All Saints CE (C) Primary, Rangemore
Admission arrangements 2025/2026, 2024/2025, 2023/2024
Our Admissions criterion ensures compliance with the new School Admissions Code 2021.
If the number of applications for admission to the school exceeds the Planned Admission Number (PAN) of:
12 Needwood
15 All Saints
The following order of priority will be used to allocate the available places.
Special Educational Needs – in accordance with s.324 Education Act 1996, All Saints and Needwood Primary Schools will automatically admit a child with a statement of Special Educational Needs / Education, Healthcare Plan that names the school. This is not an over-subscription criterion.
1) Internationally adopted previously looked after children (IAPLAC) other, relevant children in care, including those previously determined as Looked After Children. (That is, children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).
2) Children who have a sibling in attendance at the school at the time of application; (For admission purposes, a sibling is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parent’s marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.)
3) Pupils living within the catchment area of the school
4) Pupils who demonstrate a commitment to a Christian Church (supporting letter from clergy)
5) 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.
Admission of children below compulsory school age
a. a child is entitled to a full-time place in the September following their fourth birthday;
b. a child’s parents can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made; and
c. where the parents wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.
Admission Outside of the Normal Age Group (JTMAT policy)
Parents may request that their child be admitted to the Reception Class later in the same academic year in which the child reaches compulsory school age (i.e. beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday). The place will be held for the child in Reception and is not available to be offered to any other child within the same academic year in which it has been offered. Before deciding whether to defer their child’s entry to school, parents should visit their preferred school(s) to clarify how they cater for the youngest children in Reception and how the needs of these children are met as they move up through the school. The child will move to year one at the same time as their peers.
Parents may seek to apply to defer their child’s admission to reception for a whole academic year if their child has identified and significant Special Education Needs or Disability. These parents will need to make an application alongside children applying at the normal age which should explain why it is in the child’s best interest to be admitted outside of their normal age which should include information evidence as to why this is the case and why an exception should be made in the case of the child.
Parents do not have the right to insist their child is placed in a specific year group. The Education Endowment Foundation research indicates that, nationally, holding children back a year is to the significant detriment to their progress. The placing of children outside their chronological age can have significant detrimental effects on their academic, social and emotional development and as such we are mindful to only consider applications in which the evidence is compelling, specific and independent.
Schools will consider these requests on an individual basis based on a range evidence from professionals such as, but not exclusive; educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, doctors and pediatric consultants.
In successful applications schools will look to ensure the child is moved back into their chronological year group as soon as whenever this is in the best interests of the child.
Parents may wish to apply for their child to enter school into a year group above their chronological age. This may relate to children due to join reception or at any other time in their primary school education. Schools will request evidence from parents (and other schools if appropriate) which demonstrates the child is working at a significantly higher level than is expected for a child of that age.
Distance Measurements
The Local Authority uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate home to school distances 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 Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point Data.
Tie-breaker
If there are a limited number of spaces available and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be randomly selected. This process will be independently verified
Repeat Applications
The governing body will not consider repeat applications 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 only where there are exceptional reasons which prevented the applicant from applying by the closing date, e.g. a family changes 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 the school’s waiting list.
Applications other than the normal intake year
An application should be made directly to the school.
Operation of a waiting list
A waiting list will be operated in admission criteria order and will remain open until at least the end of the Autumn term the following year and will then be discarded. Parents may apply to remain on the waiting list if they so wish.
Closing Date
For Primary admissions there will now be a National closing date published by Staffordshire County Council.
Full time places in reception classes will be available in September of the academic year within which the child becomes five years old.
It is the Academy’s policy to try and meet parents’ wishes where possible, however in some cases there may be more applications than there are places available.
Oversubscription criteria
If the total number of preferences for admission to a school exceeds the Published Admission Number of 15 (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places.
1) Children in Care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order) as defined by the Children Act 1989.
2) Children who satisfy both of the following tests:
Test 1: the child is distinguished from the great majority of other applicants either on their own medical grounds or by other exceptional circumstances.
Medical grounds must be supported by a medical report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application). This report must clearly justify, for health reasons only, why it is better for the child’s health to attend the Academy.
Exceptional circumstances must relate to the Academy and the individual child, i.e. the circumstances of the child, not the economic or social circumstances of the parent/carer. They should be supported by a professional report (obtained by the applicant and provided at the point of application), e.g. social worker. This report must clearly justify why it is better for the child to attend the Academy rather than any other school.
and
Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the Academy.
