St Peter's Church of England Primary, Caverswall

Admissions arrangements 2023/2024, 2024/2025 & 2025/2026

St Peter’s Primary is a Church of England Aided school, which means that the Governing Body of the school is the Admissions Authority and produces its own Admissions Policy.

Children will be admitted to the Reception Class in the September following their fourth birthday. There is one intake each year.

The school has a Published Admission Number (PAN), which is the number of pupils that the school will admit into its Reception Class each year. The PAN is currently 28.

If the number of applicants for admission to the school exceeds the school’s PAN then the following order of priority will be used to allocate the available places:

1. Looked after children and children who ceased to be looked after because they were adopted (or became subject to a Child Arrangements 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. Children of families resident in the Church parish of Caverswall and who are regular church attenders either at St Peter’s Caverswall, St Andrew’s Weston Coyney or another Anglican church.*
3. Children with an older brother or sister (including step-children) in the school at the time the additional child joins.
4. Children of families who regularly worship at St Peter’s Church or St Andrew’s Church but who live outside the church parish.*
5. Children who live in the electoral parish of Caverswall, which alongside the village of Caverswall, includes Cookshill, Caverswall Common and Roughcote.
6. Children of families who regularly worship at another Christian church.**
7. Other requests from families living outside the electoral parish of Caverswall.

‘Tie Break’

Distance – how near the home address is to the school is the criteria used in any tie break decision. This will be measured as the “crow flies”.

Pupils whose statutory statement of special needs names St Peter’s as the preferred mainstream school which most appropriately meets their needs, will be allocated a place. This is statutory.

The closing date for admissions is in line with the Admissions Policy for Staffordshire. Parents who have been refused admission will be advised by the beginning of April.

When it is necessary to implement the Admissions Policy, decisions will be made by a committee of the Governing Body dealing with admissions.

Any parent whose child is refused admission has the right to appeal against the decision. The process will be undertaken by an independent appeal panel. Parents will be notified of a place being granted or refused following an appeal at the earliest opportunity.

* one or both parents on the church electoral roll and children are baptised or intending to be baptised. (NB children of parents whose parents are clerks in holy orders who are not eligible to be on the electoral role will be considered)

* supported if necessary by a letter from the Vicar or Churchwarden of the parish.

** supported if necessary by a letter from their Minister.

Deferred Entry to Reception Class

The Directorate will consider requests from parents to retain a place in the preferred school where the parents wish to defer their child’s entry to Reception Class until January in the same academic year. Where it is possible to offer a place, deferral will be supported if the request is made at the normal time of application.

Repeat Applications

Repeat applications will only be considered in the same academic year unless there have been significant and material changes in the circumstances of the applicant.

Late Applications

Application forms received after the closing date will be considered alongside those applicants who applied on time where there were exceptional reasons, which prevented the applicant from applying by the closing date, eg a family changes its address and was unable to apply within the deadline or needs to make new school preferences.

A late application does not affect the right of appeal or to be placed on a school’s waiting list.

Waiting Lists

When parents appeal against a refusal to offer a place for their child at their preferred school, the child’s name will automatically be placed on a waiting list in case any further places become available. Parents who decide not to appeal can also ask for their child’s name to be included on the waiting list. If any places subsequently become available at the school, children on the waiting list will be given priority in accordance with the published oversubscription criteria. Waiting lists will be kept until the end of the first term of the new academic year.

The Children and Lifelong Learning Directorate operates additional waiting lists for Key Stage 1 classes in cases where applications from catchment area pupils have been refused because of the Class Size Initiative. If any places subsequently become available at the school, children on the waiting list will be given priority in accordance with the published oversubscription criteria.

Inclusion on a school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available at the preferred school.

A child’s position on a waiting list is not fixed and is subject to change during the year i.e. they can go up or down the list.

Application forms for admission may be obtained from the Office Support Manager, St Peter’s CE (A) Primary School. They are then kept on file until the time arrives for the Governors to make admission decisions regarding a particular year.

Do not hesitate to contact the school on 01782 393118 if you have any queries regarding admissions.