St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Aston Le Walls exists to provide education according to the doctrine and practices of the Roman Catholic Church to all children whose families live in the Diocese of Northampton or are members of the parishes of The Sacred Heart and Our Lady, Aston Le Walls and St Augustine’s Daventry. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School also serves the wider community and accepts children from the surrounding area that are seeking Catholic education.

How to apply

Applications for the normal point of entry (Reception), should be made using the common application form (CAF) provided by your child’s home local authority by the deadline on 15 January. All on-time applicants will be sent their offer on National Offer Day (16th April or the next working day).

Applicants wishing to be considered under the school’s faith criteria (1 and 3-5) should provide the school with a copy of the child’s baptismal certificate or proof of enrolment on a baptismal programme by 15 January for consideration in the main admissions round.

Allocation of places

The published admission number (PAN) for entry to Reception is 15.

Over subscription Criteria

Following the admission of children with an EHCP naming the school, When the school receives more applications than there are places available, children will be offered remaining places in order of priority, according to the following over subscription criteria:

1. Looked after and previously looked after Catholic children.
2. Other looked after and previously looked after children.
3. Catholic siblings of present pupils.
4. Catholic children living in the Catholic Parish of St Augustine’s in Daventry and the Catholic Parish of Aston le Walls (please see diocesan map in Appendix 1).
5. Other Catholic children
6. Other siblings of present pupils on role at time of application.
7. Children living in the civil parish of Aston Le Walls.
8. Other children

If the admission number is exceeded within any criterion, priority will be given to those who live closest to the school.

Distances are measured on a straight-line basis from the address point of the child’s home to the address point of the school, using a geographical information system. Each address has a unique address point established by the most valuable elements from the National Land and Property Gazeteer (NPLG), Ordnance Survey Master Map, Royal Mail Postal Address File and The Valuation Office Agency. The address point for a property does not change.

If two or more applications cannot otherwise be separated and there is only one place available, for example if there are multiple applications from the same shared dwelling (e.g. flats) or where the distance between two or more applicants’ homes to the school is identical, a computerised random allocation process will be used to determine who should be allocated the place.

Definitions

Catholic

Catholic means baptised in accordance with the rites of the Catholic Church or enrolled in a baptismal programme.

Looked after children

Looked after children are children who, at the time of making an application to a school, are:

• In the care of a local authority, or
• Being provided with accommodation by a local authority in exercise of its social services functions

Previously looked after children

Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they:

• Were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002, or
• Became subject to a child arrangements order, or
• Became subject to a special guardianship order

This includes 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. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of 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.

Siblings

A sibling is defined as a child’s brother or sister. A sibling must be living at the same permanent address and as part of the same family unit (one or two parents plus children) to qualify under this criterion. For School Admissions purposes, the term sibling includes:

• half-brothers and half-sisters
• step-brothers and step-sisters
• adopted children
• children in foster care
• children living in the same family unit, even if they are not biological brothers and sisters – for example when the parents are not married/in a civil relationship.

Cousins are not regarded as siblings.

Home Address (child’s)

The child’s home address is defined as the address at which the child normally resides with their parent/carer at the time of application. If a child lives with parents who are separated, the home address will be treated as the place where the child sleeps for most of the school week (i.e. Sunday night – Thursday night inclusive).

If the child spends equal amounts of time at two addresses, the parents must agree which address they wish to be the child’s main address before we can process the application.

Documentary evidence of ownership or rental agreement may be required together with proof of actual permanent residence at the property concerned.

Appeals

Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governors to refuse their child a place in St Mary’s should apply in writing to the Chair of Governors:

Mrs Rebecca Iley (Chair of Governors)

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School

Main Street

Aston le walls

NN116UF

rebecca.Iley@stmarysalw.net (Letters can also be sent electronically).

Appeals are heard by an independent panel.

Children below Compulsory School Age

A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August.

