If you have a child in another school (or out of school) then please click here for the Primary School Transfer Application Form
https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/schools-admissions
Admissions for Reception Class 2018 are now open and you should read the policy and procedure below.
Click on the picture below for an instructions for making an application for our Reception Class in 2018. The link takes you to the Local Authority website. The admissions team manage all initial applications on behalf of the Governors.
Notes
The Governing Body of the Northern Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is the Admissions Authority for the school.
We intend to admit up to 90 pupils to the Reception year group in September 2018.
Applications must be made on the Local Authority Common Application Form, please click on the link above. This form must be returned to the Local Authority by the closing date determined annually. Applications received after the closing date will only be considered after all those received by the closing date.
Parents have the right to express a preference for a school of their choice. In the first instance, all preferences expressed on the Admissions forms will be considered equally against the admission criteria. If a pupil then qualifies for a place at more than one school, the parent’s highest ranked preference will be offered and any lower ranking offers will be disregarded.
In determining allocations, priority will be given to those applications where the parental preference is received by the published deadline date.
It will only be possible for infant classes to exceed the statutory limit where the 91st child is a twin or from multiple births, or of armed forces personnel.
Where it is not possible to offer a place at a school, the child will be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is sorted using the same admission criteria and will be held until the end of the Autumn term, after the children start Reception in September.
Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process will be included with the notification letter but are also available from the School Admissions Team or by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.
The Admission Policy is applied if the number of applications exceeds the number of places available.
Where an application is found to contain false information, the Governing Body reserve the right to withdraw their offer of a place.
The School Admissions Code requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. However, a child is not required to start school until they have reached compulsory school age following their fifth birthday. For summer born children (those born after 1 April) this can sometimes be almost a full school year after the point at which they could first be admitted.
Some parents may feel that their child is not ready to start school in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents are entitled to request in writing that:-
their child attends part-time until they reach compulsory school age, or
that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the same academic year or until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age. The school will hold any deferred place for the child, although, in the majority of cases, we find that children benefit from starting at the beginning of the school year, rather than part way through it.
that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until the term after the child reaches compulsory school age.
The child must, however, start school full-time in the term after their fifth birthday.
“If parents of summer born children wish to defer entry as outlined above and wish them to be admitted to the Reception Year in the term following their fifth birthday, rather than year 1, then parents should apply at the usual time for a place in September of the current academic year together with a written request that the child is admitted outside of his or her normal age group to the Reception Year in September the following year providing supporting reasons for seeking a place outside of the normal age group. This should be discussed with the Head Teacher as soon as possible. If their request is agreed, and this should be clear before the national offer day, their application for the normal age group may be withdrawn before any place is offered and they should reapply in the normal way for a Reception place in the following year. If their request is refused, the parents must decide whether to wait for any offer of a place in the current academic year (NB it will still be subject to the over-subscription criteria in this policy) or to withdraw their application and apply for a year 1 place the following year. Parents should be aware that the Year 1 group may have no vacancies as it could be full with children transferring from the previous Reception Year group.”
Requests from parents for places outside a normal age group will be considered carefully e.g. for those who have missed education due to ill health. Each case will be considered on its own merits and circumstances. However, such admissions will not normally be agreed without a consensus that to do so would be in the pupil’s interests. It is recommended that parents discuss their wishes with the head teacher in advance of applying for a place. The governors may ask relevant professionals for their opinion on the case. It should be noted that if a place in the requested age group is refused, but one in the normal age group is offered then there is no right of appeal.
Further information and advice on the admission of summer born children is available from SUNDERLAND LOCAL AUTHORITY ADMISSIONS TEAM.
Children with a Statement of Special Educational Need or with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan naming NORTHERN SAINTS CofE (VA) PRIMARY School will always be offered places. If there is then greater demand for admission than there are places available (oversubscription), the following criteria will be applied in the order set out below.
ADMISSION CRITERIA FOR NORTHERN SAINTS CHURCH OF ENGLAND
VOLUNTARY AIDED PRIMARY 2018 (Including over subscription criteria)
- ‘Looked-after’ child – Looked-after children and children who were previously looked after, but ceased to be so because, immediately after being looked after, they became subject to an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order.
Note: By a “looked-after child” we mean one in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of its social services function. An adoption order is one made under the Adoption Act 1976 (Section 12) or the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Section 46). A ‘child arrangements order is one settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live (Children Act 1989, Section 8, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014, Section 14). A ‘special guardianship order’ is one appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian/s (Children Act 1989, Section 14A). Applications under this criterion must be accompanied by evidence to show that the child is looked after or was previously looked after (e.g. a copy of the adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order). Children adopted from overseas or following private fostering arrangements do not qualify as they were not in the care of a local authority immediately prior to being adopted, etc. The only way in which such children could be given priority is under a medical/social criterion and, even then, they might not qualify.
- A sibling link – an older brother/sister or older child (including adoptive and step-children) that shares the same parent/carer and lives at the same address, who will still be attending the preferred school at the time of admission.
- Exceptional medical or psychological reasons If you intend to use this criterion when expressing a preference, please contact the School Admissions Team before completing the application form. You must include a medical or psychological report, prepared by a professional, to confirm information that you include in this section. This report should explain why only this school can meet your child’s medical or psychological needs. Common childhood medical conditions such as asthma or giving a child’s nervousness at starting new school as a psychological reason for choosing a particular school are unlikely to be accepted as exceptional. Eligibility under this category will be considered by the Temporary Governing Body after receiving advice from a meeting of Senior LA Officers.
- Other children for whom preferences are expressed on grounds other than those outlined above.
Within each of the above, places will be offered on the basis of distance from the centre of the home address to the main entrance of the school with priority being given to those living closet to the school. Distance is measured by the shortest safest walking distance to the New School Main Entrance Door via the main school drive (not the side gate), using a geographical information system (GIS).