St. Paul’s C. of E. Primary School
Mission Statement
We aim to promote a love of learning within a safe and happy school in which every person matters. Christian values and spirituality are at the heart of all aspects of school life. We provide a creative and challenging curriculum in order to encourage children’s confidence and self-esteem. We work in partnership with governors, parents and our local parish community and celebrate success in all that we do.
The Governing Body is responsible for the admission of pupils to St Paul’s C of E Primary School and admits 30 pupils to reception each September. This admission number has been agreed between the Governing Body and the Local Authority and applies to the school year 2017/18.
Admissions Policy 2017/18
(A) Foundation Places
The Governing Body has designated ten places to be offered as Foundation places.
The definition of a Foundation place is: pupils whose parent/carer is an active member of the worshipping community in St. Paul’s, Hook or another Christian Church in the parish of Hook with Southborough. (See criterion e) Note: An active member of a worshipping community is defined as an adult attending at least two acts of Parish worship each month over a period of at least one year prior to application. Written evidence of applicants' commitment to their place of worship will be required at the time of application on the School’s Supplementary Information Form which must be returned to the School. If there are more than ten applicants, places will be allocated according to the following criteria. These are stated in order of priority:
a. Looked after children are children who are in the care of a local authority, or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions as defined by Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to the school. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after immediately prior to being adopted, or who became subject to a residence order, (now termed child arrangement order under the Children & Families Act 2014), or special guardianship order. The Governors will require written confirmation that the child is looked after, or previously looked after, and will be so at the time of making an application to the school.
b. Children who are applying for a Foundation Place (as defined above) with exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at St Paul’s school. This must be supported by written evidence, e.g., from a specialist health professional, social worker, or educational psychologist which sets out the reasons why this school is the most suitable and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school
c. Those who are applying for a Foundation Place having full, step-, half, adopted or fostered brothers or sisters living in the same household and who will be attending the school at the time of admission.
d. Those who are applying for a Foundation Place having at least one parent (or person with parental responsibility) who is an active member of the worshipping community at St. Paul's Church, Hook. If you are applying under this criterion, a supplementary form (Supplementary Application Form - 2017/18) needs to be completed. Those who have moved into the area in the previous year and have become a member of a church within the parish should have the supplementary form signed by their former minister as well as their current minister.
e. Those who are applying for a Foundation Place having at least one parent or person with parental responsibility who is an active member of the worshipping community of Chessington and Hook. This includes: Hook St. Paul’s Church, St. Catherine of Siena, Chessington Evangelical Church, Hook Evangelical Church, St. Mary’s in Chessington and the Community Church in Surbiton. In all cases this will apply to families for whom St. Paul’s is the nearest church school. All applications must be supported by the minister of the Church attended. If you are applying under this criterion, a supplementary form needs to be completed.
f. Those who are applying for a Foundation Place living nearest to the school. All distances will be measured by a straight line to the nearest school gate. All distances will be measured using the School Admissions computerised Geographical Information System (see Primary School Admissions booklet for an explanation of how distance is measured).
Unsuccessful applications for a Foundation Place will automatically be considered for Open Place.
In the event that two or more applicants live the same distance from the school and there are insufficient places to admit all applicants, places will be allocated by drawing lots.
If there are less than ten qualified applicants for Foundation Places, any unfilled places will become additional Open Places. Unsuccessful qualified applicants for Foundation Places will be considered for any Open Places remaining unfilled.
(B) Open Places
The Governing Body has designated twenty places each year as Open Places, to be offered to pupils who do not qualify for a Foundation Place, but whose parents have chosen the school for the type of education it provides. Parents applying for Open Place do so knowing that the school aims to provide an education based on Christian principles and, therefore, the Governing Body hopes that all pupils will take part in the Christian worship of the school and attend religious education lessons.
If there are more than twenty applicants, places will be allocated according to the following criteria. These are stated in order of priority:
a. Looked after children are children who are in the care of a local authority, or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions as defined by Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to the school. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after immediately prior to being adopted, or who became subject to a residence order, (now termed child arrangement order under the Children & Families Act 2014), or special guardianship order. The Governors will require written confirmation that the child is looked after, or previously looked after, and will be so at the time of making an application to the school.
b. Children who are applying for Open Place with exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at St Paul’s school. This must be supported by written evidence, e.g. from a specialist health professional, social worker, or educational psychologist which sets out the reasons why this school is the most suitable and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school
c. Those who are applying for an Open Place having full, step-,half, adopted or fostered brothers or sisters living in the same household and who will be attending the school at the time of admission.
d. Those who are applying for an Open Place living nearest to the school. All distances will be measured by a straight line to the nearest school gate. All distances will be measured using the School Admissions computerised Geographical Information System (see Primary School Admissions booklet for an explanation of how distance is measured).
