission out of the normal age group. This request should be made in writing (including any supporting evidence) to the Chair of the Local Governing Body, c/o the school at the same time as the admission application is made. 

In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the school local governing body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals. A decision will then be made on which age group the child should be admitted taking into account the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child. 

In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the school local governing body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals. A decision will then be made on which age group the child should be admitted taking into account the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child.

Once that decision has been made the oversubscription criteria will be applied to determine if a place can be offered at the school. 

Your statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which you have applied is unaffected. However, the right to appeal does not apply if you are offered a place at the school but it is not in your preferred age group. 

The school is not required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with your Local Authority Primary Coordinated Admissions Scheme. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on time. 

Applications during the school year (In-Year Applications)

Details of the application process are available from the school and from the Local Authority within which the school is located. Once an application has been made, it will be passed to the school local governing body for consideration.

Offers of places may be withdrawn if they are offered in error, a parent has not responded within 10 school days of the offer letter issue or it is established that an offer was obtained through a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.

In cases involving school transfers that do not require a house move or where there is no need for an immediate move, arrangements may be made for the child to start school at the beginning of the following term to minimise disruption to their own and other children’s education. 

If your application is refused you have a statutory right to appeal (see ‘Appeals’ below). Your appeal should be lodged within twenty school days after the date of the decision letter.

Waiting Lists

Parents whose children have not been offered a place at a school in the normal admissions round will be added to the school’s Waiting List unless they have been offered a place at a higher preference school. The Waiting List will normally remain open until the end of the Autumn Term in the application year. However, schools may maintain the Waiting List until the end of the academic year. Please contact the relevant school to request further details. 

Waiting Lists are maintained in the same order as the oversubscription criteria listed below and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the Waiting List.

Any late applications will be added to the Waiting List in accordance with the oversubscription criteria and each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria, therefore your child’s position on the Waiting List may change and a child’s Waiting List position during the year could go up or down.

Inclusion on a school’s Waiting List does not mean that a place will eventually become available. 

Parents must make a further application for a school place in respect of a later academic year and if a place is not available the child’s name can be added to the Waiting List for that academic year. 

Appeals

If a child is not offered a place, parents/carers have a statutory right to appeal. This should be done by writing to the school setting out your grounds for appeal no later than twenty school days after the decision letter has been received. The appeal will be arranged on behalf of the school local governing body by the Catholic Schools Appeals Service and be heard by an independent panel. For St Mary’s, Marple Bridge appeals are arranged by Stockport Local Authority Democratic Services Department and should be submitted via the LA’s online form at Stockport Borough Council. All panel decisions will be binding on the school. 

Fair Access Protocols

Local Authorities are required to have Fair Access Protocols in order to make sure that unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admission authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any locally agreed protocol. The admission authority has this power, even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the PAN (subject to the infant class size exceptions).

Infant Class Size Regulations

Infant classes may not, by law, contain more than 30 pupils with a single qualified teacher. Parents/carers should be aware that when the Governing Body is considering applications for places, they must keep to the 30 limit. However, in accordance with the School Admissions Code 2014 (2.15) additional children may be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain as ‘excepted pupils’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit. Parents/Carers do have a right of appeal in accordance with the Infant Class Size Regulations if the school is oversubscribed and their child is refused a place.

Applications for twins / multiple birth children

Where the final place available is offered to a child from a twin or multiple birth the school local governing body will normally offer places to both twins, triplets etc even if this means exceeding the published admission number as long as the governing body decides that the education of pupils in that year group would not be detrimentally affected. 

Attendance at Nursery

For children attending the school’s nursery, application to the reception class of the school must be made in the normal way, to the home local authority using the Common Application Form. Attendance at the school’s nursery or a pre-school setting on the site of the school does not guarantee that a place will be offered at the school and does not give any priority within the oversubscription criteria.

Transfers from Infant Schools

This policy also applies to applications from parents who wish to transfer children from an infant school to Year 3 in one of the schools. Your home Local Authority will provide information about how this can be done. However, parents need to be aware that the schools are primary schools (age 4–11) places may have already been filled.

Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces) and returning crown servants

For families of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or crown servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the Governors will:

• Process an application in advance of the family arriving in the area provided it is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address to use when considering the application against the school's oversubscription criteria.
• Accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for admissions purposes for a service child. 

The Governors will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area.

Fraudulent Information

The school local governing body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place or, if a child is already attending the school, the place itself, where it is satisfied that the offer or place was obtained on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information. 

Oversubscription Criteria

Where a school has more applications than places available the school local governing body will draw up a ranked list based on the criteria listed below and will allocate places accordingly.

In accordance with legislation Pupils with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) (a plan made by the Local Authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which specifies the special educational provision required for a child) which names the school will be allocated a place first. This will reduce the number of places available. 

1. Catholic looked after or previously looked after children including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. (See Notes 1 and 2). 
2. Catholic (see Note 2) children living in the parish(es) served by the school 
3. Catholic (see Note 2) children living outside the parish(es) served by the school 
4. Other looked after or previously looked after children (see Note 1).
5. Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches (see Notes 3, 4 and 5) 
6. Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion (see note 6) 
7. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader (see note 7) 
8. Any other children not within categories 1-7. 

First priority within the individual criteria will be given to applications for children who will have siblings (see Note 8) attending the school in years R - 6 at the proposed time of admission.

Distance measurement

Within each criterion applications will be ranked on distance with priority (after sibling priority) given to children who live nearest to the school using the same method of measurement as used by the Local Authority within which the academy is located (see below).

Distance measurement – Staffordshire

The local authority uses a geographical information system (GIS) to calculate home to school distances in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant's home address to the main front gate of the school. The coordinates of an applicant's home address are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.

Tie-breaker

In a very few cases, it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers for a place (e.g. children who live at the same address or have the same distance measurement). In this exceptional situation, if there is no other way of separating the applications then the local school governing body will admit the additional child above the published admission number. If however, and subject to the limited exceptional circumstances set out in the School Admissions Code 2014 (2.15) where additional children may be admitted, admission would result in the legal limit of 30 children being exceeded, then the place will be allocated by the drawing of lots supervised by someone independent of the school. 

Notes (these form part of the oversubscription criteria)

1. 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 in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to a school. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.

Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order). This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and children who were adopted under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. 

2. ‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church signed by a Catholic Priest and stamped with the parish stamp. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (i.e. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family).

For a child to be ranked as Catholic within the oversubscription criteria, evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest. 

3. ‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens or a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp. 

4. ‘Candidate’ means a candidate for reception into the Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp. 

5. ‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church. 

6. ‘Children of other Christian denominations’ means children who belong to other churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service to the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above. 

All members of Churches Together in England (CTE) and Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN) are deemed to be included in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the above basis. 

Evidence will be a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the minister of religion for that church. 

7. ‘Children of other faiths’ means children who are members of a religious community that does not fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at note 7 above and which falls within the definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to include: 

• A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and
• A religion which does not involve belief in a God. 

Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of belief in that supreme being through worship. 

This is evidenced by a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the religious leader of the community. 

8. ‘Siblings’ means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters with either one or both parents in common, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, or the child of a parent’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. It also includes natural brothers or sisters where the child for whom the school place is sought is not living in the same family unit as the same address as that sibling. 

(i) all natural brothers or sisters, half brothers or sisters, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, whether they are living at the same address; and

(ii) the child of a parent’s partner where that child lives for at least part of the week in the same family unit at the same home address as the child who is the subject of the application.

9. A ‘parent’ means all natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility for a child, and any person who has care of a child. 

10. Home Address: The governors of each school use the same definition as used by the Local Authority within which the school is located. 

Staffordshire: The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent/carer’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship) the friends or relatives address will not be considered for allocation purposes. Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.

11. For the purposes of this policy, parish boundaries are as shown on the map available on the school website.