Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Sports College

2025/2026

2024/2025 & 2023/2024

Admission arrangements 2025/2026

Blessed Robert Sutton is under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Nottingham and belong to the Nottingham Diocesan family of schools. They are founded by and are part of the Catholic Church and seek at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ. Religious education and worship are in accordance with the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic Church. This does not affect the right of parents or carers who are not of the faith of these schools to apply for and to be considered for places, applications are welcome from all parents and carers, regardless of faith or background, who would like their children to be educated in a Christian environment. However, we ask all parents or carers applying for a place to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community.

The published admission number is 124.

The St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust is the admission authority for all the schools in the Trust and is responsible for determining the admissions policy. On behalf of the Trust the admissions process is coordinated by the relevant Local Authority.

All decisions relating to admission applications will be taken by the local governing body of the school applied for.

Each academy gives priority within the oversubscription criteria to Catholic children attending their partner primary schools. For Blessed Robert Sutton these are:

• St Charles’ Catholic Primary School, Measham
• St Edward’s Catholic Primary School, Swadlincote
• Holy Rosary Catholic Primary School, Winshill
• St Modwen’s Catholic Primary School, Burton-upon-Trent

Application procedure and timetable

Applications must be made on the Common Application Form provided by your home Local Authority. Applications must be made to your home Local Authority by the national closing date of 31 October.

In addition all applicants wishing to apply for a place under a faith criterion (oversubscription criteria 1-6) should complete the Supplementary Information Form. This form can be downloaded from the Local Authority website within which the school is located and is also available from the schools. The completed form, together with any required evidence, (see notes 3-8), should be returned by the national closing date of 31 October to each Catholic school for which a preference has been specified.

If you do not provide the additional required evidence for ranking in the faith criteria and return it by the closing date your child will be ranked in a lower admissions category and this may affect your child’s chances of being offered a place. 

All applications - how places are allocated?

The Local Authority forward details of all applicants to the relevant school local governing body. Using the information on both the Common Application Form and the Supplementary Form, each school local governing body draws up a ranked list using the oversubscription criteria listed below. The Local Authority then allocates places on behalf of the school up to the admissions number. When a place can be offered at more than one of the schools listed on your application, the Local Authority will offer a place at the highest preferred school where a place is available. 

Admission of pupils outside the normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside the normal age group for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. 

Should you wish to seek a place for your child outside their normal age group you should still make an application for an academy place for your child’s normal age group and you should also submit a request for admission out of the normal age group. This request should be made in writing (including any supporting evidence) to the Chair of the Local Governing Body, c/o the school, at the same time as the admission application is made.

In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the school local governing body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals. A decision will then be made on which age group the child should be admitted taking into account the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child. 

Once that decision has been made the oversubscription criteria will be applied to determine if a place can be offered at the academy. 

Your statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which you have applied is unaffected. However, the right to appeal does not apply if you are offered a place at the school but it is not in your preferred age group.

The school is not required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with the Local Authority Secondary Coordinated Admissions Scheme. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on time. 

In year applications - applications during the school year

Saint Benedict, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby, participates in Derby City In-Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme. St Thomas More Catholic School, Buxton, St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy, Glossop and St John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy, Kirk Hallam participate in Derbyshire Local Authority In-Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme.

Details of the application process are available from the academy and from the Local Authority within which the academy is located as detailed above.

Details of the in-year application process and the application forms for in-year applications to Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy, Burton upon Trent, are available from the academy.

If applying for a place on faith grounds you should also complete a Supplementary Information Form available from the academies.

For all schools once an application has been made, it will be passed to the school Governing Body for consideration.

Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria will be applied. If there are no places available, the child will be added to the academy’s waiting list. You will be advised of the outcome of your application in writing within 15 school days of its receipt

If your application is refused, parents have a statutory right to appeal (see ‘Appeals’ below). The appeal should be lodged within 20 school days after the date of your refusal letter.

Waiting lists

Parents whose children have not been offered a place will be added to the school’s Waiting List unless they have been offered a place a higher preference school. The Waiting List will be maintained until the end of the first term by the Local Authority. At the end of the autumn term Waiting Lists will be maintained by the schools until the end of the academic year. 

