Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School

2025/2026 and 2024/2025

2023/2024 

Admission arrangements 2025/2026 & 2024/2025

Admission Numbers

Nursery - The school has an admission number of 26 full time equivalent places for entry in year Nursery.

Applications for Nursery places are made directly to the school, which are recorded when they are received.The 26 places available are allocated on a first come first served basis and confirmation of a place will be within 5 working days of receipt of application. Applications to Nursery can be made to the school up to a year before your child is eligible for a place.

Reception - The school has an admission number of 30 for entry in year Reception.

Applications for Reception places are managed by Staffordshire County Council. Prospective parents can download application forms (including forms for mid-year applications) from the Staffordshire website. Parents of children not living in Staffordshire should apply through their home local authority.

The school will accordingly admit up to the admission number for Reception. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number for the relevant year group are received, the school will offer places to all those who have applied. If oversubscribed, places will be allocated in line with the oversubscription criteria below.

Oversubscription Criteria for Reception

When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order.

1. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those 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.
2. Priority will next be given to the siblings of pupils attending the school at the time the application is received. Where an elder sibling is in Year 6, siblings will not be prioritised under this criterion.**
3. Priority will be next given to children resident within the priority area of the school, a copy of which can be obtained from the school office or Staffordshire County Council Catchment areas - Staffordshire County Council
4. Children who are attending the nursery at Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School, which is based at the school, and who are in receipt of the Early Years Pupil Premium.
5. Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school determined by a straight-line measurement *.

Tie-Break

If necessary, random allocation undertaken by the local authority will be used as a tie-break in categories 2-5 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy is equidistant in any two or more cases.

Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twin and triplets etc.) from the same family tied for the final place. We will admit them all, as permitted by the infant class size rules and exceed our PAN .

Notes

*Home Address:The home address is where a child normally lives. Where a child lives with parents with shared parental responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which residential address should be used for the purpose of admission to school. If no joint declaration is received where the residence is split equally by the closing date for applications, the home address will be taken as the address where the child is registered with the doctor. If the residence is not split equally between both parents, then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week.

**Siblings:‘Sibling’ means a natural brother or sister, a half brother or sister, a legally adopted brother or sister or half-brother or sister, a stepbrother or sister or other child living in the same household as part of the same family who, in any of these cases, will be living at the same address at the date of their application for a place.

Additional Notes

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required for the application to be assessed against the published admissions criteria, the governors will not seek to obtain this information on behalf of the applicant.

Copies of the school catchment area are available from the school or Local Authority. 

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 using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.

The requirement of the Governing Body to meet the infant class sizes legislation may result in the refusal of catchment area or sibling applications where a class has already reached its limit of 30 pupils. However, as an exception, the Governing Body will consider offering places above the admissions number to applications from children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is still admitted even when there are no other vacant places.

It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case. The local authority is not able to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately.

Waiting lists - The school will operate a waiting list. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until 31 December. This will be maintained by the Academy Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application.

Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

Deferred entry for infants - Parents offered place in reception for their child have a right to defer the date their child is admitted, or to take the place up part-time, until the child reaches compulsory school age. Places cannot be deferred beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer was made.

Children reach compulsory school age on the prescribed day following their 5th birthday (or on their fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March.

Admission of children outside their normal age group - Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. To do so parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested.

When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.

Late applications - Applications received by the local authority after the closing date will be considered alongside those applicants who applied on time wherever possible. Where it is not practicable because places have already been allocated or are shortly to be allocated, then late applicants will be considered only after those that were made on time.

In year admission arrangements - Parents or carers seeking admission to an established year group “midyear” may make an application directly to the school using the in-year application form.

Appeals - All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code.

Appellants should contact the School Administrator or us by the date provided in the decision letter for information on how to appeal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process can be found on our website

Admissions to primary schools in Staffordshire 2024-2025

You need to apply for September 2024 if your child's fifth birthday is between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020 for a place at first, infant or primary school.

Staffordshire County Council’s School Admissions and Transport Service (SA&TS) will coordinate all admissions at all maintained schools in Staffordshire, including all voluntary aided and foundation as well as academy schools in respect of applications for school places at the normal age of entry.

