ST.TERESA S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL ADMISSION POLICY

Transcription

1 ST.TERESA S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL ADMISSION POLICY St. Teresa s Catholic Primary School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. The school is conducted by its governing body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ. The governing body has responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 30 pupils to the reception class in the school year which begins in September Oversubscription Criteria Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority. 1. Baptised Catholic Looked After children 2. Practising Catholics who are resident in the parishes of St. Teresa s, Rochford (excluding the districts of Hockley and Hawkwell) and St. John Fisher, Prittlewell as verified by a Catholic Priest. 3. Baptised Catholics who are resident in the parishes of St. Teresa s, Rochford (excluding the districts of Hockley and Hawkwell) and St. John Fisher, Prittlewell as verified by a Catholic Priest. 4. Other Baptised Catholic children. 5. Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church. 6. All other Looked After children 7. Baptised Christians of other denominations whose application is supported by a minister of religion. 8. Baptised Christians of other denominations 9. Children of other faiths whose application is supported by a religious leader. 10. Any other applicant whose parents wish a Catholic education for their child.

2 Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the categories listed above would lead to oversubscription the following provisions will be applied. The attendance of a sibling at the school at the time of enrolment will give the applicant priority over other applicants within each category. The governing body will give priority over other applicants within a category where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school. Tie Break Where the offer of places to all the applicants in any of the sub-categories listed above would still lead to oversubscription, the places up to the admission number will be offered to those living nearest to the school. (Distance to be measured by straight line measurements provided by the Local Authority.) Application Procedures and Timetable Applications must be made in accordance with the co-ordinated admissions scheme published by the child s home local authority. Essex and Southend Local Authorities produce booklets to support this process. The paper or online application form must be received by the child s home Local Authority by the National Closing Date 15 th January Parish Priests must complete the appropriate sections of the Diocesan Reference Form to verify those applying for places at the school under criteria 1, 2, 3 and 4. Forms are available from parish offices or the Parish Priest. A Supplementary Information Form, available from the School Office, should also be submitted to The Admissions Officer, c/o The School by 15 th January In the absence of a Supplementary Information Form, the Governing Body will rank applications in accordance with the information available to it at that time as provided by the LA form. Parents will be advised of the outcome of their applications by the LA who will write to parents directly. Unsuccessful applicants will be given reasons related to the oversubscription criteria listed above and advised of their right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. Late applications Late applications will be dealt with as detailed in the literature available from the child s home local authority (eg.essex or Southend). Waiting Lists In addition to their right of appeal, unsuccessful candidates will be offered the opportunity to be placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained in order of the oversubscription criteria set out above and not in the order in which applications are

3 received or added to the list. The waiting list will be maintained for the full academic year of admission. Pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs The admission of pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. This procedure is integral to the making and maintaining of statements by the pupil s home Local Authority. Details of this separate procedure is set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. Admission of children below compulsory school age Pupils will normally be admitted to the school in the September following their fourth birthday. However, parents can request that the date their child is admitted to the school is deferred until later in the school year or until the child reaches compulsory school age in that school year. In which case, the school will hold the place for the child and not offer it to another child. However, entry may not be deferred beyond the beginning of the term after the pupil s fifth birthday, nor beyond the academic year for which the original application was accepted. Parents can also request that their child attends parttime until the child reaches compulsory school age. Notes ( these notes form part of the oversubscription criteria) 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 in section 22 (1) of the Children Act Looked After includes a child who was previously Looked After but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. Catholic means a member of a Church in communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church. Catechumen means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens. Eastern Christian Church includes Orthodox Churches, and is normally evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church. Siblings are considered to be an older brother or sister, half-brother or half-sister, stepbrother or step-sister, adopted brother or sister, living at the same address, who attends the school at the time of application with a reasonable expectation that he or she will still be attending at the time of the proposed admission.

4 To demonstrate an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the governing body will normally require written evidence from an appropriate professional, such as a social worker, doctor or priest. For the purposes of this policy, parish boundaries are as determined by the Bishop of Brentwood. Distances will be determined by the Local Authority. The parishes served by the school lie within two Local Authorities: Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea.

5 CONFIDENTIAL St. Teresa s Catholic Primary School Ashingdon Road, Rochford, Essex SS4 1RF Telephone: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FORM (ADMISSIONS) This is NOT an application form for admission to the school. You MUST ALSO complete your Local Authority s official application form (the school can advise you on how to get this form). If you do not complete the LA s application form you cannot be considered for a place at a school. CHILD S SURNAME: CHRISTIAN NAMES: CHILD S DATE OF BIRTH: ADDRESS: POST CODE: TELEPHONE NUMBER: FULL NAME AND TITLE OF PARENTS/GUARDIAN: MOTHER: FATHER: GUARDIAN: ******************** P.T.O

6 IS YOUR CHILD A BAPTIZED CATHOLIC? (If yes, please enclose a copy of the Baptismal Certificate) CATHOLIC APPLICANTS Please give the name and address of the Priest you will ask to support your application. This will be your local Parish Priest unless you worship in another Parish. You should give the name of the Priest who knows you from the church where you worship. NAME PARISH ADDRESS POSTCODE TELEPHONE No. IS YOUR CHILD A BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN OF ANOTHER DENOMINATION? (If yes, please enclose a copy of the Baptismal Certificate) IF YOU ARE A PRACTISING CHRISTIAN IN A NON-CATHOLIC CHURCH, PLEASE GIVE THE NAME OF THE MINISTER YOU WILL ASK TO SUPPORT YOUR APPLICATION. NAME OF SIBLINGS ALREADY ATTENDING ST TERESA S : Parents are reminded that if they are applying for a place at the school under criteria 1, 2, 3 or 4, they must obtain a Priest s Reference by completing and submitting the Diocesan Form from the Parish Priest or Parish Office. SIGNED (Parent/Guardian) DATE N.B. The above information will be held on computer and may be provided for other relevant agencies.