St Stephen’s Catholic Primary School

Admissions Policy and Procedures 2027/28

Vision

‘Every child, Every chance, Every day!’

Mission Statement

‘Love one another, as I have loved you.’

John 13:34

Our Values - St Stephen’s CARES

Compassion, Ambition, Rejoice, Excellence, Service

ADMISSION POLICY AND ARRANGEMENTS 2027/2028

St Stephen’s is a Catholic School in the trusteeship of the Diocese of Salford. It is maintained by Tameside Local Authority and is a voluntary aided school. The Governing board is the admissions authority and is responsible for taking all decisions on applications for admissions. The co-ordination of admissions arrangements is undertaken by the Local Authority.

For the school’s year commencing September 2027, the governing board has determined that the number of children to be admitted to Reception will be 60.

The school’s role is to participate in the mission of the Catholic Church by providing a curriculum, including Catholic religious education and worship, which will help children to grow in their understanding of the Good News and in the practice of their faith. The school will help the children develop fully as human beings and prepare them to undertake their responsibilities as Catholics in society. The school requires all parents applying for a place here to understand and respect this ethos and its importance to the school community. This does not affect the rights of parents who are not of the Catholic faith to apply for a place here.

Admissions to the school will be determined by the governing board. Parents must complete a Local Authority Preference Form or apply online via the website

If you wish to have your application considered against the school's religious criteria then you must ALSO complete the supplementary form which is available from the school.

If there are fewer than 60 applications, all applicants will be offered places. If there are more applications than the number of places available, the following oversubscription criteria will be applied:

1. Both Baptised Catholic and non-baptised Looked After Children, Baptised Catholic and non-baptised previously Looked After Children and Looked After Children adopted from overseas.
2. Baptised Catholic children who have a sibling in the school at the time of admission.
3. Baptised Catholic children resident in the parish of St Stephen’s Droylsden. 
4. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children.
5. Other children who have a sibling in the school at the time of admission.
6. Other Baptised Catholic Children.
7. All remaining applicants.

If in any category there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of distance to those living closest to school.

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. 

In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applications where 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.

Notes for Applicants

a. All applications will be considered at the same time and after the closing date for admissions which is 15th January 2027 (primary)/31st October 2026 (secondary). Applications received after this date will be treated as a late application and will not be considered until after the main allocation of places has taken place.

b. A Looked After Child is a child who is (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 (under section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989. A previously Looked After Child is one who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, child arrangement order or special guardianship order.

c. For a child to be considered as a Catholic evidence of a Catholic Baptism or reception into the Catholic Church is required. Written evidence of reception into the Catholic Church can be obtained by referring to the Register of Receptions, or in some cases a sub-section of the Baptismal Registers of the Church in which the Rite of Reception took place. If, for example, a child has been baptised in the Church of England and the parents are subsequently admitted to the Catholic Church through the RCIA programme, the child must also be admitted to the Church by the Rite of Reception. The governing board will require written evidence in the form of a Certificate of Reception before applications for school places can be considered for categories of ‘Baptised Catholics’. A Certificate of Reception is to include full name, date of birth, date of reception and parent(s) name(s). The certificate must also show that it is copied from the records kept by the place of reception. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism for a good reason, may still be considered as baptised Catholics but only after they have been referred to the parish priest who, after consulting with the Director of Education or officers of the DDFE will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the law of the Church.

d. Home Address is considered to be the address where the child normally lives. Where care is split and a child moves between two addresses, the household in receipt of the child benefit would normally be the address used but the admission authority body reserves the right to request other evidence as fit the individual circumstance. Applicants should not state the address of another relative or person who has daily care of the child. Admissions Guidance – Updated November 2019 13

e. ‘Sibling’ is defined in these arrangements as full, half or step brothers and sisters, adopted and foster brothers and sisters who are living at the same address and are part of the same family unit. This does not include cousins or other family relationships.

f.  A waiting list for children who have not been offered a place will be kept and will be ranked according to the admission criteria and held until 31^st December. The waiting list does not consider the date the application was received or the length of time a child's name has been on the waiting list. This means that a child's position on the list may change if another applicant is refused a place and their child has higher priority in the admissions criteria.

g. For ‘In Year’ applications received outside the normal admissions round, if places are available, they will be offered to those who apply. If there are places available but more applicants than places then the published oversubscription criteria will be applied.

h.   If an application for admission has been turned down by the Governing Board, parents may appeal to an independent appeals panel. Parents must be allowed at least twenty school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to submit that appeal. Parents must give reasons for appealing in writing and the decision of the appeals panel is binding on the governors.

i.    The governing board reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a school place where false evidence is received in relation to the application.

j.   It is the duty of governors to comply with regulations on class size limits for children aged between rising five and seven. The governing board may exceed the regulations for twins and children from multiple births where one of the children is the 30th child admitted. This also applies to in-year applicants who are looked after/previously looked after children of UK service personnel or children who move into the area for whom there is no other school available within a reasonable distance.

k.    Children in Tameside are eligible for a Reception place from the beginning of the school year in which they become 5 years old.  However, they do not become of compulsory school until the start of the term after their fifth birthday.  Parents may therefore request that their school place be deferred until later in the school year and if they do this the place will be held for the child.   However, they cannot defer entry beyond the beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday or for children born between 1^st April and 31^st August, not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer is made.   Parents can also request that their child attend on a part time basis until the child reaches compulsory school age.

l.     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 online application to the Local Authority.  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. Parents will always be informed of the reasons for any decision on the year group a child should be admitted to.  Parents 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.

m.  Children with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) which names the school will be admitted before the application of oversubscription criteria.

NURSERY ADMISSIONS

Admissions to the Nursery Class at St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Primary School will be on a full time or part time basis and made by the Governing Body in accordance with the parental applications subject to the following set of ADMISSIONS CRITERIA forming a priority order where there are more applications for admission than the Nursery has places available.

For the school year commencing September 2027 the Governing Body has set its admissions number at 30.

1. Baptised Roman Catholic and non-baptised Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children
2. Baptised Roman Catholic children who have a sibling in the Primary School at the time of admission
3. Baptised Roman Catholic children resident in the parish(es) of St Stephen’s, Droylsden. 
4. Other Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children
5. Other children who have a sibling in the Primary School at the time of admission
6. Other children.

NOTES

1.  A Looked After Child is a child who is (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 under section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989. A previously Looked After Child is one who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, child arrangement order or special guardianship order

2.  For a child to be considered as a Roman Catholic evidence of such Baptism will be required.

3.  The decision with regard to the allocation of a morning or an afternoon place rests with the Headteacher.

4.  Admissions to the Nursery Class does not necessarily secure admission to the Primary School.

5.  If in any category there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of distance from home to school. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the front door of the child’s home address (including the community entrance to flats) to the main entrance of the school using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system with those living nearer to the school having priority. If the distance is the same for two or more applicants where this would be the last place/s to be allocated, a random lottery will be carried out in a public place.

6.  Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the child’s “permanent place of residence” will be determined as the address of the parent who normally has responsibility for the majority of school days in a week.

7.  Sibling is defined as a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.

8.  The Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a school place where false evidence is received in relation to baptism, sibling connections or place of residence.