Admissions Statement Arrangements 2026-27

Admissions statement 2026-27

ADMISSIONS

In deciding where you would like your child to go to school, it is really important to find out as much as you can about the schools themselves. We hold Open days in November for parents of children due to start in Reception the following September. You simply need to turn up to one of the sessions and these will be advertised nearer the time.

We are also very happy for parents to make specific appointments to visit the school at any point during the academic year and we would ask you to arrange this with the office.

The local authority (LA) deals with all admissions for children starting school for the first time and the link below will direct you to the Kent County Council website where you will find all the information that you require. If you have a child in any other year group, and would like to enquire about places, then please do so directly through the school office.

The school follows the LA’s admissions policy, a copy of which is available from the link above.

KCC oversubscription criteria is outlined below and further admissions' documents can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

All information can be found on the Kent County Council Website

KCC

Determined Oversubscription Criteria for Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant Junior and Primary Schools

Looked after children or previously looked after children

• A looked after child or a previously looked after child is a child which is either in the care of the Local authority or is being provided with accommodation by a Local authority in the exercise of their social services functions under Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, or a child who ceased to be so because they became subject to an adoption, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order.
• An adoption order is an order under Section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. A child arrangement order is an order setting the arrangements to be made to the person with whom the child is to live under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian/guardians.
• A previously looked after child means such children who were adopted but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including those who appear 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.
• Looked after children and previously looked after children get the highest priority for school places as per the School Admissions Code.
• If you apply under this criterion, you will need to provide evidence to the Primary Admissions Team to show that your child qualifies. Once you have completed the online application, please send copies of your evidence separately to primaryadmissions@kent.gov.uk including your child’s name, date of birth and home address. If you do not supply evidence, it may not be possible to process your application under this criterion. 

Health, social and special access reasons

• Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, particularly those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority under this criterion will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment or social need means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school. Equally, this priority will usually apply to children whose parent’s physical or mental health or social needs means that they have a demonstrable or significant need for their child to attend a particular school. Please check the school’s admission arrangements for their exact definition. Please note that social needs do not include your intended or current childcare arrangements.
• All claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner which can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and the particular school that parent’s feel can accommodate these needs. This must be sent directly to the school before Thursday 12 February 2026 for the school to consider the evidence. Without this evidence, when schools are ranking children in accordance with their oversubscription criteria, they cannot take your needs into account.
• In most circumstances, an applicant should only apply for a single school under this criterion. Placing the same evidence for more than one of your preferred schools will only establish that more than one school can accommodate your child’s needs. If you feel your circumstances support applying for more than one school, please discuss it with the Primary Admission team, who can also provide any other advice required by parent’s who wish to apply under this criterion.

Distance

• Maps and internet-based measuring tools will give you an indication of the distance from your address to school, but they often use different reference points. So that distances are worked out consistently, KCC’s measuring software uses address point data provided by National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) which is updated annually. The address point reference we have for your property is taken as one end of a straight line, with the address point reference for the school as the other end. The point provided by NLPG may fall anywhere within your property boundary.
• Where applications are made from new build properties that are not registered to the NLPG, KCC may be required to temporarily use planning co-ordinates. Where a new build housing development requires a new school or the significant enlargement of an existing school, this criterion may allow for a catchment area (defined by a map) to be created for the relevant school. This must be included in the Statutory Public Notice and admissions determination and will be valid for a period not exceeding three rounds of admissions.
• The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for an oversubscribed school, these straight-line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school. Address point references allow us to calculate distance in miles to four decimal places.
• A block of flats has a single address point reference, so applicants living in the same block will be regarded as living the same distance away from the school.
• In the unlikely event that two or more children have equal eligibility for the last available place at the school, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given the place.
• KCC supplies address point data to all schools but some Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools, Free schools and Academies may use different methods to measure distances from applicant’s homes. This will be clearly explained in each school’s oversubscription criteria. Where a school has not explained that it will use a different method, the method described here will apply. 
• Please see the school’s individual admission arrangements for further information.

Waiting list will be held for at least the first term of the academic year in oversubscription criteria order.

Where an offer has been made, the school will provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents can choose to defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year, but not beyond the start of the term after their child reaches compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year. Where parents wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year, but not beyond the start of the term after their child reaches compulsory school age.

Requests for admission to Reception outside of the normal age group should be made to the Headteacher of each preferred school as early as possible in the admissions round associated with that child’s date of birth. This will allow the school and admissions authority sufficient time to make a decision before the closing date. Parents are not expected to provide evidence to support their request to defer their application, however where provided it must be specific to the child in question. This might include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede a school’s ability to agree to deferral. Parents are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. This application can be cancelled if the school agrees to accept a deferred application for entry into Year R the following year. Deferred applications must be made via paper Reception Common Application Form (RCAF) to the LA, with written confirmation from each named school attached. Deferred applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round and offers will be made in accordance with each school’s oversubscription criteria. Further advice is available at http://www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions

PAN

Admissions Arrangements – Reception Class The number of pupils admitted to the Reception class in each academic year is determined by agreement with the Local Authority and with regard to the school’s facilities. In line with our Published Admissions Number of 30, the admissions limit in the Reception Class for academic year 2026/27 is 30 pupils.

Waiting List 

The school operates a waiting list for available places.  The school's Waiting List will be re-ranked, in line with the published oversubscription criteria, every time a child is added. If a place becomes available the school will work through the waiting list applying the over-subscription criteria. You should inform the school of any change in your circumstances, e.g. change of address, which might affect your position on the waiting list.

Appeals 

If your child is due to start primary school in September 2026, you can appeal if you are refused a place at one of your preferred schools on National Offer Day (Thursday 16 April 2026).

You must submit your appeal before Monday 18 May 2026 for it to be considered by Monday 20 July 2026. Any appeals received after this time will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline, or where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

For any appeals being lodged read the full copy of our privacy notice outlining your rights in relation to your personal data.