Hutchison Memorial CE (A) First

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

Admission Limits

Hutchinson Memorial School’s published admission number (PAN) is 15.

To comply with class size legislation there will be a maximum of 30 children in KS1 Classes.

If the total number of applications received exceeds the admission number, the published oversubscription criteria will be used to allocate the available places.

Catchment Area

The catchment area of the school is the Ecclesiastical Parish of Checkley.

Admissions Criteria

If the number of applications for admission to the school exceeds the Published Admission Number (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places. In accordance with legislation, children who have a statutory statement of special educational need, or Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school must be admitted. This will reduce the number of places available to other application Paragraph 1.6 of the code

1. A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.   A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition 22(1) of 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 school rather than any other school. Exceptional circumstances must relate to the choice of school 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 school rather than any other school. and; 

   Test 2: the child would suffer hardship if they were unable to attend the school. 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. Residence in the catchment area of the school (i.e. the Ecclesiastical Parish of Checkley)
4. Pupils, who at the time of the admission, have a sibling in attendance at the school. (For admission purposes a sibling is a child who lives at the same address and who is brother/sister, half brother/sister (children who share one common parent), step-brother/sister where two children are related by marriage. This definition also includes adopted or fostered children living at the same address).
5. Parents or guardians active in membership* of the Anglican Church. (A letter from clergy may be requested.)
6. Parents or guardians active in membership* of another Christian Trinitarian Church. (A letter from clergy may be requested.)
7. Children of non-Christian parents or guardians, who wish their child to experience a Christian education.
8. School being the nearest school to the child's home when measuring by the shortest road route to the Main School Gate. (This may be used as a decider in a tiebreak situation. The Local Authority uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate home to school distances. The coordinates of an applicant’s home address are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.)

(*Active membership means at least participation in all major Christian Festivals and regular attendance at church services.)

Admission of Reception Age Children

All pupils are admitted at the beginning of the school year following their fourth birthday.

Admissions Procedure

In response to a request for a place for a child at Hutchinson Memorial School, Parents will be sent the following: -

1. Information containing the admission criteria and an application form to be returned to the school or directly to the LA.
2. Early in the Summer term a letter will be sent by the LA offering a place at the school, or stating that no place is available.

Immediate admissions

When a pupil moves into the catchment area and is transferring from another school, it may be necessary to effect immediate admission. In this event, authority to admit is delegated to the Headteacher, providing a place is available.

Admissions

The headteacher is delegated to admit pupils following the agreed criteria for admissions at the start of the Nursery and Reception year.

Appeals

Any Parent has a right to appeal against the decision not to admit. Appeals should be made in writing to the Chair of Governors and should state the child’s name, date of birth and home address, together with the grounds on which the appeal is made. The Governors will refer all appeals to the independent appeals panel. The Appeals Committee will consist of three members appointed by the governors. The decision of the appeals panel is final and binding on all parties.

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 the school to clarify how we 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 the Normal Age Group

Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to school outside 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 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 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 Governing Body 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.