THE QUEEN’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

 ADMISSIONS POLICY 2013/14

 We encourage every child to reach their full potential, nurtured and supported in a Christian community, which lives by the values of love, compassion and respect

The Queen’s Church of England Primary School has a distinctive Christian ethos which is at the heart of this school and provides an inclusive, caring and supportive environment where children learn and flourish in a setting shaped by Christian values.  We welcome applications from all members of the community and we ask all parents to respect the Christian ethos of our school and its importance in our community.

The Queen’s Church of England Voluntary Aided School was established in the eighteenth century and has a unique royal connection. Queen Victoria gave permission for the school to be called The Queen’s School and decreed that its title should change with that of the monarch.

This policy has been drawn up in accordance with the Sex Discrimination Act, the Race Relations Act, the Human Rights Act, the Disability Discrimination Acts and the Equality Act. This policy will be administered fairly and impartially. The decision to admit, or otherwise, is the sole responsibility of the Governing Body.

The School is part of the locally agreed co-ordination scheme and the timescales for applications to be received and processed are those agreed with the local authority. Parents must complete the Local Authority’s Common Application Form (CAF) and return the form to the Authority; if applying for this School, parents must name this School as one of the preferences on the CAF. Parents must also complete The Queen’s School Supplementary Form and those who wish to apply for a place under the church criteria 2 or 3 must also complete The Queen’s School Clergy Form and return them both to the School.  From September 2010, the same policy will apply to all in-year casual admissions and the same admissions criteria will apply to both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 applications.

Children whose fifth birthday falls during the school year (September to August) are admitted in to the school in September.  Sixty children are admitted into 2 parallel classes, each with the statutory limit of 30 children.

The criteria for admission are applied in order of priority when the school is over subscribed.  If any categories are over subscribed, places are allocated on the basis of proximity with the exception of category 3, which is on the age of the sibling already attending the school, those with younger siblings having priority.

Criteria for admission to The Queen’s Church of England Primary School

1. Looked after children (see note 1).

2. Children with an exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at this school.   This must be supported by written evidence at the time of application, e.g. from a specialist health professional, social worker or other care professional.   The evidence must set out the reasons why this school is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school.

3. A child whose sibling (by which is meant full, step-, half- and adopted sibling living in the same household) attends the school in the term in which the child is due to start.

4. A child living within (see note 4) the boundaries of the Kew ecclesiastical (Anglican) Parishes where one or both parents is a member of one of the three Kew Church of England churches (St. Anne’s, St. Philip & All Saints’ and St. Luke’s) and are committed and regular worshippers (see notes 2 & 3) at the church.   A reference from the vicar, using the prescribed supplementary and clergy form, must be received by the closing date for admission.

5. A child living within (see note 4) the boundaries of the Kew ecclesiastical (Anglican) Parishes where one or both parents are committed and regular worshippers (see notes 2 & 3) of a Christian church (see note 5).   A reference from the priest or minister, using the prescribed supplementary clergy form, must be received by the closing date for admission.

6. Any remaining places will be given in order of proximity to the school by the shortest route by road and publicly maintained footpath from the middle (the “seed-point”) of their home to the nearest pedestrian school gate using the Local Authority’s computerised system.

Explanatory Notes

1. A ‘looked after child’ (LAC) is a child who is (a) in the care of local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in Section 22 (1) of the Childrens Act 1989).  A ‘previously looked after child’ is a child who was adopted, or subject to a residence order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after.  The Governors will require written confirmation that the child is in public care and will be so at the time of admission to the school.

2. ‘Committed worshipper’ of a congregation may be expressed by enrolment on the electoral roll, office holder in the church or parish, membership and leadership of church organisations, participation in church activities and Holy Communion. This is not an exhaustive or exclusive list but represents the kinds of active involvement, which may be seen as evidence of being a committed member of a church.

3. ‘Regular Worshipper’ means attending church at least twice a month for at least two years immediately preceding the closing date for applications.  If you or your minister / religious leader have moved during this period, you must obtain references from any other minister/religious leader and/or church/place of worship attended.  The Governors will require that The Queen’s School Clergy Form is completed for each minister/religious leader and church/place of worship.

4. ‘Living Within’/ Child’s Main Residence. This will be the child’s permanent residence at the closing date for applications.

Families who are due to move should provide:

• A copy of a Solicitor’s letter confirming that exchange of Contracts has taken place on the purchase of a property; or

• A copy of the Current Rental Agreement, signed by both Tenants and the Landlord, showing the address of the property.

5.  ‘Christian church’ is a member of Churches Together in Britain and  Ireland or the Evangelical Alliance

6.  ‘Shortest Route’ is the shortest route by road and public footpath (allowing for bridges over the railway line) calculated using the Richmond upon Thames’ Geographical Information System (GIS) in use at the time of application.

Responsibility for admissions rests with the Board of Governors.  A place is normally taken up in September.  However, applicants may opt to defer entry to the reception class until the beginning of the term after their child is five years old, but cannot defer entry beyond the academic year.

• Parents considering The Queen’s School for their child are invited to make an appointment to visit the school once the child has reached 3 years of age.  Following the visit, the child’s name can be entered on the school’s list, and in the October preceding entry, application forms are sent to the parents or carers of all children on this list.  Neither registering your child’s name with the school nor completing a Local Authority Common Application Form can guarantee a place, and the age at which the child is registered has no bearing on whether a place will be offered.

• Withdrawal of offers of places will be considered by the Governors, in liaison with the Local Authority, if parents give a false home address on the application form. This includes cases where parents take out a short-term let or buy a property solely to use its address on the application form without any intention of taking up permanent residence there.

In fairness to all parents the Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place if fraudulent or deliberately misleading information of any sort has been used on an application. 

Special educational needs

Parents of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs are required to apply for school places separately through the local authority from whom advice is available.   If a child with a statement is placed in the school by the local authority before the normal admission round, the number of places available to other applicants will be reduced.

Late applications

The Governors will consider late applications in accordance with the procedure in the local authority’s admission booklet.

Waiting list

The School operates a waiting list, which is ordered in accordance with the admission criteria.   Parents may request in writing to join the waiting list.

Appeals

Parents who are not offered a place for their child have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel.   Parents wishing to appeal should obtain an appeal form from the school. The form should be sent to reach the Clerk to the Appeal panel, c/o the School, within 20 school days of the date of the letter confirming the governors’ decision not to offer a place.  Should some appeals be unsuccessful, the governing body will not consider further applications from those parents within the same academic year unless there have been significant changes in their circumstances.

This Admissions Policy replaces any previously published.      28^th February 2012

Our Prospectus and the Admissions Policy is attached in pdf form below, or please contact the School Office.