Parents must make a further application for a school place in respect of a later academic year and if a place is not available the child’s name can be added to the Waiting List for that academic year. 

Waiting Lists are maintained in the same order as the oversubscription criteria listed below and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the Waiting List.

Any late applications will be added to the Waiting List in accordance with the oversubscription criteria and each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the oversubscription criteria, therefore your child’s position on the Waiting List may change and a child’s Waiting List position during the year could go up or down.

Inclusion on an academy’s Waiting List does not mean that a place will eventually become available.

Appeals

If a child is not offered a place, parents/carers have a statutory right to appeal. This should be done by writing to the school setting out your grounds for appeal no later than twenty school days after the decision letter has been received. The appeal will be arranged on behalf of the school local governing body by the Catholic Schools Appeals Service and will be heard by an independent panel. The decision of the panel will be binding on the academy. 

Fair access protocols

Local Authorities are required to have Fair Access Protocols in order to make sure that unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. Accordingly, outside the normal admission round the admission authority is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is requested under any locally agreed protocol. The admission authority has this power, even when admitting the child would mean exceeding the PAN. 

Applications for twins and multiple birth pupils

In cases where there is one remaining place available and the next child on the Waiting List is one of a twin or of other multiple birth groups, then both twins (or all the siblings in case of multiple births) will be admitted even if this means that the Published Admission Number will be exceeded as long as the school local governing body decides that the education of pupils in that year group will not be detrimentally affected.

Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces) and returning crown servants

For families of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or crown servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the Governors will:

• Process an application in advance of the family arriving in the area provided it is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address to use when considering the application against the school's oversubscription criteria.
• Accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for admissions purposes for a service child. 

The Governors will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area.

Fraudulent information

If the allocation of a place has been made on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information, the governors reserve the right to withdraw the place. 

Oversubscription criteria

Where a school has more applications than places available the school local governing body will draw up a ranked list based on the criteria listed below and will allocate places accordingly. 

In accordance with legislation Pupils with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) (a plan made by the Local Authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which specifies the special educational provision required for a child) which names the school will be allocated a place first. This will reduce the number of places available.

1a. Catholic children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Notes 1 and 2 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

1b. Catholic children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted*Notes 1 and 2 that attend a partner primary school

1c. Catholic children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Notes 1 and 2 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

1d. Other Catholic children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Notes 1 and 2

2a. Catholic children*Note 2 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

2b. Catholic children*Note 2 that attend a partner primary school.

2c. Catholic children*Note 2 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

2d. Other Catholic*Note 2 children

3a. Other children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Note 1 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

3b. Other children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Note 1 that attend a partner primary school

3c. Other children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Note 1 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

3d. Other children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted *Note 1

4a. Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches*Notes 3, 4 and 5 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

4b. Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches*Notes 3, 4 and 5 that attend a partner primary school

4c. Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches*Notes 3, 4 and 5 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

4d. Other Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches*Notes 3, 4 and 5

5a. Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion*Note 6 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

5b. Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion* Note 6 that attend a partner primary school.

5c. Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion *Note 6 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

5d. Other children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion *Note 6

6a. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader*Note 7 that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

6b. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader*Note 7 that attend a partner primary school

6c. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader*Note 7 that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

6d. Other children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader*Note 7

7a. Children that attend a partner primary school with a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

7b. Children that attend a partner primary school

7c. Children that do not attend a partner primary school but who will have a sibling*Note 8 on roll in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission

7d. Any other children

In the event of oversubscription within any criterion allocation of places will be decided on distance measurements supplied by the Local Authority. (See below) 

Derbyshire Distance will be measured using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to measure the straight-line distance. It is measured by a standard straight-line distance calculated to within two metres. This measurement is taken from the postal address file, normally the house front door. For schools the grid reference is taken from the postal address file and will normally be the centre of the school for primary phase schools. 

Derby City Distance is measured from home to school by straight line using national Ordnance Survey Set Points.

Staffordshire 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 are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.

In a very few cases, it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers for a place (e.g. children who live at the same address or have the same distance measurement). In this exceptional situation the governors will admit the additional child above the Planned Admission Number.

Notes (these form part of the oversubscription criteria)

1. 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 in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to a school. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
   
   Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order). This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and children who were adopted under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. 
    
2. ‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church signed by a Catholic Priest and stamped with the parish stamp. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (i.e. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family). 
   
   For a child to be ranked as Catholic within the oversubscription criteria evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest. 
    
3. ‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens or a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp.
    
4. ‘Candidate’ means a candidate for reception into the Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp. 
    
5. ‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church. 
    
6. ‘Children of other Christian denominations’ means children who belong to other churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service to the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above.
   
   All members of Churches Together in England (CTE) and Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN) are deemed to be included in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the above basis. 
   
   Evidence will be a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the minister of religion for that church. 
   
7. ‘Children of other faiths’ means children who are members of a religious community that does not fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at note 7 above and which falls within the definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to include: 
   
   
   • A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and
   • A religion which does not involve belief in a God. 

Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of belief in that supreme being through worship. 

This is evidenced by a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the religious leader of the community.  

8. ‘Siblings’ means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters with either one or both parents in common, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, or the child of a parent’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling. It also includes natural brothers or sisters where the child for whom the school place is sought is not living in the same family unit as the same address as that sibling.

(i) all natural brothers or sisters, half brothers or sisters, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, whether they are living at the same address; and

(ii) the child of a parent’s partner where that child lives for at least part of the week in the same family unit at the same home address as the child who is the subject of the application.

9. A ‘parent’ means all natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility for a child, and any person who has care of a child. 

10. Home address: The governors of each school use the same definition as used by the Local Authority within which the school is located nad these are set out below: 

Derby City: A main residential address is where your child lives at time of application and admission. In cases where children share residency of parents at different addresses, we will take the main address as the one from which parent receives Child Benefit.

Derbyshire: The home address used for school admission purposes is the address where the child is residing at the time of both application and admission. Where an application includes more than one address due to shared parental responsibility, we will use the address where the child resides for the majority of the school week (where they usually or mainly sleep between Monday and Friday). Parents and carers are required to submit full details with supporting information to enable us to determine which address to use for the purpose of admission. Where parents provide evidence that the child resides equally at both addresses during the school week, and we are unable to reach a decision based on the information received, parents will be asked to notify the council of the mutually agreed address to be used for the purpose of school admissions. Please note the same address will be used in the assessment of eligibility for home to school transport assistance. Where the county council has reasonable grounds for believing the home address is not the child's only or main residence, it reserves the right to carry out investigations which may include visits to the property.

Staffordshire: 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.

Admission arrangements 2024/2025 & 2023/2024

Blessed Robert Sutton is under the Trusteeship of the Diocese of Nottingham and belong to the Nottingham Diocesan family of schools. They are founded by and are part of the Catholic Church and seek at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ. Religious education and worship are in accordance with the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic Church. This does not affect the right of parents or carers who are not of the faith of these schools to apply for and to be considered for places, applications are welcome from all parents and carers, regardless of faith or background, who would like their children to be educated in a Christian environment. However, we ask all parents or carers applying for a place to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community.

The published admission number is 124.

The St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust is the admission authority for all the schools in the Trust and is responsible for determining the admissions policy. On behalf of the Trust the admissions process is coordinated by the relevant Local Authority.

All decisions relating to admission applications will be taken by the local governing body of the school applied for.

Application procedure and timetable

Applications must be made on the Common Application Form provided by your home Local Authority. Applications must be made to your home Local Authority by the national closing date of 31 October.

In addition all applicants wishing to apply for a place under a faith criterion (oversubscription criteria 1-6) should complete the Supplementary Information Form. This form can be downloaded from the Local Authority website within which the school is located and is also available from the schools. The completed form, together with any required evidence, (see notes 3-8), should be returned by the national closing date of 31 October to each Catholic school for which a preference has been specified.

If you do not provide the additional required evidence for ranking in the faith criteria and return it by the closing date your child will be ranked in a lower admissions category and this may affect your child’s chances of being offered a place. 

All applications - how places are allocated?

The Local Authority forward details of all applicants to the relevant school local governing body. Using the information on both the Common Application Form and the Supplementary Form, each school local governing body draws up a ranked list using the oversubscription criteria listed below. The Local Authority then allocates places on behalf of the school up to the admissions number. When a place can be offered at more than one of the schools listed on your application, the Local Authority will offer a place at the highest preferred school where a place is available. 

