PROPOSED ADMISSIONS POLICY FOR COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY CONTROLLED

NURSERY SCHOOLS, NURSERY CLASSES, PRE-RECEPTION CLASSES AND SCHOOL RUN PRE SCHOOLS UNDER SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

 FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2025/2026

All governing bodies are required to admit to the school a child with an Educational Health & Care Plan (EHCP) that names the school. This is not an oversubscription criterion. This relates only to children who have undergone statutory assessment and for whom a final Education Health & Care Plan has been issued.

Where the number of applications exceeds the number of places, the Governing Body will use the following oversubscription criteria to prioritise applications.

ORDER OF PRIORITY:	Notes
First Priority Looked after children and all previously looked after children for whom the school has been expressed as a preference. Children who appear to the Admissions Authority to have been in state care outside of England and cease to be in state care as a result of being adopted Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted^1 or became subject to a child arrangement order^2 or special guardianship order.	This applies to all looked-after children, including those who are in the care of another local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services function at the time of making an application. In the case of previously looked after children, a copy of the relevant documentation will be required in support of the application. ^1This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and Children who were adopted under the Adopted & Childrens Act 2002. ^2Child Arrangement Orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a Child Arrangement Order. A child is regarded as being in state care outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any another provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society
Second Priority Children who are recommended by the Director of Children and Young Peoples Service, including children in the care of a local authority, or by the appropriate designated medical officer.	Note: we will only consider applications in this category if they are supported by a recommendation from a doctor, social worker or other appropriate professional which sets out the particular reason(s) why the school in question is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school.
Third Priority Children from homes with poor housing conditions or overcrowding, or from a background which could affect the child’s normal educational development.	Note: this should be supported by the recommendation of a doctor, social worker or other appropriate professional.
Fourth Priority Children within the normal area of the school, giving priority to the oldest children first.
Fifth Priority Children from outside the school’s normal area, giving priority to those whose home is nearest to school first.