Admission Age

It is planned to admit 35 pupils into the reception cohort each year, under a single-point intake system. This means that all children who have been offered a place will be able to start full time education at the same time, in the September following their fourth birthday. The school year runs from 1 September to 31 August. However, reception pupils starting at the beginning of the autumn term have a staggered start during the first two weeks of term.

On the offer of a place parents have the right to defer admission until their child reaches statutory school age, provided the place is taken up within the same academic year. Parents can request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age.

A booklet called ‘Starting School’, designed to help parents prepare and settle their children into the reception class, is available from the school office. As part of this pre-school preparation, parents will be invited to bring their children into school for visits. If your child attends the Nursery they will already have been visiting the school and their new class regularly. A separate admission system is operated for the pre-school children who wish to attend the nursery.

Admissions Policy

The ethos of this school is to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all of its pupils. We ask all parents applying for a place here to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community. This does not affect the right of parents who are not of the faith of this school to apply for and be considered for a place here.

Parents wishing their children to be admitted to the school, either into the reception classes or higher up the school, should complete the Local Authority admission form for submission to the governors. The Headteacher is always pleased to show parents around the school and to answer any questions.

Applications for the reception class should be made to the Local Authority the year BEFORE your child is due to start school. The school will observe the co-ordinated scheme for admission to primary school, as published in the Derbyshire County Council Guide for Parents, which can be obtained from the Local Authority and on the Derbyshire County Council website www.derbyshire.gov.uk/admissions.

The admissions committee of the governing body will meet to consider all applications and then return them to the Local Authority, who will inform parents of their decision in line with the coordinated scheme as above.

The school is pleased to consider applications from families not resident in the area usually served by the school, under the criteria set out below.

Where applications for admissions exceed the number of places available, after the admission of pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs where the school is named in the Statement, the following criteria will be applied, in descending order of priority, to decide which children to admit.

1. Children looked after by a Local Authority or adopted children who were previously in care (as defined in the School Admissions Code).

2. Children from families living in the ecclesiastical parish (beneficial area) in which the school is situated, with siblings. Older sibling should be attending school at the time of application and admission (See map, which is available at school) (Footnote 1).

3. Children from families living in the ecclesiastical parish (beneficial area) in which the school is situated, without siblings.

4. Children of whom at least one parent or carer has regularly (Footnote 2) worshipped at their local Church for a period of at least 1 year prior to the date of application. (Footnote 3).

5. Children living outside the area but with a sibling already attending the school.

6. Children living outside the area but without a sibling already attending the school.

In the event of the school being oversubscribed in any of the above criteria the distance tie-breaker will be applied:

Distance will be measured from the front door of the child’s home address to the main entrance of the school (using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system). Those living closer to the school receive the higher priority. If the distance between two or more children’s house and the school is the same, the allocation of the place will be made by the drawing of lots.

In cases where the last available place pertains to a single place of residence from which two or more applications have been received (twins, triplets etc, or of armed forces personnel) the statutory limit may be exceeded.

Footnote 1

Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister or the child of the parent/carers partner where the child from whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.

Footnote 2

Regular means an average attendance of once per month.

Footnote 3

Regular Church attendance must be verified by a letter from the relevant priest, minister or churchwarden which parents must obtain and provide to the school by the closing date for applications. Although not compulsory, it assists the school if parents could complete the school admission supplementary form and return direct to school.

Although the demand for places varies from year to year past experience shows that applications have been successful from all 5 admission criteria.

The school operates a waiting list and should any places become available these will be offered to parents on the waiting list irrespective of any pending appeals.

It is the school’s policy to maintain the total number of pupils to between 220 and 245, as far as possible. Only in exceptional circumstances will Key Stage 2 classes have more than 35 pupils. It is a statutory requirement for Key Stage 1 (infant) classes not to exceed thirty pupils. Consequently, the Infant department now has a new fourth classroom and the four infant classes are usually organised as follows (dependent upon numbers admitted):

Thirty youngest reception pupils- Yellow Class
Five oldest reception pupils combine with the fifteen youngest year one pupils – Red Class
Twenty oldest year one pupils combine with the five youngest year two pupils – Green Class
Thirty oldest year two pupils – Blue Class
All pupils are strictly organised into classes according to their age, although they are grouped according to ability for numeracy and literacy
Class lists are finalised by the end of the Summer half-term in readiness for the start of the following academic year
Pupils will only change classes at the start of an academic year
Whenever a place becomes available after the Summer half-term it will be filled by the next pupil on the waiting list for that particular year group regardless of date of birth
For any parents wishing to appeal against the governors’ refusal to admit a child information and appeals forms are available at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/admissions or by contacting:

Business Services (School Admissions & Transport Team)

Children & Younger Adults Department

Council House

Saltergate

Chesterfield

Derbyshire S41 1LF

Appeal Deadlines

The School Admission Appeals Code 2012 at Section 2.1 states that appeals for applications made in the normal admissions round, which in this case is Reception and Junior applications for September 2024/25, must be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals. 

Timescales for appeals being heard

For decisions notified on National Offer Day, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals.

For decisions relating to late applications notified after the National Offer Days, appeals should be heard with 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

• Parents will be given 10 school days’ notice of the date and arrangement of the appeals hearing.
• The deadline by which the appellant must submit any further evidence is 6 days prior to the appeals hearing.
• Admission authorities must submit their evidence 5 school days prior to the appeal hearing.
• The clerk will send out the appeal papers at least 5 school days prior to the appeal hearing.
• The clerk will notify the appellant of the decision within 5 school days of the appeal hearing.

Further details are available on Derbyshire’s website