Canon Johnson Church of England Primary School

Arrangements for Admission to Reception 2027/28 

Canon Johnson CE Primary School is an Academy. The Forward as One Church of England Multi Academy Trust is the admissions authority for the school.  

The number of places available in the Reception Year will be a maximum of 30 (Pupil Admissions Number). This arrangement follows consultation between the FAO Trust, the Local Advisory Board, the LA, the Manchester Diocesan Board of Education and other admissions authorities in the area. The governors will not place restrictions on admissions to Reception Year unless they are advised that applications have exceeded the published admissions number. Governors have a duty to admit children for whom an Education Health Care Plan has been issued, which names the school.

In the event of over-subscription, the governors will allocate places using the following criteria, which are listed in priority order. Please read these criteria in conjunction with the additional notes. 

Where over-subscription occurs in applying the criterion 1-6, priority will be given to those pupils living nearest the school (see additional notes on how the distance is calculated).

1. Children in Public Care (see section 2 note 1). Looked after children and previously looked after children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).

 

1. Church Foundation Places: Places are given to children of parents who worship regularly at Christ Church, Ashton. This means active membership (at least once a month, for 12 months prior to this application). This must be verified by having the school’s supplementary form signed by the Vicar Of Christ Church. This form must be obtained from and returned to the school.

 

1. Other Anglican Church Places: Children whose parents regularly attend (at least once a month, for 12 months prior to this application) another Anglican Church. This must be verified by having the school’s supplementary form signed by the minister of the church you attend. This form must be obtained from and returned to the school.

 

1. Regular attendance at any other church belonging to Churches Together in Britain and Ireland: Children whose parents regularly attend (at least once a month, for 12 months prior to this application) another Christian Church or a local Churches Together group, which is a member of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. This must be verified by having the schools supplementary form signed by the minister of the church you attend. This form must be obtained from and returned to school.
2. Special medical or social circumstances affecting the child: All reasons should be included with the Application Form for consideration by the Admissions Panel and must be received on time. (see section 2, note 2) 

 

1. Sibling Connection: Children with a brother or sister living at the same address and attending this school at the time of admission. This does not include Year 6 children who are leaving.  (see section 2, note 3) 

 

1. Distance from school: Other children, giving priority to those living closest to the school. (see section 2, note 4) 

 

 

Section 2 (Guidance Notes) 

1. Children in Public Care            

This includes any "looked after child", “previously looked after children” and any child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order.  ‘Looked after’ means that the child was (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions. 

This criteria also includes looked after children and all previously looked after 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. 

 

1. Special medical or social circumstances affecting the child. Where admission is sought under exceptional medical or social circumstances professional supporting evidence e.g. from a doctor, psychologist or social worker, is essential. Such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school is the most suitable for your child and the difficulties that would be caused if your child had to attend another school.

 

1. Sibling. The sibling criterion includes: natural sisters/brothers; half-sisters/brothers; step sisters/brothers; adopted sisters/brothers; sisters/brothers of fostered children; the child of the parent/carer’s partner, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner, and in each case living at the same address. This allows for the admittance of children whose siblings will still be attending the preferred school.

Where there are children of multiple births wishing to be admitted and the sibling is the 30^th child, the governors may admit over the infant class size requirements if it is possible to do so.

Infant Class Size – Infant classes (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single school teacher.

Additional children may be admitted under very limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain an ‘excepted pupil’ for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the infant class size limit. The excepted children are:

 

1. Children with an Education Health Care Plan admitted outside the normal admission round;
2. Looked after children and previously looked after children admitted outside the normal admission round;

 

 

3. Children admitted, after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by the admission authority or local authority in the original application process; 

 

4. Children admitted after an independent appeals panel upholds an appeal;

 

5. Children who move into the area outside the normal admission round for whom there is no other available school within reasonable distance;

 

 

6. Children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admissions round;

 

7. Twins and children from multiple births when one of the siblings is the 30^th child admitted; 

 

 

8. Children with SEN who are normally taught in a SEN unit attached to the school, or registered at a special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream school.

 

4. Distance

Distance will be measured as a straight line from the child’s home address, using the address point assigned by the National Land and Property Gazetteer, to the main gate to the school property. Measurements will be made using the local authority’s school admissions data mapping software, which uses a Geographical Information System based on Ordnance Survey.

The address from which distance will be measured will be the permanent residential address, at the time of application, of the parent with whom the child lives. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the home address is the address from which the child travels to school for the majority of school days per week. If the number of days is exactly equal the home address will be that of the parent who receives the Child Benefit.

In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applications where this distance would be the last place/s to be allocated, the place will be allocated to the pupil that is nearer using walking distance as measured using the local authority’s school admissions data mapping software.

In the event of two or more applications with distances, which are exactly the same competing for a final place, e.g., blocks of flats, the place will be decided by drawing lots, the first name drawn will be offered the place.

