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2025/26 Admission Procedure and Supplementary Form

CHURCHGATE C. OF E. PRIMARY SCHOOL

2025 - 2026 – ADMISSIONS PROCEDURE

September 2025 co-ordinated admission round

The application process is in accordance with the co-ordinated scheme for primary admissions and involves completion of the Common Application Form. Offers of places will be sent on 16th April 2025.

Closing date for applications

The closing date for applications is 15th January 2025.

As a Church of England School we will work in partnership with home and church to offer excellence in education.

PLACES

There are 30 places to admit for the reception class in each academic year.

 

Criteria for the allocation of places

Churchgate School seeks to be a place of Christian Service so we give priority to:

  1. Children Looked After and previously children looked after (Children Looked After are defined as children who are in the care of the local authority or provided by accommodation by the Local Authority)
  2. Children with a sibling at the school at the time of admission. (A sibling is as defined by the Local Authority in the ‘Primary Education in Essex’ booklet.)
  3. Children living in the priority admissions area.
  4. Children of those families * at the heart of the church who in order of priority:
    • Are living the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow and attend worship there.
    • Are NOT living in the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow but attend worship there.
    • Attend worship at another Christian Church.

At the heart of the church are those who have demonstrated a commitment to weekly worship over a period of two years.

  1. Children of those families who are committed to the church who in order of priority:
    1. Are living in the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow and attend worship there.
    2. Are NOT living in the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow but attend worship there
    3. Attend worship at another Christian Church.

Committed to the church are those who have attended church more than once a month over a period of two years.

  1. Children of those families known to the church.
    1. Are living in the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow and attend worship there.
    2. Are NOT living in the parish of St Mary & St. Hugh, Harlow but attend worship there
    3. Attend worship at another Christian Church.

Known to the church are those who have attended church at least once a month over a period of a year.

  1. Remaining places will be offered to those living closest to the school. Distances are calculated by the Local Authority by use of a Geographical Information System which accurately measures the distance from the home address to the school.

In the event of over subscription within any of the above criteria, priority will finally be determined by distance from home to school as described above.  Those living closest being given the highest priority.

REFERENCES

For applications in categories 4 - 6 a reference from the Vicar/Leader of the church will be required to verify church membership and frequency of worship. For churches in interregnum or without a minister, a churchwarden or elder may provide such a reference.

CHILDREN WITH EDUCATIONAL HEALTH CARE PLANS (EHCP)

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that name the school on the statement/plan are required to be admitted to a school regardless of their place in the priority order.

PART TIME/DEFERRED SUMMER BORN

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 request their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age. Parents interested in taking up a part-time place should contact the school for further details as to what this would entail. If you plan to defer your child’s start date until later in the school year, you must still apply at the usual time for primary or infant school places. You should speak to the schools you are applying.

A summer born child (born between April 1st and August 31st in their year of birth) can request to start school a whole year later. The School will consider all summer born requests, and parents must contact the school directly to discuss and seek agreement. Please refer to the booklet “Primary Education in Essex 2024/2025 - A guide to starting primary education or transferring from infant to junior school’ for full details.

Apply for a primary school mid-year admission

Voluntary aided schools deal with all mid-year admissions through the school itself.

If you would like to apply for a mid-year place at Churchgate Primary School you will need to fill out the mid-year application form (a copy is on the website under the Tab ‘admissions’ and return it to admin@churchgate.essex.sch.uk.

Please title the email Mid- Year Admission.

If you would like a hard copy of the form sent home instead please email or phone the school and request a copy and we will send you it out in the post.

 

Any hard copy of the form returned to the school needs to be addressed to:

Mid-Year Application

Churchgate Primary School

Hobbs Cross Road

Harlow

CM17 0LB

 

After receiving the application, the school will consider the application and;

If the school has a space to offer; we will send offer letter to the parent/carer - this should be done within 10 school days & must do within 15 school days

If there are no space due to Infant Class Size Refusal; we will send Infant Class Size Refusal Letter - this should be done within 10 school days and must be done within 15 school days

If there are no spaces in Year Groups 3-6 - We will send Normal Refusal Letter – this should be done within 10 school days and must be done within 15 school days

Offers for primary school places

You will receive a letter with the outcome of your application within 15 school days (excluding school holidays). In some cases, it may take longer.

 

LATE APPLICATIONS

Applications received after the closing date will normally be treated as late. This means your application will be dealt with after all on time applications have been processed, unless there is evidence, or you provide evidence, to show that the application could not reasonably have been made on time. A new on time reference will not be accepted after the closing date unless the circumstances are deemed to be exceptional.

All late applications will be considered by LA officers to determine whether there are exceptional circumstances. Where that is deemed to be the case, the application will be treated as ‘on time’.

 

WAITING LIST

Where the school is oversubscribed the governors will maintain a waiting list for the Autumn Term. If a parent wishes their child to remain on the waiting list for a longer period of time, they must indicate this in writing to the school.

 

APPEALS

If your child is not offered a place at our school you have the right to make representations to an independent statutory Appeal Panel. For guidance on this procedure please write to:

 

The Clerk of the Independent Appeal Panel

PO Box 11

Chelmsford

Essex

CM1 1LX                                             Telephone No: - 03330139899