Chad Vale Primary School

Admission Arrangements: Reception

We are a 2-form entry school (2 classes per year group). Our intake each September is 60 pupils and for new reception places, you will need to apply directly with the local authority. ​

Where there are more than 60 children applying for places in reception at Chad Vale, the local authority 'oversubscription criteria' are used which gives priority (in order) to:​

• Children currently (or previously) 'looked after' by the local authority (e.g. children in foster care or adopted).
• ​Children with a statement of Special Needs or an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) where Chad Vale Primary School is the named school.
• Children who will have siblings already at Chad Vale when they start.
• Distance from the school (measured in a straight line).

​In previous years the 'cut-off' distances (where children are too far away to be offered a place) were 1356m, 1306m and 1444m respectively. These are only a guide and will vary from year to year.

More information is available by clicking the download links at the bottom of the page.

Admission Arrangements: In-Year

For 'In-Year' admissions, please contact us directly to enquire about the 'Application for a Change of School (In Year)' form and details of our waiting lists. The same oversubscription criteria (as above) will be applied to in-year admissions if the year group you are applying to is full.

The In-Year Admission form is available to download below. We also have paper copies available in school.

Secondary Transfer Information

This is an exciting but also daunting time for you and your child. There are lots of options out there. This information is intended as a guide and is by no means exhaustive. It signposts lots of further websites and additional reading to inform your decision. It does not endorse the choice of any one school, that is for you to make with your child.

General order of admission criteria for state secondary schools :

• Special Educational Need
• Looked after Children- Those who are adopted, fostered or under a care order
• Aptitude in Sport or Arts-often 10% of places
• Denomination qualification - at Denominational schools
• 11+ Score- for Grammar Schools
• Pupil Premium- Based upon household income
• Ability testing for banding to allow for an even ability spread at the school
• Siblings- if they will still be at the school when the next child starts
• Distance- from a set or satellite point

Options:

• Local State Senior School- Distance from a set point or multiple satellite points, some offer aptitude testing for sport and the arts, some have ability testing that puts the child in a band, allowing for a fair spread of ability.
• State denominational school - Denomination and Distance .
• Grammar School - 11+ score criteria.
• Special educational need schools - SEN statement dependent.
• State boarding school - Criteria dependent.
• Private senior school - these have waiting lists- often with a registration fee, entrance exams, Bursaries and are fee paying schools.

Available Schools:
List of all State Schools can be found in the Education directory for each County Council. This is available from local libraries or on the Council website. This gives details about schools available and their criteria and admission status over the past 3-5 years.Private schools are listed in the Independent school’s directory.

Schools have open days in the Summer term and Autumn term. These dates can be found on the school website, by phoning the school and are sometimes published in the City Council Education directory for Senior Schools.

How to apply

All State Schools, including the Grammar Schools, should be applied for through your local council website application link regardless of which County the school is in. The application is usually due by the end of October in Year 6. Check local council website for exact date.

You can list 6 schools of your choice, in preference order. It is vital that you are realistic in your application based on 11+ score, SEN, siblings, distance and denominational criteria. If you aren’t offered any of your schools, you need to have a strong case for appeal to one of your chosen schools.

There is a separate website for the King Edward VI Grammar Schools foundation, and other Grammar Schools available in Sutton, Wolverhampton and Solihull, listing the schools, qualifying scores and previous 11+ score cut off

If you want to enter your child in for the Grammar Schools, you will need to apply in the Summer term of year 5 for your child to sit the Grammar school 11+ test. Check the closing date for this on the website. Different Councils have different 11+ exams and these will need to be sat separately. The tests are sat in September of Year 6 and the results published 2-4 weeks later. They generally consist of two 45 minute papers, testing Verbal Reasoning, Comprehension, Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning. You will have you child's results before you apply for your choice of schools. A percentage of places is available for Pupil Premium pupils with a lower score.

The Grammar School foundation does not endorse intensive tutoring for its exam, and beside excellent teaching, Chad Vale does not prepare your child for the 11+ exam. How you choose to prepare your child for the 11+ is again up to you. What is key is that you child is familiar with the paper, can work at speed and has a grasp of exam technique. This can be achieved at home using many of the papers on the market or through a Tutoring route of your choice, which could be an online facility, group or one-to-one tuition.

Denominational Schools will require you to fill in an additional form certified by your religious leader. Check early on the criteria you will need to fullfill for complete these forms ie: baptism status, parents religion and baptism status, attendance at church in the last year.Private Schools will require a separate application directly to the school. These schools are not included as a preference in your council application.