 

Proof of Address

‘Starting Out’ and the application form asks for parents to provide two proofs of address from the following list:

• Mortgage statement*
• Tenancy agreement or letter from landlord*
• Council Tax statement*
• Council Tax Benefit Statement*
• TV License*
• Home contents Insurance Certificate*
• Buildings Insurance Certificate*
• Recent utility bill (gas, electricity, water, land-line telephone bill not a mobile phone bill)**
• Letter from solicitor confirming exchange of contracts on a house.**

*Issued in the last 12 months

** Issued within the last 3 months

Late Applications

The closing date for applications in the normal admissions round is 15^th January 2027.

Applications, which are received after this date will be considered after all applications received on time, have been processed.

 

Deferred Admissions

Children are eligible for a full-time Reception place from the September following their fourth birthday and so will be admitted to the Reception class at the beginning of the Autumn term before their fifth birthday, and to the nursery class at the beginning of the Autumn term before their fourth birthday.

Parents/carers can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made.

Where the parents wish, children can attend on a part time basis until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which the child reaches compulsory school age.

Waiting Lists

If the school is oversubscribed the governors will maintain a waiting list. Parents, who have expressed the school as a preference and have not been offered a place at the school or at a higher preference school, will automatically be placed on the waiting list until the end of the autumn term. Other parents who have submitted an appeal or who have opted to go on the list will also be placed on the list. All pupils on the waiting list will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria. Places will be offered, should any become available, to the highest ranked application received by the date the place becomes available. If new or late applications have a higher priority under the oversubscription criteria, they will be ranked higher than those who have been on the list for some time. A significant change of circumstances, such as a change of address, will be taken into account: evidence must be provided. Children who have been referred under the local authority’s Fair Access protocol or who are the subject of a direction by the local authority to admit must be given precedence over any other children on the waiting list.

 

Admission Outside Normal Age Range   

A request may be made for a child to be admitted 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, i.e. a child born between 1st April and 31st August, may request that the child be admitted out of their normal age group, to reception rather than year 1. Parents should submit reasons for requesting admission for their child outside of the normal age range together with their application. The online application provides space to do this and you should also submit views of medical professionals as necessary. A decision will be made taking account of parents’ wishes, information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; and whether they have previously been educated outside their normal age group. Each request will be treated on an individual basis having regard to the views of an educational professional who will be involved in educating the child. Parents should complete the online application and include details of their request to defer entry for their child. They may also contact the Admissions Team for further information.

 

***A place in Nursery does not guarantee a place in Reception. 

Parents of existing Nursery children at Canon Johnson C of E Primary School need to make a separate application for a place in the school.*** 

Admissions Information 

Making an Application

Applications for admission to Canon Johnson C of E Primary School should be made online, and also on the School’s own form (this is not compulsory but it would be impossible to apply the faith criteria of the school if it is not completed). Both forms will be found on Tameside’s website with the Local Authority’s ‘Starting Out’ booklet (downloadable). All applications must be completed on line between the dates specified on the website. The school supplementary form is available at the end of this policy and on the school’s website atwww.canonjohnson.co.uk

 

Address of Pupil

The address used on the school’s admission form must be the current one at the time of application. If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Where the parents live at different addresses, the current one at the time of application, normal address of the child will be the one used. This will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of Monday to Friday mornings. Parents may be asked to show proof of address. Where there is a dispute about the correct address to use, the governors reserve the right to make enquiries of any relevant third parties.

If a child is cared for at another address e.g. child minder or grandparent or another member of the family, this address cannot be considered for the purpose of the admission process. 

 

Appeals

Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is oversubscribed, parents have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel, set up under the School Standards and Framework Act, 1998, as amended by the Education Act 2002. Parents should notify the clerk to the governors at the school within 20 days of receiving the letter refusing a place. Parents will have the opportunity to submit their case to the panel in writing and also to attend in order to present their case. You will normally receive 10 days’ notice of the place and time of the hearing.

If your child was refused a place in Reception or Key Stage One because of Government limits to infant class sizes, the ground on which your appeal could be successful are limited. You would have to show that the decision was one which in the circumstances no reasonable governing body would have made, or that your child would have been offered a place if the governors’ admissions arrangements had been properly implemented.

Please note that this right of appeal against the governors’ decision does not prevent you in making an appeal in respect of any other school.

 

Fraudulent Applications

Where the governing body discovers that a child has been awarded a place as the result of an intentionally misleading application from a parent e.g. address or of involvement in a place of worship which effectively denies a place to a child with a stronger claim, then the governing body is required to withdraw the offer of a place. The application will be considered afresh and a right of appeal offered if a place is refused.

In-year Admissions

Applications for places mid-year will be carried out through the Local Authority’s co-ordinated admissions scheme.

 

CANON JOHNSON CE PRIMARY SCHOOL SUPPLEMENTARY FORM 

Request for Admission to Reception: September 2027 

1. Full Name of Child: 

 

1. Date of Birth: 

 

3. Home Address

 

4. Contact Telephone Number

 

5. Is the parent a frequent worshipper (at least monthly) at a Christian Church? (for 12 months prior to this application) YES  /    NO

 

If yes, please give details: 

Name and address of church: 

 

 

 

 

 

Signature of vicar/minister: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confirm that the information on this application form is correct. 

Signature of parent/carer: 

Please print name: 

This form which is important (but not compulsory) should be returned to the Headteacher at the school.