The planned admission number (PAN) for the Reception year is currently 30 pupils. Pupils are normally admitted in the September of the school year in which they reach their fifth birthday but parents are referred to the notes at the end of this policy relating to deferred entry.
Queen Margaret Primary School adopts the Local Authority Admissions Policy. A copy of this policy can be found on the Local Authority website.
Determined Admission arrangements for Gloucestershire school for 2023 and 2024 and the proposed Admission arrangements for 2024
DfE School Admissions Code 2022
If you wish your child to start school at Queen Margaret Primary you will need to follow the procedures detailed on the Gloucestershire County Council website.
There is an online application system that is usually open from mid-November to mid-January with places being offered in April before the new school year. Exact dates will vary so please follow the information given on the website.
The Local Authority is not responsible for offering places to children on behalf of all schools, but the Local Authority does maintain the statutory duty of being responsible and aware of all pupils and vacancies within schools/academies within Gloucestershire.
‘In Year’ admissions refer to children starting at Queen Margaret Primary School at a time other than the start of their Reception year (Early Years Foundation Stage)
Information about this process
If you are interested in your child moving to Queen Margaret Primary School please first contact our School Business Manager Ms Watts on 01684 292198 to enquire if we have places available in the year group that you are seeking.
If we have places available and you wish to apply for your child, you will need to complete an application form available from the county council’s website (see above) and then email it to us on [email protected].
Children who have -an Education Health Care Plan are placed in schools through the arrangements set out in the SEN Code of Practice and not through any admission criteria. Governing bodies are required by Section 324 of the Education Act 1996 to admit a child with a Statement/EHCP that names that particular school. Parents of children with Statements/EHCP’s of SEN should contact their child’s casework officer for any further information. Children who meet the criteria will be allocated a place even if that school is full.
The Governors and the Headteacher believe that it is in the best interests of all children to commence school in the September of the academic year that a child will attain the age of 5. However, a child is not required to attend school until the beginning of the term after their 5th birthday and admission may be deferred until the beginning of the Spring and Summer terms. Parents seeking such a deferment should make this clear when accepting the offer of a place.
If the school is oversubscribed, priority will be given to the admission of children who meet the criteria set out below:
Children with statements of SEND where the school is named on the statement/EHCP
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 (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. In Gloucestershire, such children are referred to as Children in Care. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders). Under the provisions of s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
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.
Where applications for admission exceed the number of places available (both in the normal round of admissions and for in-year admissions), the following criteria will be applied, in the order set out below, to decide which children to admit:
Where any particular category at points 1-2 above is oversubscribed, criterion 3 (strongest geographical claim based on straight line distance) will be used to determine which child is offered a place.
Late applications will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures set down by Gloucestershire LA as part of their coordinated scheme.
Please refer to the Gloucestershire Council School Admissions Page
Gloucestershire County Council has protocols in place to ensure that access to education is secured quickly for children who do not have a school place and that schools have an equitable spread of vulnerable children or those who are hard to place. All schools in Gloucestershire, including the Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools encompassed by these admission arrangements, have signed up to the fair access protocols and should a vulnerable child within these Protocols require a place at the school, they will take precedence over any child on the waiting list. All Fair Access Protocols are highlighted within the Gloucestershire Coordinated Schemes for Reception/Junior/Secondary and In Year Admissions.
Full details of all of these protocols can be found on the Gloucestershire Council School Admissions site following the link – School admission policies, protocols and schemes.
Parents have a right to appeal against the refusal by the Governing Body to admit their child and should put their appeal in writing to the Clerk of the Governors at the school within 14 days of receiving the letter of refusal. Appeals will be conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills under Section 84 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Details of the appeals procedure and guidance will accompany any letter of refusal. Should an appeal be unsuccessful, the Governing Body will not consider further appeals within the same academic year unless there have been significant or material changes in the child’s circumstances
