Our Lady of GraceCatholicPrimary School
Admission Policy for Entry in September 2017
Our Lady of Grace 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.
Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will always be given to Catholic applicants in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The Governing Body welcomes all applications, particularly those of other denominations and faiths who support the religious ethos of the school.
The Governing Body has sole responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 60 pupils at one point of entryto the Reception class in the school year which begins in September 2017.
Admission Arrangements
Where there are more applications for places than the number available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.
1.Looked after Catholic children or looked after children in the care of Catholic families and previously looked after Catholic children who have been adopted or are subject to a special guardianship order.
2.Baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families (where at least one parent/carer is practising) who are resident in the parish of Our Lady of Grace (map available from the School office).Evidence of practice must be supported by a priest.
3.Other baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families (where at least one parent/carer is practising) who are not resident in the parish of Our Lady of Grace (map available from the School office). Evidence of practice must be supported by a priest.
4.Baptised Catholic children but whose parent(s)/carer(s) are non-practising members of the Catholic Church.
5.Other looked after children and other previously looked after children who have been adopted or are subject to a special guardianship order.
6.Baptised children of other Christian denominations from Christian families whose parent(s)/carer(s) desire a Christian education for them.
7.Non-Christian children whose parent(s) / carer(s) desire a place for their children in a Catholic school promoting Christian values and beliefs.
8.Any other children.
Oversubscription Criteria
When applications within any of the above categories (unless stated below) exceed the places available and it is necessary to decide between applications, the following order of priorities will be applied:
(i)Children with siblings in the school at the time of admission. (Where twins are ranked 30 and 31 they will be deemed as equal 30 and both children will be offered places).
(ii)For categories 2 and 3, the frequency of Mass attendance as shown on the supplementary information form. Applications will therefore be ranked weekly, fortnightly, monthly, occasionally.
(iii)At the time of application, those with an exceptional social, medical, pastoral or other needwhich can most appropriately be met at this school and which make the School particularly suitable for the child in question. Strong and relevant evidence must be provided by an appropriate professional authority e.g. qualified medical practitioner, education welfare officer, social worker, priest and this should set out the particular reasons why Our Lady of Grace is the most suitable School and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another School. This evidence will be considered by the Governing Body and advice sought from professionals if necessary.
(iv)To those living nearest to the schoolmeasured as a straight line from the home to the school using the measurement supplied by theRoyal Greenwich Local Authority derived from their geographical information system.The computerised mapping system measures from a single fixed point in the centre of the home address to the centre of the school. If more than one applicant lives in a multi-occupancy building eg. flats, priority will be given to the applicant whose door number is the lowest numerically and/or alphabetically. Where the last remaining place is to be allocated and two or more children are deemed to live at the same distance from the school, the place will be decided by the drawing of lots.
Definitions:
Siblingsare defined as natural brothers/sisters, adopted brothers/sisters, step-brothers/sisters and foster-brothers/sisters but not other relatives (e.g. cousins) or unrelated children who live at the same address.
Practiceis defined as regular and faithful worshippers who attend Sunday Mass (or a Saturday evening vigil Mass). The frequency of Mass attendance will be ranked as laid out in the tie-break above.
Home- if your child resides equally between both parents, we consider the principal home address as being the address at which your child is registered whilst attending early years provision, with a GP and, if applicable, the address of the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credits for your child.
Application Procedures and Timetable
The online or paper Common Application Form (CAF) should be submitted to Greenwich Council by 15thJanuary 2017. Applicants wishing to apply under the faith criteria must submit a CAFto the school by15thJanuary 2017. Notifications to parents of the outcome of their applications will be madeby the home LA on 16thApril 2017.
If the supplementary information form is not completed, the Governing Body of the school will consider the application under criterion 8. (Copies are available from the School Office, School website, Royal Greenwich’s website and from the Admissions Section at Royal Greenwich Council).
Late applications - any late applications will be considered by the Governors’ Admissions Committee, in the event of there being any available spaces, using the above criteria. If all places have been filled, parents will be offered the opportunity of placing their child’s name on the waiting list. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place.
Appeals
Parents whose applications for places are unsuccessful may appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel set up in accordance with sections 85(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Appeals must be made in writing and must set out the reasons on which the appeal is made. Appeals should be made to the Admissions Appeal Clerk at the school address. Parents/carers have the right to make oral representations to the Appeals Panel.
Infant classes are restricted by the legislation to 30 children. Parents should be aware that an appeal against refusal of a place in an infant class may only succeed if it can be demonstrated that:
a)the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or
b)the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or
c)the panel decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
Admission of children below compulsory school age
The governors will provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. 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; parents may also request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age.
Waiting Lists
Parents of children who have not been offered a place at the school may ask for their child’s name to be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list, which will be maintained until the end of the summer term 2016, will be operated using the same admissions criteria listed above. Placing a child’s name on the waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place. It is possible that when a child is directed under the local authority’s fair access protocol they will take precedence over those children already on the list.
In-year Admissions
The school manages its own in-year applications for admission to primary school. Application forms for in-year admissions are available from the school office. Forms should be completed and returned to the school office along with copies of the baptismal certificates (if available). Families will be contacted directly by the school to arrange for the child to visit the school. Our Lady of Grace participates in the Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol. Children admitted via the Fair Access Protocol take priority over those children on the school’s waiting list and those pending appeal.
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 making and maintaining statements by the pupil's home Local Authority. Details of this separate procedure are set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.
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