St. Mary’s R.C. Primary School, Whickham
Admissions Policy

The Governing Body of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School is the Admissions Authority for this school. The Admissions Policy Criteria will be applied on an equal preference basis. The Governing Body intends to admit up to 30 pupils to the Reception year group in September 2009. This number will apply to the Reception Year and to every other year in the school.

1. Children who are baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church and who are Looked After Children (Children in the care of the Local Authority).

2. Children who are baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church and whose home address (for children who spend part of the week with one parent/carer and part with another, their address shall be the address of the parent to whom the child benefit payment is allocated subject to independent proof from the Child Benefit Office) is within the parish boundaries of St. Mary’s Parish, Whickham or Immaculate Heart, Lobley Hill. The parish boundaries are available for viewing at the school and at the Civic Centre in Gateshead from the School Organisation and Admissions Team.

3. Children who are baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church, whose home address is outside of the parish boundaries of
St Mary’s Parish, Whickham or Immaculate Heart, Lobley Hill, but who regularly worship in these churches. A letter of confirmation of the child’s regular attendance at church will be required from the parish priest of the church at which the child worships.

4. Children who are baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church, whose home address is outside of the parish boundaries of St Mary’s Parish or Immaculate heart and who have a brother or sister already attending the school at the time of admission.

5. Children who are baptised as Catholics or have been formally received into the Catholic Church, whose home address is outside of the parish boundaries of St Mary’s Parish and Immaculate Heart, Lobley Hill, who do not have a brother or sister already attending the school at the time of admission.

6. Children who have not been baptised as Catholics nor who have been formally received into the Church but who are Looked After Children (Children in the care of the Local Authority).

7. Brothers and sisters of children of other Christian denominations and who will already be attending the school at the time of admission.

8. Brothers and sisters of children of other Faith traditions and who will already be attending the school at the time of admission.

9. Children of other Christian denominations who do not have a brother or sister at the school.

10. Children of other Faith traditions who do not have a brother or sister at the school.

11. Other children.

If applicants are seeking admission under any of criteria 1 to 5 above, they will be asked to provide a copy of Baptismal Certificate or evidence from the Church in which they were Baptised that the child has been baptised as a Catholic or has been received into the Catholic Church.

If applicants are seeking admission under any of criteria 7, 8, 9 or 10 above, they will be asked for a letter of support from their minister or Faith leader, or suitable equivalent. For Christian applicants a baptismal certificate should be provided.

Where there are places available for some, but not all applicants within a particular criterion, distance from home address to school will be the deciding factor, with preference being given to those whose home address is nearest to the school, when measured by the shortest walking route.

Children who have statement of Special Educational Need which names our school will be admitted to the school. If your child has Special Educational Needs but does not have a “statement” of need then your application will be considered on the basis of the schools admission criterion.

We can consider individual applications involving medical or social needs. This kind of application must be supported in writing from a registered professional i.e. a Doctor or a Social Worker. The supporting evidence should set out the particular reasons why our school is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. The criteria ranking for children who have independently proven exceptional medical or social grounds are placed after priority 10 but before those children in priority 11, unless of course they qualify in a higher priority, which they would normally have been placed, had no such exceptional circumstances applied. To assess this objectively we will require the professional from whom you have submitted independent evidence to confirm that no other school is able to provide the support required for your child and we will also seek an independent opinion of the evidence provided from the Gateshead L.A. Admission Officer.

Where a parent has been notified that a place is not available for a child, every effort will be made to help the parent to find a place in a suitable alternative school. Parents who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process are available by writing to the Chairman of Governors at the school address.

It is very helpful to have an early indication of the number of children to be admitted to the Reception class in the following September. However, it must be stressed that formal written applications for admission must be made on the form provided by the Local Authority and returned to them by the stated date. Places will then be allocated by strict application of the above criteria, with no reference to the date of application.

Chair of Governors
December 2008