Sedley’s Church of England Primary School (Voluntary Aided)

In Year Admission – If you wish to apply for a place at Sedley’s Church of England Primary School, please download the Kent County Council In Year Admission form below and Sedley’s Supplementary form and return to Sedley’s Church of England Primary School at Church Street, Southfleet, Kent DA13 9NR with a copy of your child’s full birth certificate which names both parents.

Who can apply

You must apply for a primary school place through Kent County Council website https://www.kent.gov.uk if 

• your child is due to start primary or infant school (reception year)
• your child is at infant school (year 2) and is due to start junior school (year 3)
• your child is at primary school (year 2) and you want your child to move to junior school at the start of year 3

Check the date your child can start school 

Admissions Policy

Sedley’s Church of England School has a distinctive Christian ethos which is at the heart of this School and provides an inclusive, caring and supportive environment where children learn and flourish in a setting shaped by Christian values. We welcome applications from all members of the community and we ask all parents to respect the Christian ethos of our school and its importance to our community.

The Governing Body is responsible for the admission of pupils to the School and admits 15 pupils to the reception class each year.

This admission number has been agreed between the Governing Body and the Local Authority. 

The Governing Body is required to abide by the maximum limits for infant classes (5, 6 and 7 year old), i.e. 30 pupils per class (primary schools only).   As years 1 and 2 need to be in a single class this means that the school is limited to 15 pupils per year group.

Reception Class Admissions

Children are admitted to the Reception class in the school year in which they have their fifth birthday. All Reception class children are admitted in September, at the start of their Reception Year.

Applications for admission to the Reception Year are welcome from parents who may wish their children to be considered for a place at the school. 

Please complete the Supplementary Admission Form and return to the school so that we have any information or Church reference you may wish to provide in support of your application.

In line with the DCSF School Admissions Code, children with Statements of Special Educational Needs that name Sedley’s CE Primary School in the statement will be allocated a place at the school before the over subscription criteria is applied.

Where the number of applications for admission exceeds the number of places available, all applications will be considered in accordance with the over-subscription criteria below:

Children in Local Authority Care or Previously in Local Authority Care – a child under the age of 18 years for whom the local authority provides accommodation by agreement with their parents/carers (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) or who ceased to be so because they became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order under Part IV of the Act.

Current Family Association – a brother or sister in the same school at the time of entry where the family continue to live at the same address as when the sibling was admitted – or – if they have moved – live within 2 miles of the school, or have moved to a property that is nearer to the school than the previous property as defined by the ‘Nearness’ criterion’ (below).  In this context brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters.

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 a particular school. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’, physical or mental health or social needs means that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend a 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 the particular school.

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 Ordnance Survey address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by Ordnance Survey. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. These straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school.

Parents may claim a religious advantage in admission to Sedley’s School as follows:

They should need to show that the parents (and if appropriate the child concerned) have been baptised.  This is the recognised sign of membership of the Christian Church.
The local Rector/ Minister would need to certify to one of the following:

They are regular participants in the life of the church.  For St Nicholas Church, Southfleet this would mean attending more than 14 services in a year.

That the family are occasional participants in the life of the church.  For St Nicholas Church, Southfleet this would mean attending at least 6 services but less than 14
That the family are known to him/her but they are not actively involved in the life of the church.  For St Nicholas Church, Southfleet this would mean attending less than 6 services in a year.
That the family are not known to him/her.

The results should adjudicate as follows:

Where the parents (and if appropriate the child) have been baptised and criterion (a) has been certified the distance calculated for the nearness criterion is reduced by 50%
Where parents (and if appropriate the child) have been baptised and criterion (b) has been certified the distance calculated for the nearness criterion is reduced by 25%
Where the parents (and if appropriate the child) have been baptised and criterion (c) has been certified the distance calculated for the nearness criterion is reduced by 10%.
Irrespective of baptism, if criterion (d) has been certified there should be no advantage allowed as this shows no commitment at all.

These conditions are quite stringent but mean that regular commitment to the church community by the family even if they have to travel some distance to do this will be rewarded, while those who have no commitment will have no advantage.  In addition it means that nearness to the school is still the primary criterion for entry in the case of over subscription.

Late applications for Reception class places, received after the date advised in the letter accompanying the form, will be considered. Places will be offered, if and when there are vacancies, with priority given in accordance with the over-subscription criteria stated above. The School acknowledges and complies with the legal requirement that infant class sizes must not exceed 30 pupils. Class sizes will be arranged accordingly.

A waiting list will be kept of the applicants who are not granted admission due to over-subscription. The list will be kept in the sequence of the criteria described above. As and when places become available they will be offered to applicants. Names will be kept on the waiting list until the end of the academic year for which the application for admission was made.