Admissions

Northdown Primary school applies the regulations on admissions fairly and equally to all those who wish to attend this school. At the present time, the statutory age for entering school is the beginning of the term following the child’s fifth birthday.

Children may begin school one or two terms before their fifth birthday. New entrants begin in September.

Our standard number is 30 per class for years R-6. In the case of oversubscription, the following admissions criteria are used:

1. Children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority (under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) and children who were LAC and have ceased to be so following adoption.
2. Children living in the priority area who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of admission.
3. Health Reasons – medical, health social, and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010.
4. Distance from the school as the crow flies.

Any parent whose child has been refused admission has the right to appeal against this decision.

After a place has been offered the school reserves the right to withdraw the place in the following circumstances:

• When a parent has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time, or
• When a parent has failed to notify the school of an important change to the application information, or
• The place was offered on the basis of fraudulent or intentionally misleading information from a parent.

When a place has been allocated for your child at Northdown, you will be contacted by the school so that arrangements can be made to introduce you and your child to the school. When this happens at the end of one school year in preparation for a September admission, there will be specific open days when new children are invited to attend.

Attendance at our Nursery does not guarantee admission to Northdown Primary School and a separate application must be made. Please click here for a link to our Admissions policy.

Kent County Council forwards admissions booklets to all Infant and Primary schools in January of each year. This book outlines all necessary information regarding the admission procedures for parents requesting Reception places for September of the same year.

Applications are then invited online at www.kent.gov.uk/ola. Parents/carers are advised to nominate three schools in preferential order. KCC will then endeavour to allocate a school of your choice. Parents are normally informed of their allocated school by Easter.

You will be invited to a meeting prior to your child starting school where you will meet your child’s teacher. At this meeting you will be able to ask any questions you may have and also receive information regarding the arrangements for your child’s start at school. The information we receive will be stored on the school computer for our record keeping. In order for us to keep all information about your child up to date please let us know of any changes which may take place, i.e. change of address, phone number, emergency contact, etc.

Casual Admissions

Casual admissions are the responsibility of Northdown Primary School. Application forms can be obtained from the school office or directly from Kent County Council www.kent.gov.uk

Admission Appeals Dates

If your child is due to start Primary, Infant, or Junior School in 2021 you can appeal if you were refused a place at one of your preferred schools.

If the school application was made in the normal round of applications appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the appeal deadline.

If it was a late application, appeals should be heard within 40 school days of the deadline where possible, or within 30 school days of making the appeal.

For foundation schools, voluntary aided schools, free schools and academies: you must write to the school directly care of Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel using the appeal by post form (PDF, 29.2 KB).

Appeal Hearing

The hearing lets you explain to an independent appeal panel why you think your child should be given a place at the school and lets the school explain why it could not offer your child a place.

Due to the current social distancing coronavirus restrictions, the appeals process will require adjustments that will vary from school to school. The panel clerk will contact those who have appealed directly to inform them how the appeal will be heard.

You will be informed of the date of your appeal at least 14 calendar days before it is heard and a complete copy of the appeals paperwork will be sent to you at least 7 calendar days before the hearing.

Decision

There is a legal maximum class size for reception, year 1 and year 2. This is 30 children per teacher. Your appeal can be turned down if all the classes have already reached their legal limit, unless:

• the admission arrangements were unlawful
• the admission arrangements weren’t correctly and impartially applied
• the decision to refuse admission wasn’t reasonable.

We will write to tell you the panel’s decision as soon as possible. We cannot tell you the decision by telephone.

If your appeal is unsuccessful, you can’t lodge another appeal to the same school for the same school year, unless you can show your circumstances have changed since the first appeal.

Timetable for Appeals – Primary

Your appeal will be heard at what is called a Hearing, within a time scale of 40 school days from 12th May 2023. It is likely to be heard at the end of June.

All other appeals known as ‘in-year’ admissions and those for Year R submitted after 12th May 2023 will be heard within 30 school working days of submitting the request.

Your appeal request should state your reasons for your request and any additional information/documentation/appendices should be submitted five days before the Hearing to allow time for it to be copied and distributed to all the interested parties. At least 10 working days before your appeal, unless you choose to waive this right, you will be sent detailed information regarding the process and also the date and names of the independent panel members who will hear the appeal.

The school is unable to guarantee that any original work/evidence/folders, submitted as part of the appeal, will be returned. Appellants may wish to submit copies in advance and then take important original documents verifying evidence to the appeal.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Get Advice

Call 03000 41 42 22 or email appeals@kent.gov.uk for support.