In the event of oversubscription in any of the above criteria, distance (as measured in d. above) will be used to determine between applicants. In the event that two or more applicants live the same distance from the school and there are insufficient places to admit all applicants, places will be allocated by drawing lots.
Waiting list
In the event that a class is full, a waiting list will be kept. The waiting list will be ranked in accordance with the above criteria and names will be kept on the list for three terms from the term of entry.
Initial Entry to Reception Class
The School is part of the locally agreed co-ordination scheme and the timescales for applications to be received and processed are those agreed with the local authority. Parents must complete their home Local Authority’s Common Application Form and return the form to their own Authority; if applying for a place at this School, parents must name this School as one of the preferences on the Common Application Form. Parents who wish to apply for a foundation place must also complete the school’s supplementary form and return this to the School. Failure to return the supplementary form will mean that the school cannot consider the application under the church criterion, in this case the application will be considered under the next most appropriate criterion based on the information on the Common Application Form. The closing date for applications 15th January 2016 coincides with that set by the Royal Borough of Kingston. Allocations of places are made by the Spring Term preceding the School Year of admission. Further details are available in the Primary Schools Information Booklet published by the Royal Borough of Kingston.
In Year Application
Parents who apply at any other time of the year must complete the in year Application Form available from Kingston School Admissions tel no 020 8547 4610 or email to ask for a copy, or download a copy from www.kingston.gov.uk ensuring that you include the name of the school on the form as one of your preferences. If applying for a Foundation place at this School, parents must complete the school’s supplementary form and return this form to the school as well as naming the School as one of the preferences on the Kingston’s In year Application Form.
All Classes
In accordance with legal requirements, infant class sizes (5, 6, 7 year olds) cannot exceed a maximum of 30 pupils and governors are required to abide by this limit in these classes.
Children educated outside their chronological age group
Parents seeking admission to an age group below their child’s actual age should submit their request with their application by the closing date of 15 January of the year when children of the actual same age are due to start school. Requests may be accompanied by professionally supported evidence to explain why their child should be considered to start school a year later than other children of their age. Each request and supporting evidence will be carefully considered and any educational, social and developmental reasons will be taken into account to arrive at a decision.Applying by the age appropriate deadlines will mean that in the event the request is refused, the applicant will still be considered for a place in their correct age group
Withdrawal of Places
The Governors reserve the right to withdraw any school place offered should any child's personal details be found to be incorrect e.g. if the permanent or principal address is found to be different to the one given on the application form, or if any other details are deliberately misleading, then the offer of a place may be withdrawn.
Equal Opportunities
As far as possible the school will ensure that all pupils have access to the same opportunities.
Tie Breaker
In the case of applicants who are tied on criteria a draw of lots will be held. This will be carried out by someone independent of the school and Governing body.
Late Applications
Applications for admission to reception class for the beginning of the Autumn term received after the closing date as set by Royal Borough of Kingston will be only be considered only after all those received by the closing date unless there is documentary evidence to prove that there were exceptional reasons that prevented the application from being on time.
Deferred Entry
The School admits children to the Reception class in the September of the school year in which a child attains the age of 5 years. (The school year runs from 1 September to the 31st August.) All parents/carers are entitled to a full-time place for their child in the reception class from September, but may defer entry until the beginning of the term after their child is five years old (ie, when the child reaches compulsory school age) or until the beginning of the summer term whichever is earlier. Children may attend part-time until their child reaches compulsory school age. Parents/carers who have been offered a place at the School and wish to defer entry for their child and/or attend part-time must put this in writing to the headteacher at the earliest opportunity and before the start of the autumn term.
Special Educational Needs
Parents of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs are required to apply for school places separately through the local authority from whom advice is available. If a child with a statement is placed in the school by the local authority before the normal admission round, the number of places available to other applicants will be reduced
Appeals
Parents or those with parental responsibility have the right to appeal against a decision by the Governing Body not to offer your child a place. Such appeals are heard by an independent appeal panel appointed by the Church of England. The decision of the panel is binding on the governing body of the school.
Fair Access protocol
Primary schools in Kingston have agreed a Fair Access protocol to ensure that children without a school place are placed quickly. Children admitted under this protocol take priority over any children on waiting lists.
The Governing Body of St Paul’s C of E Primary School adopted this admissions policy in March 2016