Poppyfield Primary Academy
Admission arrangements 2025/2026, 2024/2025, 2023/2024
The published Admission number for place in Reception at Poppyfield Primary Academy is 30.
Where applications exceed the number of places available the following criteria will be applied in the order set put below:
- Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement 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.
- Children who have an older sibling in attendance at the school when the application is made and who will still be attending the school at the proposed admission date
For the purposes of this policy a brother or sister/sibling is:
- A brother or sister sharing the same parents
- A half brother or half sister where two children share one common parent
- A step brother or step sister where two children are related by marriage
- Any other child for whom it can be demonstrated that he or she is residing permanently at the same address (e.g. under the terms of a residency order/special guardianship or adoption)
3. Children who reside within the catchment area for Poppyfield Academy – see additional map for details (266 KB)
4. Priority will next be given to children eligible for the pupil premium. Evidence of eligibility will need to be submitted with the application. See notes below on eligibility.
5. Children who have a parent who is a member of staff at the preferred academy
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 as calculated by the local authority’s geographical information system.
Children with Education, Health Care Plans (EHCP)
Children who have an Education Heath Care plan which names Poppyfield Primary Academy as the most suitable school will be admitted before all other applicant.
Eligibility for Pupil Premium Guidance
Free School Meals Priority:
Those eligible for free school meals admission priority are:
- children who are currently registered as eligible for free school meals
- children who for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
-
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application.
Pupil Premium Priority
Those eligible for Pupil Premium admission priority are:
- children who are currently registered as eligible for free school meals
- children who have been registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years
- children for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals, [or has been in the past 6 years] but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application.
Pupil and Service Premium Priority
Those eligible for Pupil Premium admission priority are:
- children who are currently registered as eligible for free school meals
- children for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals, [or has been in the past 6 years] but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
-
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Those eligible for Service Premium admission priority are:
- children whose parent(s) are serving in the regular UK armed forces
- children of ex regular UK armed forces personnel who were serving in the last 3 years
- children where at least one parent died while serving in the UK armed forces and the child is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS)
Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application.
Poppyfield Academy is a brand new one form primary school, for children aged 4 to 11 years old in Cannock in Staffordshire Local Authority and is part of Victoria Academies Trust situated in Cannock. Victoria Academies is an established multi academy trust created on 1st January 2014. Led by our founder chief executive, Andrew Morrish, we continue to build a family of like-minded schools who share our passion for real, immersive and purposeful learning. As a result we have a proven track-record for transforming our schools.
Our academies are currently situated in a number of local authorities across the West Midlands including Staffordshire, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall and Worcestershire. All of our schools are within a one-hour’ drive of each other. Our core purpose – our reason for being – is to make our people become the best they can be.
We have an audacious and ambitious goal that drives all that we do: To be most known as a trust that transforms its academies into brilliant, pioneering schools that stand-out through innovation and social change.
Our aim is to ensure all our academies have simple, consistent admissions arrangements that focus on serving the local community, reflect our vision and values and are as easy as possible for parents/carers of potential pupils to understand.
Admission number(s)
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(s) 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. Applications for this school should be sent to Staffordshire School Admissions Service.
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.
The application can be made online at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/admissions
When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs 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 arrangement 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 older sibling is in year 6 siblings will not be prioritised under this criterion
3. Priority will next be given to children eligible for the pupil premium. Evidence of eligibility will need to be submitted with the application. See notes below on eligibility.
4. Other children
Tie-break
‘If in categories 2-5 above a tie-break is necessary to determine which child is admitted, the child living closest to the school will be given priority for admission.
Distance is measured from the child’s home to the front gates of the school in a straight line 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 and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.
If necessary, random allocation will be undertaken by the local authority as a further tie-break 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 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/free school is equidistant in any two or more cases.’ Random allocation will not be applied to multiple birth siblings (twins 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.
Late applications
Preferences received 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 preferences will be considered only after those that were made before this point. 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 and the year group in which they wish their child to be allocated a place. 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 it is oversubscribed. Where the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate until the end of 31st 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.
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 Staffordshire County Council for information on how to appeal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process is on our website at www.staffordshirecountycouncil.co.uk
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.
Free School Meals Priority
Those eligible for free school meals admission priority are:
- children who are currently registered as eligible for free schools meals
- Children for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 5 Published: September 2018
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application
Pupil Premium Priority
Those eligible for Pupil Premium admission priority are:
- children who are currently registered as eligible for free schools meals
- children who have been registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years Children for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals, [or has been in the past 6 years] but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application
Pupil and Service Premium Priority
Those eligible for Pupil Premium admission priority are:
- Children who are currently registered as eligible for free schools meals
- Children for whom their parents cannot provide evidence that their child is currently registered for free school meals, [or has been in the past 6 years] but where the child or its parents receive any of the following:
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- an income-related employment and support allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that, from 6 April 2011, does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
- where a parent is entitled to the Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Those eligible for Service Premium admission priority are:
- children whose parent(s) are serving in the regular UK armed forces
- children of ex regular UK armed forces personnel who were serving in the last 3 years
- children where at least one parent died while serving in the UK armed forces and the child is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).
Parents will be required to provide evidence of eligibility with their application.