Admissions
Please follow the link below to watch a recent video featuring Debbie Ormerod, Lancashire County Council Access and Entitlement Manager.
Within the clip, Debbie is offering her professional advice and guidance about the school admissions process.
If you are considering moving your child to us from another school, the open letter below may be helpful. You should also complete the In Year Admissions form below.
ADMISSIONS POLICY
Please see our Admissions Policy for information regarding the Determined Admission Arrangements for a place at St Lawrence CE Primary School.
The document includes the following information:
- How to apply for a place at the school
- Admission Criteria in the event that there are more applicants than places
At St Lawrence CE Primary School we welcome families of all faiths and cultures. Visits to the school are warmly welcomed. We do not have an open day as such, as we prefer to show prospective parents around during a normal working day. Please contact us to arrange an appointment so that you can be sure of our full attention.
IN YEAR ADMISSIONS (See application form below)
In Year Admissions are admissions to school that take place outside the normal admissions rounds (ie Reception and Year 7)
If you are new to the area and require a school place or if you already reside in the area and you want to move your child from their current local school to our school, your application should be made directly to our school and the child will be admitted if there are available places.
The school is currently over-subscribed; we do not have any available places in school.
| YEAR GROUP | PLACES AVAILABLE |
| RECEPTION CLASS | 0 |
| YEAR 1 | 0 |
| YEAR 2 | 0 |
| YEAR 3 | 0 |
| YEAR 4 | 0 |
| YEAR 5 | 0 |
| YEAR 6 | 0 |
To apply for a place, please complete the In-year Application Form below and return it to: bursar@st-lawrence.lancs.sch.uk. Any additional information, e.g. a faith reference, should also be included. Please feel free to ring the school office to confirm that the form has been received.. Your application will be acknowledge upon receipt and we will advise you of the outcome within a maximum of 15 school days.
If you have any questions in relation to in-year admissions, please contact us by phone (01772 862664) or email (bursar@st-lawrence.lancs.sch.uk)
Where places are available, but we have more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria will be applied, to ensure the correct child/children are offered the places (see below).
If there are no places available, the child will be added to the waiting list and you have the right of appeal. Please see below for appeal information. Please note, that the waiting list does NOT guarantee a place at our school and if your child is currently not in education you should either make an appeal to our school and/or apply for a place at an alternative school.
Further information on how to apply for a local school can be found on the Lancashire County Council website: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/apply-for-a-school-place/changing-schools-during-the-school-year/
APPEALS
The school's admission appeals are supported by Lancashire County Council. If the Governing body cannot offer a school place, parents have the right to make an appeal.
This appeal should be submitted using the link below within twenty days of refusal of admission. The appeal provides you with an opportunity to explain why you wish to register your child at our school. The appeal forms and advice on how to complete them is available on the Lancashire County Council website:
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/appeal-against-an-admission-decision/primary-school-appeals/
Lancashire County Council will contact you in respect of your appeal application and inform you of the arrangements. The outcome of the appeal will be notified to you in writing. The decision of the Independent Appeal Panel is binding to all parties, ie the family and the school. Please note that this right of appeal against the Governors’ decision does not prevent you from making an appeal in respect of any other school.
OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA
Places are then allocated as per the following admissions criteria which are listed in order of priority:
1. (a) Children in public care and previously looked after children.
This includes any "looked after child", “previously looked after children” and any child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. . ‘Looked after’ means that the child was (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.
(b) Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school.
Professional supporting evidence from a professional, e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school is question is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school.
2. Children whose parents live within the ecclesiastical parish of Barton St Lawrence. A map showing the boundaries is available in school.
3. Children whose parents live outside the parish
(a) Children who have a sibling attending the school on the date of application and on the date of admission. Siblings include step, half, foster, adopted brothers and sisters living at the same address.
(b) Children of staff who have been employed in the school for the whole of the two years prior to the closing date for applications, or where the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. This applies to all staff, full and part time, who are employed by the governing body.
(c) Children with a parent/guardian worshiping in St Lawrence Church, Barton. "Parental worshiping" is normally taken to mean a minimum of monthly attendance at church at public worship for at least 12 months prior to 1st September 2023. In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these [admissions] arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
(d) Children with a parent/guardian worshipping in a church in membership of Churches Together in England. "Parental worshiping" is normally taken to mean a minimum of monthly attendance at church at public worship for at least 12 months prior to 1st September 2023. In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these [admissions] arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
The governors will request confirmation of this from the relevant member of the clergy or church officer. The list of Churches can be found on the Churches Together in England website at cte.org.uk. Lists are taken as on 1st September 2023. Churches in membership of the equivalent bodies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are equally accepted.
(e) Other children.
TIE BREAK
Where there are more applicants for the available places within a category, then the distance between the Ordnance Survey address points for the school and the home measured in a straight line will be used as the final determining factor, nearer addresses having priority over more distant ones. This address point is within the body of the property and usually located at its centre. Where two addresses have the same distance, or the cut-off point is for addresses within the same building, then the Local Authority's system of a random draw will determine which address(es) receive the offer(s).
IN-YEAR APPLICATION FORM
A link to the in-year application form is provided below.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FORM (FAITH REFERENCE)
If you are applying for a place in the school under the faith criteria, you should complete the Supplementary Information Form. This is available to download on the link below. Alternatively, you may obtain a paper copy from the school office.
APPEALS FOR ROUTINE ADMISSIONS
Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is over subscribed, parents have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel, set up under the School Standards and Framework Act, 1998, as amended by the Education Act, 2002. Parents should notify the clerk to the governors at the school by 30th April, 2024. Parents will have the opportunity to submit their case to the panel in writing and also to attend in order to present their case. You will normally receive 14 days’ notice of the place and time of the hearing.
For further information, please refer to the Admission Policy for the relevant year of admission.
APPEALS PROCESS - For further details of the appeals process and to access the online application form, please click the following link: Appeal against an admission decision - Lancashire County Council
GETTING READY TO START SCHOOL - A child’s first day at school, is a big moment for parents and for them and it can be both an exciting and nervous time. Here are some of the ways you can give your child help and encouragement to help them be ready for school. It also includes a useful video.
