St. Edward's Church of England Academy

2025/2026

2024/2025 & 2023/2024

Admission arrangements 2025/2026

For admission to Year 5, St Edward’s Church of England Academy is part of Staffordshire County Council’s coordinated admissions scheme. However, admissions are the legal responsibility of the Trustees and the Academy is consulted regarding all applications.

In-year applications will be processed by the Academy and the Local Authority advised of the application and the outcome.

Should the number of applications received be greater than the number of places we have available (192), the Admissions Panel of the Trustee Body will meet to consider the applications and the following order of priority will be 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) 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 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 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 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 living within the catchment area of the Academy.

4 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 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.

5 Pupils currently attending one of our named “Linked Schools”, these being Westwood First School (Leek), Woodcroft First School (Leek), All Saints First School (Leek), and St Edward’s First School (Cheddleton). Linked schools are all equal; there is no order of priority.

6 For all other applications, and in the event of oversubscription in any category, priority will be given to the child based on distance as follows:

For those living in, or nearer to, Leek, the distance will be measured by a direct line from the front door of the child’s home address (including flats) to the main entrance of the Academy, using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system. Those living closer to the Academy (or, if located in Cheddleton, the church) will receive higher priority.

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 residents within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to the remaining criteria.

• EHCP. Pupils will be given priority if their statutory EHCP names the Academy as the most appropriate mainstream school that meets the pupil’s needs. This will reduce the number of places available to other applicants
• Repeat Applications. Repeat applications for pupils previously turned away due to over-subscription will be processed as new applications
• Late Applications. Late applications will be considered after all applications are received before the closing date has been processed.
• Appeals. If a place at St Edwards Church of England Academy is refused, parents have the right to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Appeal forms are available from the school office/website or www.staffordshire.gov.uk.
• Waiting list. Unsuccessful intake applicants will automatically be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is ordered in accordance with the admissions criteria and will be kept until the end of the Autumn term, at which point forward, it will be disregarded
• Catchment Maps. Copies of school catchment area maps are available from the Local Authority or Academy.
• Home Address. The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent/carers 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.
• Tie-Breaker. If 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.
• Home to School Distance. 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 the 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 are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.
• Admission Outside of the Normal Age GroupParents/carers may seek to apply for their child’s admission to the Academy outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented, or has experienced problems such as ill-health.These parents/carers 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.Page 7 of 7A 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 Principal. Parents/carers do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular year group.

Admission arrangements 2024/2025 & 2023/2024

For admission to Year 5, St Edward’s Church of England Academy is part of Staffordshire County Council’s co-ordinated admissions scheme. However, admissions are the legal responsibility of the Governors and the Academy is consulted regarding all applications. 

In-year applications will be processed by the Academy and the Local Authority advised of the application and the outcome.

Should the number of applications received be greater than the number of places we have available, the Admissions Panel of the Governing Body will meet to consider the applications and the following order of priority will be 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) 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 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 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 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 living within the catchment area of the Academy. 

4. Children who have a 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 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.) 

5. Pupils whose parents request a place on religious grounds, based on: 

Applicants being able to provide a copy of a certificate of Baptism or certificate of Thanksgiving or Dedication for the Gift of a Child. 

Involvement in the past two years by the pupil or parents in the work and worship of a Christian Church. Applicants will be asked to identify themselves as being either: 

• known to the church
• attached to the church 
• at the heart of the church 

Guidance on these categories will be available on a Worship Community Reference which should be signed by a recognised representative of the Christian Church of which the pupil or parent is a part. The Worship Community Reference is a separate form which is attached to this policy or available from the Academy office. It is essential that those applying on the grounds of religious preference request and complete this form. The form needs to be submitted at the time of application. 

6. Pupils currently attending one of our named “Linked Schools”, these being Westwood First School (Leek), Woodcroft First School (Leek), All Saints First School (Leek) and St Edward’s First School (Cheddleton). Linked schools are all equal; there is no order of priority. 

7. Further places will be offered to parents who express a preference for their child to be educated in a church school. 

8. For all other applications, and in the event of oversubscription in any category, priority will be given to the child based on distance as follows:

For those living in, or nearer to, Leek, distance will be measured by a direct line from the front door of the child’s home address (including flats) to the main entrance of the Academy, using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system. Those living closer to the school (or, if located in Cheddleton, the church) will receive higher priority.

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. 

Notes

• Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). Pupils will be given priority if their statutory EHCP names the Academy as the most appropriate mainstream school that meets the pupil’s needs. This will reduce the number of places available to other applicants 
  
  
• Repeat Applications. Repeat applications for pupils previously turned away due to oversubscription will be processed as new applications 
  
  
• Late Applications. Late applications will be considered after all applications received prior to the closing date have been processed. 
  
  
• Appeals. If a place at St Edwards Church of England Academy is refused, parents have the right to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Appeal forms are available from the Academy office or www.staffordshire.gov.uk. 
  
  
• Waiting list. Unsuccessful intake applicants will automatically be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is ordered in accordance with the admissions criteria and will be kept until the end of the Autumn term, at which point forward, it will be disregarded 
  
  
• Catchment Maps. Copies of school catchment area maps are available from the Local Authority or the Academy.
  
  
• Home Address. 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.
  
  
• Tie-Breaker. If 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.
  
  
• Home to School Distance.  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 the 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 are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.
  
  
• Admission Outside of the Normal Age Group - Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to the Academy outside of their normal age group, for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented, or has experienced problems such as ill health. 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 and 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 Principal. Parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular year group.