Hardship means severe suffering of any kind, not merely difficulty or inconvenience, which is likely to be experienced as a result of the child attending a different school. Applicants must provide detailed information about both the type and severity of any likely hardship at the time of application.
3) Children who have an elder sibling in attendance at the Academy and who will still be attending the school at the proposed admission date; (For admission purposes, a brother or sister is a child who lives at the same address and either: have one or both natural parents in common; are related by a parents marriage; are adopted or fostered by a common parent or are unrelated children who live at the same address, whose parents live as partners.)
4) Children living within the catchment area of the Academy
5) 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.
Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the Academy will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated at a school, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to the remaining criteria.
Additional Notes
Copies of school catchment area maps are available from the Local Authority or school.
Admissions for the normal age of entry are administered through a coordinated admission scheme and preferences for maintained schools will be processed centrally by the School Admissions and Transport Service. Each child will receive only one offer of a place at a Staffordshire school.
In accordance with legislation, children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the Academy as being the most appropriate to meet the child’s needs must be admitted. This will reduce the amount of places available to other applicants.
Children in care means children who are looked after by a local authority in accordance with section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989 and who is (a) in care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).
Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide any supportive information required in order for the application to be assessed against the published admissions arrangements, the school will not seek to obtain this information on behalf of the applicant.
On behalf of the Academy, the Local Authority uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate home to school distances 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 Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.
The requirement for the Academy to meet the Infant Class Size legislation may result in the refusal of catchment area or sibling applications where a class has already reached its limit of 30 pupils. However, as an exception, the Academy will give careful consideration to offering places above the published admission number to applications from children whose twin or sibling from a multiple birth is admitted even when there are no other vacant places.
The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent/carer’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship) the friends or relatives address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
Where parents have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives with both parents for part of the school week, parents will be required to provide documentary evidence to support the address they wish to be considered for allocation purposes.
It is expected that parents will agree on school places before an application is made, and it may be necessary to request evidence from you to confirm that this is the case. The Academy is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately.
If a child’s home address changes during the admissions process it is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the Academy immediately. Where there is a proposed house move taking place during the admissions process the Academy will only accept the revised address for purposes of allocation where parents/carers can provide documentary evidence of the move by 13 March. It will be necessary for sufficient evidence of a permanent move to be provided by the applicant by this date before it will be taken into account for allocation purposes at the national offer date.
If a place is offered on the basis of an address that is subsequently found to be different from the child’s normal and permanent home address at the time of allocation of places then that place is likely to be withdrawn.
If there are a limited number of spaces available and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be randomly selected. This process will be independently verified.
Deferred Entry to Reception Class
Parents may request that their child be admitted to Reception Class on a part-time basis, or that their child be admitted to school later in the same academic year until the child reaches compulsory school age (i.e. beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday). The effect is that the place will be held for the child in Reception and is not available to be offered to any other child within the same academic year in which it has been offered.
Before deciding whether to defer their child’s entry to school, parents should visit their preferred school(s) to clarify how they cater for the youngest children in Reception and how the needs of these children are met as they move up through the school.
Admission Outside of the Normal Age Group
Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to school outside of their normal age group, for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of summer born children may choose not to send their child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted outside of their normal age group to Reception rather than Year 1.
These parents will need to make an application alongside children applying at the normal age which should explain why it is in the child’s best interest to be admitted outside of their normal age which may include information such as professional evidence as to why this is the case and why an exception should be made in the case of the child. A decision as to whether this is an appropriate course of action will be made by the Academy who will take into account the circumstances of the case and views of the headteacher. Parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular year group.
Waiting lists
Unsuccessful applicants will be placed on a waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria stated above and not based on the date their application was received. There will be a period of two weeks after the national offer date whereby available places will not be reallocated. If places become available after this date they will be offered according to the child at the top of the waiting list.
For cases where the infant class size regulations apply, the waiting list will operate until the cohort concerned leaves Year 2.
Inclusion on a school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.
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 since each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria.
Children who are subject of a direction by a local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list.
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.
Repeat Applications
Parents do not have the right to a second appeal in respect of the same school for the same academic year unless, in exceptional circumstances, the Academy has accepted a second application from the appellant because of a significant and material change in the circumstances of the parent, child or school but still refused admission.