Gladstone Primary School

Admissions Policy and Guidance for Current Year

 St. Monica's Church in Wales Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Co-educational Primary School and one of its foremost aims is to provide a Christian education in accordance with the rites, ceremonies and doctrines of the Anglican faith as practised in the Church in Wales. Parents should be aware that the faith and doctrines of the Church in Wales are an integral part of the curriculum and as such these permeate throughout everything that we do at school. As a fully inclusive school, children of all faiths and none are very welcome to apply. Places in the school are awarded at the discretion of the Governing Body, who review their admissions policy annually.

The standard admission number is the number of pupils that the Governing Body will admit to a year group in the school. The standard number for this school is 20. The Governing Body has resolved that this will be the maximum number admitted into a year group due to restrictions of space in the school, unless it included “excepted pupils” as specified by Regulation. The total number of places in the school will not exceed 145 pupils.

Children are admitted to the school in the Autumn term in the academic year in which they are five. Application forms will be given to all who express an interest in the school. Completed forms must be returned by Monday 11th January. The school will request references from religious leaders should the number of applicants exceed the places available, in such circumstances the Admissions Panel of the Governing Body will meet. Parents will be notified of the outcome by Tuesday 13 th April.

Parents whose application has been unsuccessful have the right to appeal. To exercise that right, the appeal must be made in writing to the Clerk to the Governing Body within 15 school days of receiving the letter refusing a place. The appeal will be considered by an independent Admission Appeal Panel, administered by the Llandaff Diocesan Board of Education, according to the Welsh Assembly Government’s Code of Practice on School Admission Appeals.

All unsuccessful applications will be put on a waiting list. If additional places become available while the waiting list is in operation they will be allocated on the basis of the oversubscription criteria, and not based on the date the application was added to the list. The waiting list will remain in operation until 31 August or until the place is no longer required.

The Governing Body will give priority to applications for admission for “looked-after” children in the care of the Local Authority, or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents) (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989), where the school is named as the most appropriate educational setting. Applications for a place in any year group, at any time of year will be considered in light of available places. If the number of applications exceeds the available pupil places, the Governing Body will admit children whose applications satisfy the over-subscription criteria in the following order:

• Children who, with their parents, attend an Anglican church in the Parish of Cathays on the majority of Sundays and have been practising members of the Anglican Communion and whose long-term participation is substantiated by their parish priest.
• Children who, with their parents, attend an Anglican church in another Parish on the majority of Sundays and have been practising members of the Anglican Communion and whose long-term participation is substantiated by their parish priest.
• Children who live in the parish of Cathays and, with their parents, attend another Christian Church and whose long-term participation is substantiated by their Priest or Minister.
• Children who live outside the parish of Cathays and, with their parents, attend another Christian Church and whose long-term participation is substantiated by their Priest or Minister.
• Children with siblings in the school at the date of enrolment and/or children whose applications are on medical or compassionate grounds. Such applications should be supported by professional references where appropriate.
• Children who live within the Parish of Cathays of any faith whose long-term participation can be substantiated by a senior representative of that faith organisation, and whose families wish their child to be educated in a Church in Wales School.
• Children who live within the Parish of Cathays of no faith and whose families wish their child to be educated in a Church in Wales School.
• Children who live outside the Parish of Cathays of any faith whose long-term participation can be substantiated by a senior representative of that faith organisation, and whose families wish their child to be educated in a Church in Wales School.
• Children who live outside the Parish of Cathays of no faith and whose families wish their child to be educated in a Church in Wales School. (NB within each stage, looked-after children will be given priority over other children.)

In the event of oversubscription within one of the criteria, the Governing Body will give priority to children living closest to the school.

Definitions

The determination of active and practising is made by reference to the application form and a support letter from religious leaders will be sought by the school. Long-term participation will indicate a period of at least 2 years and on-going.

Residence is deemed to be the child’s ordinary place of residence – a residential property at which the person or persons with parental responsibility reside at the closing date for receiving applications for admission to the school. Where parental responsibility is held by more than one person and those persons reside in separate properties, the child’s ordinary place of residence will be deemed to be that property at which the child resides for the greater part of the week, including weekends.

For the sibling criteria to be applicable, a brother and/or sister (including step and half siblings) are permanently resident at the same address. A “parent” is defined as someone who has parental responsibility for the child or a primary carer. Distance to school will be measured using Google Maps shortest walking route, using the home postcode to St Monica’s CW Primary School.