Where children below compulsory school age are offered a place at the school, they will be entitled to attend the school full-time in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents/carers may defer their child’s entry to the allocated school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which the child reaches compulsory school age, and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer was made when the place will cease to be available for the child. Please discuss this with the school directly once a place has been offered.

Where parents/carers wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.

Please discuss the above with the school directly once you have received an offer of a school place.

Requests for admission outside the normal age group

Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1.

Requests for admission to Reception outside the normal age group (Summer Born children)

Parents/carers of summer born children (those born between 1 April and 31 August) who do not reach compulsory school age until a full year after they would normally start school, may wish to delay their child’s start to school until the September following the child’s 5th birthday.

If parents wish to delay their summer born child’s start at school until the September after their 5th birthday, the expectation is that they will join their normal age group as they move from Reception to Year 1. Parents should make an in-year application in the summer term for a Year 1 place in September.

If parents do not want their child to miss their Reception year, they may instead request that their child be admitted out of their normal age group, i.e. into Reception instead of Year 1. Please note, this is a ‘request’ and parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular age group. The school’s admission authority is responsible for making the decision about which year group a child should be admitted to.

Parents/carers are advised to still make their application for a Reception place for their child’s normal year of entry. If it is agreed that an application for Reception out of the normal age group will be accepted, this application for their normal age group can be withdrawn.

In addition to the above, parents/carers wishing to seek a place for their child out of the normal age group for Reception at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School should make a formal request in writing to head@stmaryspri.northants-ecl.gov.uk giving some information about their child to explain why they believe it would be in their best interests to be educated out of their normal age group and not miss Reception. Parents can provide any additional evidence to support their request as this information will help the admission authority to make their decision.

The request will be passed to the Governing Body who will then consider the request and decide on the best year group for the child to start school in on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned. The Governing Body will then respond to parents/carers in writing, letting them know the reasons for their decision about the year group the child should be admitted to.

If it has been decided that the child should start school in Reception out of the normal age group, the parent/carer will then need to make an application for a place in Reception in the normal admissions round in the following academic year.

General Requests for admission outside the normal age group

Parents/carers wishing to seek a place for their child out of their normal age group at the school for any other year group than reception, or for reception after the start of the new school year in September, must put their request in writing to head@stmaryspri.northants-ecl.gov.uk in the first instance, giving some information about their child and explaining why they would like to apply for a place out of the normal age group. Parents/carers should also indicate in their request whether the child has been educated out of their normal age group at the current/previous school.

The school will pass the request to the Governing Body who will then consider the request and make a decision on the appropriate year group for the child on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.

The Governing Body will then respond to parents/carers in writing, letting them know the reasons for their decision about the year group the child should be admitted to. Once the year group has been agreed, an application for that year group can be processed.

Parents/carers do not have a right to appeal if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.

Waiting Lists

Following an unsuccessful application, parents/carers can request that their child’s name be placed on the waiting list.

Waiting lists are held for all year groups by the local authority and each added child will require the list to be ranked again in line with the school’s published oversubscription criteria. Priority will not be given to children on the basis that they have been on the waiting list the longest.

Waiting lists will be held until 31 December. If you wish your child’s name to remain on the waiting list for the remainder of the academic year, you will need to inform the School Admissions team at WNC in writing via email by 31 December and again by 31 March to renew your interest. A new application will be required for a new academic year.

Late Applications

Late applications are any common application forms (for the normal point of entry) received by the local authority after the statutory closing date of 15 January. Late applicants will not receive an offer of a school place by their local authority on National Offer Day (16 April or the next working day).

Late applications will be processed in the subsequent rounds of allocations between May and July (for more details, refer to WNC’s timescales in their co-ordinated scheme on their website). Parents will then be informed via email with the result of the subsequent rounds of allocations.

In-Year Applications

An in-year application refers to an application for a school place made during the school year or an application for admission to a school made at the start of the school year for any year group other than the normal year of entry.

An application should be made by completing the in-year application form on the West Northamptonshire Council website:

Move school during the school year (in-year) | West Northamptonshire Council (westnorthants.gov.uk)