MOUNT CARMELCATHOLICPRIMARY SCHOOL

Little Ealing Lane,Ealing, London W5 4EA

ADMISSION CRITERIA

September 2013

As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeates every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education is fully supported by all families in the school. All applicants are therefore expected to give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school.

Our Mission Statement is:

“I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full”John 10/10

At Mount Carmel School we provide for our pupils the highest possible standard of care. This is not purely academically but we acknowledge the importance of developing our children spiritually, morally, socially, physically, emotionally and psychologically – in accordance with the works and teachings of Jesus Christ.

We recognise that every child is an individual and accept that all children have special needs. Opportunities are provided for children to develop their gifts and become better equipped as human beings for their life’s journey towards a closer union with God.

We work with both the Diocese of Westminster and the London Borough of Ealing. In your Pack you will find the Supplementary Information Form and a provision for a Priest’s Reference. These should be completed and returned to school as instructed, together with a photocopy of your child’s Baptism Certificate and a proof of date of birth.

Over-subscription Criteria

The governing body has sole responsibility for admissions to this school, and in accordance withgovernment legislation, intends to admit 60 pupils to the Reception classes and 52 to the Nursery classes in 2013/14. Where there are moreapplications for places than the total places available, these will be offered according tothe following order of priority:

  1. Catholic looked-after children (including Catholic children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they are now adopted, subject of a residence order or special guardianship).
  1. Baptised children of practicing Catholic families who will have a sibling in the school on 1st September 2013.
  1. Baptised children of practicing Catholics who are resident in the parish of St Peter & Paul church (Northfields).
  1. Baptised children of practicing Catholics who are resident in neighbouring parishes of St Dunstan’s (Gunnersbury) and St John’s (Brentford).

(The distance from home to church is measured by straight-line, from a point in the property to the front door of SS Peter &Paul’s church. The measuring system is an integral part of the admission software produced by Tribal Technology Ltd. It uses Ordnance Survey maps and isaccurate to 1 metre.)

5. Other Catholic children.

6. Other looked after children (including children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they are now

adopted, subject of aresidence order or special guardianship).

7. Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church.

8. Christians of other denominations whose parents wish for them to have a Catholic education and whose application

is supported by a minister of religion.

9. Children of other faiths whose parents wish for them to have a Catholic education and whose application is

supported by a religious leader.

10.Any other applicants.

Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the categories listed above would lead to over-subscription, the following provisions will be applied:

  • Where compelling professional evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can only be met at this school. The applicant will be given top priority within each category.
  • A brother or sister in school on 1st September will increase the priority of an application within each category. We will not divide a family if possible if spaces are available.
  • Where there are twins, triplets and children from multiple births, and only one place available, the offer of a place will be decided by random allocation.

Tie Break

Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the categories listed above would still lead to over-subscription of 52, and 60 for nursery and reception class, the places will be offered to those living nearest to the front door of the Parish Church of St Peter & Paul, (The distance from home to church is measured by straight-line, from a point in the property to the front door of SS Peter & Paul’s church as stated in category 4).

In the event of a tie break of families living equidistant from the church, the tie break will be resolved by random allocation.

Application Procedures and Timetable

National offer day for primary schools will be on 16th April each year starting in 2014.

Please note that attendance of the Nursery does not give any priority for entry to Reception. All parents must apply for a place in Reception whether or not their child attends the Nursery.

Applications should be submitted on the standard forms attached to this document. Both the Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) together with the Schools “Supplementary Information Form” (SIF) should be completed and returned by the closing date. If you do not complete bothof the forms described above and return them by the closing date, the governing body will be unable to consider your application fully, and it is very unlikely that your child will offered a place at the school. Applications received after the closing date will be dealt with as soon as possible after the offer date.

Deferred Entry: Applications are invited for September 2013 from families whose child attains 4 years of age between 01/09/2012 and 31/08/2013.

Applicants may defer entry to school up until statutory school age i.e. the first day of term following the child’s fifth birthday. Application is made in the usual way and then the deferment is requested. The place will then be held until the first day of the Spring or Summer term. Applicants may also request that their child attend part-time until statutory school age or beyond the year of application. Applicants whose children have birthdays in the Summer term should be aware that, if they wish to defer, they will need to apply for a Year 1 place for the following September and if the school is oversubscribed they are very unlikely to obtain a place.

Please note all documentation required should be submitted with the application.

Waiting List – Showing Continuing Interest

In addition to their right of appeal, unsuccessful candidates will be offered the opportunity to be placed on file. This file will be maintained at least until 31/07/2014in order of the over-subscription criteria set out above and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the list.

In-Year Admissions

Applications for In-Year admissions are made in the same way asthose made during the normal admissions round. If a place is available and there is no waiting list, the local authority will be informed, The Common Application Form and the Supplementary Information form will be completed and the child will be admitted. If more applications are received than there are places available then applications will be ranked by the governing body in accordance with the oversubscription criteria, with the following modifications: Catholic children without an offer of a school place elsewhere are given priority immediately after Catholic ‘looked-after’ children; similarly, other children without an offer of a school place are given priority immediately after other ‘looked-after’ children. If a place cannot be offered at this time then you may ask us for the reasons and you will be informed of your right of appeal. You will be offered the opportunity of being placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained by the governing body in the order of the oversubscription criteria and not in the order in which the applications are received. When a place becomes available the governing body will decide who is at the top of the list so that the LEA can inform the parent that the school is making an offer.

Fair Access Protocols

The school is committed to taking account of the needs of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place, as set out in locally agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admissions round the governing body is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any local protocol that has been agreed by both the Diocese and the governing body for the current school year. The governing body has this power even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number

Pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs

The admission of pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. This procedure is integral to the making and maintaining statements by the pupil’s home Local Authority. Details of this separate procedure is set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practise.

Notes (these note form part of the over-subscription criteria)

‘Looked after child’ has the same meaning as in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989, and means any child in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by them (eg. children with foster parents).

‘Parent’ is the person or persons who have legal responsibility for the child.

‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

‘Practising’ means regular family attendance at Sunday Mass which is confirmed by the Diocesan Priest’s Reference. (‘Family’ normally includes the Catholic or Catholics who have legal responsibility for the child.)

‘Sibling’ refers to brothers and sisters, step brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters or adopted brothers and sisters.

‘Home Address’ is defined as the address at which the child resides for at least 50% of the school week.

‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens.

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

‘Christian’ is defined as a member of a Church which belongs to ‘Churches Together in Britain and Ireland’.

To demonstrate an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the governing body will require written evidence from an appropriate professional, such as a social worker, medicalconsultant or priest.

For the purpose of this policy, parish boundaries are as shown on the map attached. ((The distance from home to church is measured by straight-line, from a point in the property to the front door of SS Peter & Paul’s church. The measuring system is an integral part of the admission software produced by Tribal Technology Ltd. It uses Ordnance Survey maps and is accurate to 1 metre.)

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