How To Join Us

Before the application of oversubscription criteria, children with a statement of special educational need or Education (SSEN), Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names the school will be admitted. As a result of this, the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly.

Students will be admitted to the Reception Class before their fifth birthday. Usually, children will enter the Reception Class at the start of the academic year (September 2024 – August 2025) that they have their fifth birthday.

The published admission number of admissions for year commencing September 2024 will be:

● Pilgrims’ Way Primary School - 60 pupils

In the event of over subscription, the following criteria apply in the following order of priority:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children: 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 (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school.

A previously looked after child means such children who were adopted (or subject to child arrangements orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following having been looked after and those children who appear to the admission authority to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.

2. A brother or sister attending Pilgrims’ Way Primary School when the child starts. In this context, ‘brother or sister’, means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers and sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers and sisters and foster brothers and sisters.

3. Health and Special Access Reasons – medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with the school’s legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend Pilgrims’ Way Primary School. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend this particular school. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified medical or other practitioner who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and Pilgrims’ Way Primary School.

4. Children whose parents work as permanent staff members at the School being applied to, in either or both of the following circumstances:

• where the member of staff has been employed at the school at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or

• the member of staff is recruited to the Trust to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

5. Nearness of children's homes to school - we use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for the school, these straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school.

6. The tie-breaker for all arrangements will be distance. In a tie breaker situation the proximity of an applicant’s home to the school will be the decider. If in the event that more than one applicant lives the same distance from home to the academy (as measured by the local authority), then a random selection will be applied and independently supervised.

Applications for entrance into any school within Veritas Multi Academy Trust should be made through Kent Primary Admissions Scheme. You will be required to complete the Reception Common Application Form (RCAF) either online through the KCC website or by completing a paper form available from October 2023 at Kent primary schools or the Local Authority Admissions Office. The application process will open in early November 2023.

Late applications will be placed on a waiting list and places allocated based on the above criteria.

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

1. When a parent has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time.

2. When a parent has failed to notify the academy of important changes to the application information.

3. The admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent.

If you have not been offered a place you can request to be placed on the school’s waiting list. The school’s waiting list will be re-ranked, in line with the published oversubscription criteria, every time a child is added.

Parents of Reception age children have the right of deferment of entry or to take the place up part-time, until the term in which the child reaches compulsory school age.Parents should contact the headteacher to discuss a request to take up a place parttime or for a deferment.

Parents are entitled to request admission outside of the normal age group. If this is the case they must state this clearly at point of application. Parents should contact the headteacher to discuss and submit a request for admission out of the normal age group, but should continue to make an application for their child’s normal age group at the usual time. The decision on their request will be made prior to any offers of admission. If a request is agreed, the application for admission to their normal age group will be withdrawn and a new application must be made the following year.

If your child was born between 1st September 2020 and 31st August 2021 you should be applying for a place in a Reception class in September 2025.

Legally a child reaches compulsory school age in the term following their fifth birthday; County policy is to encourage parents to enrol their children in Reception classes before this deadline.

Online applications open on 5th November 2024 and closes on 15th January 2025 with children starting in the following September.

Children are admitted according to the Kent County Council Admission Procedure. Information can be found online at www.Kent.Gov.uk.

Do you have a child born between 1st September 2020 and 31st August 2021?

You will be able to apply for a school place online at www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions from

Tuesday 5th November 2024 - Wednesday 15th January 2025.

 

Reception children attend school initially on a part-time basis and then move to full time following discussions between parents and the class teacher. The school day begins at 8:45am and ends at 3:15pm.

If you wish to apply for a place for a child at Pilgrims’ Way Primary School after the school year has started, please complete an in year casual admission form (see the link below). The completed form can be brought into the school office, posted to us or emailed to office@pilgrims-way.kent.sch.uk

https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/3522/in-year-application-form.pdf

There is a meeting for Year 6 parents in the Autumn term to explain the procedure for entry to Secondary education. In the Summer term Year 7 tutors from the local Secondary schools come into school to meet their new children and liaise with year 6 teachers. There is also an opportunity for children to visit their new Secondary Schools in July.

Many of the secondary schools in our area have their own entrance tests or have specific criteria for admission, details of which can be obtained direct from the schools concerned.

More information can be found on the Kent County Council webiste on the link below:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places