Admission of pupils outside the normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside the normal age group for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. It is anticipated that children will be educated out of their normal age group in only a small number of very exceptional circumstances. 

Should you wish to seek a place for your child outside their normal age group you should still make an application for an academy place for your child’s normal age group and you should also submit a request for admission out of the normal age group. This request should be made in writing (including any supporting evidence) to the Chair of the Local Governing Body, c/o the school, at the same time as the admission application is made.

In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the school local governing body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals. A decision will then be made on which age group the child should be admitted taking into account the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child. 

Once that decision has been made the oversubscription criteria will be applied to determine if a place can be offered at the academy. 

Your statutory right to appeal against the refusal of a place at a school for which you have applied is unaffected. However, the right to appeal does not apply if you are offered a place at the school but it is not in your preferred age group.

The school is not required to honour a decision made by another admission authority on admission out of the normal age group.

Late applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with the Local Authority Secondary Coordinated Admissions Scheme. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on time. 

In year applications - applications during the school year

Saint Benedict, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Derby, participates in Derby City In-Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme. St Thomas More Catholic School, Buxton, St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy, Glossop and St John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy, Kirk Hallam participate in Derbyshire Local Authority In-Year Coordinated Admissions Scheme.

Details of the application process are available from the academy and from the Local Authority within which the academy is located as detailed above.

Details of the in-year application process and the application forms for in-year applications to Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy, Burton upon Trent, are available from the academy.

For all academies once an application has been made, it will be passed to the academy Governing Body for consideration. A Supplementary Form should also be completed if you wish to apply for ranking within a faith criterion (oversubscription criteria 1-6)

If your application is refused, parents have a statutory right to appeal (see ‘Appeals’ below). The appeal should be lodged within 20 school days after the date of your refusal letter.

Waiting lists

Parents whose children have not been offered a place will be added to the school’s Waiting List unless they have been offered a place a higher preference school. The Waiting List will be maintained until the end of the first term by the Local Authority. At the end of the autumn term Waiting Lists will be maintained by the schools until the end of the academic year. 

Parents must make a further application for a school place in respect of a later academic year and if a place is not available the child’s name can be added to the Waiting List for that academic year. 

Waiting Lists are ranked in the same order as the oversubscription criteria listed below. Your child’s position on the Waiting List may change. This means that a child’s Waiting List position during the year could go up or down. Any late applications will be added to the Waiting List in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. 

Inclusion on a school’s Waiting List does not mean that a place will eventually become available. 

Appeals

If a child is not offered a place, parents/carers have a statutory right to appeal. This should be done by writing to the school setting out your grounds for appeal no later than twenty school days after the decision letter has been received. The appeal will be arranged on behalf of the school local governing body by the Catholic Schools Appeals Service and will be heard by an independent panel. The decision of the panel will be binding on the academy. 

Fair access protocols

Local Authorities are required to have Fair Access Protocols in order to make sure that unplaced children especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. This includes admitting children above the published admissions number to schools that are already full. The schools listed in this policy participate in the Fair Access Protocol operated by the Local Authority within which they are located. 

Applications for twins and multiple birth pupils

In cases where there is one remaining place available and the next child on the Waiting List is one of a twin or of other multiple birth groups, then both twins (or all the siblings in case of multiple births) will be admitted even if this means that the Published Admission Number will be exceeded as long as the school local governing body decides that the education of pupils in that year group will not be detrimentally affected.

Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces) and returning crown servants

For families of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area, or crown servants returning to live in the area from overseas, the Governors will:

• Process an application in advance of the family arriving in the area provided it is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address to use when considering the application against the school's oversubscription criteria.
• Accept a Unit postal address or quartering area address for admissions purposes for a service child. 

The Governors will not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area.

Fraudulent information

If the allocation of a place has been made on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information, the governors reserve the right to withdraw the place. 

Oversubscription criteria

Where a school has more applications than places available the school local governing body will draw up a ranked list based on the criteria listed below and will allocate places accordingly. 

In accordance with legislation Pupils with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) (a plan made by the Local Authority under Section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which specifies the special educational provision required for a child) which names the school will be allocated a place first. This will reduce the number of places available.