The Service:

1. This service meets the requirement for a coordinated admission scheme under The School Admissions (Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements (England)) Regulations 2012 and applies to applications made by Staffordshire parents for all maintained schools and academies at the normal age of entry (except special schools and nurseries.
2. The purpose of the service is to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable,
   • each parent who applies for a school place at the normal age of entry receives only one single offer of a school place under the scheme, whether that be at a school within the county, or one maintained by another authority, and,
   • a child is granted admission to whichever of the schools that is ranked highest on that application wherever possible.
3. Parents of children resident in the county of Staffordshire must make an application for the normal age of entry through Staffordshire County Council to apply for any school within Staffordshire or in another authority.

Summary

Closing date for applications 15 January 2024

Parents notified of outcomes 16 April 2024

Parents will have at least two weeks after the date of offer to notify the authority as to whether he/she wishes to accept the place offered where relevant to the individual school admission arrangements.

It is the Governors’ policy to avoid any form of discrimination on grounds of a child’s ability, religion or race. The school will attempt to make provision for children with disabilities.

Entry later than September, Parents moving to the area, or those who wish to move their child to the school, should contact the school directly.

Admission arrangements 2023/2024 & 2022/2023

Admission number

The school has an admission number of 30 for entry in year Reception.

The school will accordingly admit this number of pupils if there are sufficient applications. Where fewer applicants than the published admission number for the relevant year group are received, the Academy Trust will offer places at the school to all those who have applied.

Application process

The applications will be processed through the normal Staffordshire local authority process for co-ordinating school offers. You will need to complete your local authority common application form for all your school choices.

The closing date for applications is 15 January.

Offers will be made on 16 April. If we have not entered into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State opening the school by that date, they will be conditional offers and will be confirmed once we have a signed funding agreement.

Oversubscription criteria  

When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan naming the school, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in priority order:

1. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those 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
   
   
2. Priority will be next given to children resident within the priority area of the school, a copy of which can be obtained from the school office or Staffordshire County Council.
   
   
3. Priority will next be given to the siblings of pupils attending the school at the time the application is received.  Where an elder sibling is in Year 6, siblings will not be prioritised under this criterion. 
   
   
4. Children who are attending the nursery at Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School, which is based at the school, and who are in receipt of the Early Years Pupil Premium.
   
   
5. Children who have a parent who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School for which there has previously been a difficulty with recruitment or retention. The Headteacher of the school will confirm whether or not there has been difficulty with recruitment or retention for the post-holder.
   
   
6. Other children arranged in order of priority according to how near their home addresses are to the main gate of the school determined by a straight-line measurement.

Tie-break

If necessary, random allocation undertaken by the local authority will be used as a tie-break in categories 2-7 above to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy is equidistant in any two or more cases. 

The Local Authority uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate home to school distance 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 is determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data. 

Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twin and triplets etc.) from the same family tied for the final place.  We will admit them all, as permitted by the infant class size rules and exceed our PAN.

Notes

Home address

The home address is where a child normally lives.  Where a child lives with parents with shared parental responsibility, each for part of a week, the address where the child lives is determined using a joint declaration from the parents stating the pattern of residence. If a child’s residence is split equally between both parents, then parents will be asked to determine which residential address should be used for the purpose of admission to school. If no joint declaration is received where the residence is split equally by the closing date for applications, the home address will be taken as the address where the child is registered with the doctor. If the residence is not split equally between both parents then the address used will be the address where the child spends the majority of the school week.

Sibling

Sibling means a natural brother or sister, a half brother or sister, a legally adopted brother or sister or half-brother or sister, a step brother or sister or other child living in the same household as part of the same family who, in any of these cases, will be living at the same address at the date of their application for a place.

Late applications

Applications received by the local authority after the closing date will be considered alongside those applicants who applied on time wherever possible. Where it is not practicable because places have already been allocated or are shortly to be allocated, then late applicants will be considered only after those that were made on time.

A late application does not affect the right of appeal or the right to be placed on a school’s waiting list.

Deferred entry for infants

Parents offered a place in reception for their child have a right to defer the date their child is admitted, or to take the place up part-time, until the child reaches compulsory school age. Places cannot be deferred beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer was made.

Children reach compulsory school age on the prescribed day following their 5th birthday (or on their fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group.  To do so parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission out of normal year group is being requested.

When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent.

Waiting lists

The school will operate a waiting list. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until 31 December 2022. This will be maintained by the Academy Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application.

Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the oversubscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list. 

In-year admission arrangements

Parents or carers seeking admission to an established year group “midyear” may make an application directly to the school using the in year application form.

Appeals

All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the school admission appeals code.

Appellants should contact the school administrator or us by the date provided in the decision letter for information on how to appeal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process can be found on our website.