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Admissions Policy

Approved: March 2023

Essex County Council is the admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools in Essex. This means that the council sets the over subscription criteria and makes the decisions as to which pupils are admitted to these schools. 

Priority Admissions Area

Tiptree is a large village with 4 primary schools in total. The priority admission area for the school is according to the defined boundaries of the village. 

Age of Admission

As required by law, all Essex infant and primary schools provide for the full-time admission of all children offered a place in the Reception year group from the September following their fourth birthday. Therefore, if a parent wants a full-time place for their child from September (at the school at which a place has been offered) then they are entitled to that full-time place.  

Parents can request that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the school year or until the child reaches compulsory school age in the school year. The law does not require a child to start school until the start of the term following their fifth birthday. Compulsory school age is reached at that point.

Where entry is deferred, the school will hold the place for that child and not offer it to another child. The parent would not however be able to defer entry beyond the beginning of the term after the child’s fifth birthday, nor beyond the academic year for which the original application was accepted.

Parents can also request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age. Any parents interested in taking up a part-time place initially should contact the individual school(s) for further details as to what this would entail.   

Where parents choose to defer entry, a school may reasonably expect that the child would start at the beginning of a new school term/half term.

Where a parent of a ‘summer-born’ child (15 April – 31 August) wishes their child to start school in the autumn term following their fifth birthday, they will need to apply for a place at the correct time for the normal admission round for the following academic year. Supporting evidence from relevant professionals working with the child and family stating why the child must be placed outside their normal age appropriate cohort must be submitted. The County Council will decide whether the application for a Reception place will be accepted or whether it will be treated as an application for a Year 1 place, the child’s normal age appropriate cohort. If the application for a Reception place is not accepted this does not constitute a refusal of the place and there is no right to an independent statutory appeal.

Admissions Policy

The published admission number for 2020/2021 is 15. Children with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) will be admitted whether there is a place or not, although the school is able to appeal if they are not satisfied with the decision to admit.

There is no guarantee of a place for children living in the priority admission area. In the event of over subscription places will be allocated using the following criteria in the order given:

1. Looked After Children* and previously looked after children;
2. Children with a sibling attending the school;
3. Staff children
4. Children living in the priority admission area;
5. Remaining applications.

*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 (as defined in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). 

Waiting list held until 31 December

Siblings

For applications made in the normal admission round a relevant sibling is a child who has a brother, sister, adopted brother or sister or stepbrother or stepsister living in the same family unit in the same family household and address who attends the preferred school or partner school in any year group excluding the final year. Biological siblings who attend the preferred school in any year group excluding the final year will also be treated as siblings irrespective of place of residence. Children residing in the same household as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be treated as siblings.  For mid-year applications a sibling is a child who has a brother, sister, adopted brother or sister or stepbrother or stepsister living in the same family unit in the same family household and address as a child who attends or has been offered a place at the preferred school or partner school at the time of application and determination and with a reasonable expectation that the sibling will be attending at the time of admission.

Over subscription

In the event of over subscription within any of the above criteria, priority will be determined by straight line distance from home to main school gate, those living closest being given the highest priority. Exceptional medical circumstances (supported by medical evidence) may override the above criteria (other than Looked After Children).

Agreement for children living in the priority admission area

The Local Authority may offer places above the published admission number in the following exceptional circumstances:

1. For infant classes at the class size limit; if, outside the normal admission round, the next nearest school with a space is not within a reasonable distance of the home address; or
2. For junior classes or where the admission would not breach the infant class size limit: if the journey to the next nearest school with a space is not reasonable in terms of distance, accessibility or cost.

In Year applications

The Local Authority will co-ordinate all in year primary school applications.

Associated documents (available on school website):

Essex County Council School Admission Service
Primary Education in Essex booklet
Schools Admissions Policies Directory

Baynards  Primary SchoolTownsend Road
Tiptree, Colchester CO5 0ND
Telephone 01621 817261
Email: admin@baynards.essex.sch.uk
Headteacher: Mrs Judith Dale

Published admission number 2022/23: 15
Number on roll: 105