1. Catholic children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ including those children who appear to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted(see Notes 2 and 3). 
2. Catholic children (see Note 3). 
3. Other children who are ‘looked after’ or who were ‘previously looked after’ (see Note 2) 
4. Catechumens, Candidates and members of Eastern Christian Churches (see Notes 4, 5 and 6) 
5. Children of other Christian denominations whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion (see Note 7). 
6. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader (see Note 8). 
7. Any other children 

First priority within the individual criteria will be given to applications from children who attend one of the partner primary schools.

Second priority within the individual criteria will be given to applications for children who will have siblings (see Note 9) attending the school in years 7-11 at the proposed time of admission. 

In the event of oversubscription within any criterion allocation of places will be decided on distance measurements supplied by the Local Authority. (See below) 

Derbyshire Distance will be measured using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to measure the straight-line distance. It is measured by a standard straight-line distance calculated to within two metres. This measurement is taken from the postal address file, normally the house front door. For schools the grid reference is taken from the postal address file and will normally be the centre of the school for primary phase schools. 

Derby City Distance is measured from home to school by straight line using national Ordnance Survey Set Points.

Staffordshire 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 are determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS address point data.

Therefore, the criterions 1-7 above will be sub-divided A to D as follows:

Sub criteria

1. Attends a partner primary school with a sibling on roll at the proposed time of admission - Distance ranked
2. Attends a partner primary school with no sibling on roll at the proposed time of admission - Distance ranked
3. Does not attend a partner primary school but has a sibling on roll at the proposed time of admission -Distance ranked
4. Does not attend a partner primary school or have a sibling on roll at the proposed time of admission -Distance ranked

Tiebreaker

In a very few cases, it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers (e.g. children who live at the same address or have the same distance measurement). In this exceptional situation then the school will admit the additional children above the planned admission number. 

Notes (these form part of the oversubscription criteria)

1. 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 in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989 at the time of making an application to a school. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
   
   Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order). This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and children who were adopted under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. 
   
   Child arrangements orders are defined in section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by section 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).
    
2. ‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church signed by a Catholic Priest and stamped with the parish stamp. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (i.e. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family). 
   
   For a child to be ranked as Catholic within the oversubscription criteria evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest. 
    
3. ‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens or a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp.
    
4. ‘Candidate’ means a candidate for reception into the Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp. 
    
5. ‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church. 
    
6. ‘Children of other Christian denominations’ means children who belong to other churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service to the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above.
   
   All members of Churches Together in England (CTE) and Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN) are deemed to be included in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the above basis. 
   
   Evidence will be a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the minister of religion for that church. 
   
7. ‘Children of other faiths’ means children who are members of a religious community that does not fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at note 7 above and which falls within the definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to include: 
   
   
   • A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and
   • A religion which does not involve belief in a God. 

Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of belief in that supreme being through worship. 

This is evidenced by a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification signed by the religious leader of the community. 
 

8. ‘Siblings’ means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters with either one or both parents in common, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, or the child of a parent’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling. It also includes natural brothers or sisters where the child for whom the school place is sought is not living in the same family unit as the same address as that sibling.
    
9. A ‘parent’ means all natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility for a child, and any person who has care of a child. 
    
10. Home Address: The governors of each school use the same definition as used by the Local Authority within which the school is located. 

Derby City: A main residential address is where your child lives at time of application and admission. In cases where children share residency of parents at different addresses, we will take the main address as the one from which parent receives child benefit.

Derbyshire: The home address used for school admission purposes is the address where the child is residing at the time of both application and admission. Where an application includes more than one address due to shared parental responsibility, we will use the address where the child resides for the majority of the school week (where they usually or mainly sleep between Monday and Friday). Parents and carers are required to submit full details with supporting information to enable us to determine which address to use for the purpose of admission. Where parents provide evidence that the child resides equally at both addresses during the school week, and we are unable to reach a decision based on the information received, parents will be asked to notify the council of the mutually agreed address to be used for the purpose of school admissions. Please note the same address will be used in the assessment of eligibility for home to school transport assistance. Where the county council has reasonable grounds for believing the home address is not the child's only or main residence, it reserves the right to carry out investigations which may include visits to the property.

Staffordshire: 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.