Admission
Admissions Limit and Application 2009
The Governing Body of St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is the Admissions Authority for this school. The governing body intends to admit up to 17pupils to the Reception year group in September 2009. This number will apply to the Reception Year and every other year group in the school. Where there are insufficient places available to meet all parental preferences, priority will be given to applications in the following order:-
1. Catholic Children who are Looked after Children (Children in the care of the Local Authority)
2. Catholic Children whose home address is within the parish boundaries of St Joseph’s Parish.
3 Catholic Children whose home address is outside the parish boundaries of St Joseph's Parish , but who regularly worship in the Church of St Joseph's Parish.
4. Catholic Children whose home address is outside the parish boundaries of St Joseph's Parish with a brother or sister already attending the school at the time of admission.
5. Catholic Children whose home address is outside the parish boundaries of St Joseph's Parish who do not have a brother or sister already attending the school at the time of admission.
6. Non Catholic Children who are Looked after Children (Children in the care of the Local Authority)
7.Children of other Christian denominations who have a brother or sister already attending the school at the time of admission.
8.Children of other Faith traditions who have a brother or sister at the school.
8.Children of other Christian denominations who do not have a brother or sister at the school
10.Children of other Faith traditions who do not have a brother or sister at the school.
11.Other children.
Additional notes
Catholic Children are children who have been baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church ie. Converts already baptised (But not in a Catholic Church) who have been formally received into the Catholic Church by their Parish Priest. All applicants seeking admission under these criterions will be asked to provide evidence that the child has been baptised as a Catholic or has been received into the Catholic Church.
If applicants are seeking admission under criteria 7,8,9 or 10 or above, they will be asked for a letter of support from their minister or Faith leader, or suitable equivalent. For Christian applicants a baptismal certificate should be provided.
Brothers and Sisters includeds full half or step siblings, foster siblings and children living at the same address who are part of the same family unit (criteria 4)
Special Medical or Social Needs
Children who have statement of Special Educational Need which names our school will be admitted to the school.
We will consider individual applications involving medical or social needs. This kind of application must be supported in writing by relevant professional agencies i.e. a doctor or social worker.
If your child has Special Educational Needs but does not have a "statement" of need then your application will be considered on the basis of the school's admission criterion.
If you believe your child's special needs are relevant to the reasons for applying to our school, for example on medical or social grounds, then you should tell us about this on your application form including why you want your child to attend our school and what difficulties it would cause should they not be accepted. In these circumstances you must also provide supporting evidence, in writing, from a professional i.e. a doctor or a social worker.
In exceptional circumstances we will determine if it is appropriate to allocate your child a place.
Tie-breaker
Where there are places available for some, but not all applicants within a particular criterion, distance from home address to the school entrance will be the deciding factor, with preference being given to those whose home address is nearest to the school, when measured by the shortest walking route way.
Right of Appeal
Where a parent has been notified that a place is not available for a child, every effort will be made to help the parent to find a place in a suitable alternative school. Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.Home Address
It is the parental address which will be used in applying the admission criteria. This means that, when stating your choice of school, you should give the parental/guardian address at the time of application. The address of childminders or other family members who may share in the care of your child should not be quoted as the home address.
Application Information
It is very helpful to have an early indication of the number of children to be admitted to the Reception class in the following September. However, it must be stressed that formal written applications for admission must be made on the form provided by the Local Authority and returned to them by the stated date. Places will then be allocated by strict application of the above criteria, with no reference to the date of application. Parents will be notified as to whether or not their child has been allocated a place in February 2009
Parents of non-Catholic children need to be aware that availability of places for siblings will depend upon the number of Catholic applications in that cohort.
Admission to St Leonard’s is in the gift of the Governing Body and non-Catholic children cannot assume that they will be granted a place.
1 The governors request that in this case governors may request a letter of support from a minister of religion or that parents consult with the local Parish Priest
2 Upon application a written statement detailing procedures would be made available to parents in order to comply with Dfee circular no 693
