Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Admission Policy

Sacred Heart School is a Catholic voluntary aided primary school maintained by the London Borough of Hillingdon and in the trusteeship of the Diocese of Westminster. It serves primarily the parishes of the Most Sacred Heart, Ruislip, St. Thomas More, Eastcote and St. Paul’s, Harefield; these being the three founding parishes of the school.

As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the school. All applicants are therefore expected to give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school.

The Published Admission Number (PAN) at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is 90. The Governing Body has sole responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 90 children in the school year which begins in September . Applications for Reception are welcome from families whose child reaches his/her 4th birthday between 1st September and 31st August .

Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will always be given to Catholic applicants in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Diocese of Westminster. Applications will be ranked using the criteria listed below.

In this policy applicant refers to the person making an application on behalf of a child; candidate refers to the child on whose behalf the application is being made.

A fresh application must be made for children attending our nursery. Parents of children attending Sacred Heart Nursery must make a fresh application for reception.

Oversubscription Criteria.

In the event of more than 90 applications being received the following criteria will apply

• Catholic looked after children (as defined in the Children Act 1989) or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order.
• Baptised Catholic children with a Certificate of Catholic Practice who are resident in the parishes of Most Sacred Heart, Ruislip; St. Thomas More, Eastcote; and St Paul’s Harefield. Up to 6 places will be reserved if needed for applicants from Harefield Parish and up to 14 places will be reserved if needed for applicants from Eastcote Parish. These will be allocated using the distance measure in C.
• Baptised Catholic children with a Certificate of Catholic Practice who have a parent that has been employed as a member of the school staff for at least 2 years at the time of application.
• Other Baptised Catholic children with a Certificate of Catholic Practice .
• Baptisd Catholic children who are resident in the parishes of Most Sacred Heart, Ruislip; St. Thomas More, Eastcote; or St Paul’s, Harefield.
• Other Baptised Catholic children.
• Other ‘looked after’ children (as defined in the Children Act 1989) or a child who was previously ‘looked after’ but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order.
• A child of a member of staff who has been employed at the school for at least two years at the time of admission.
• Other Christian children with a baptism certificate or a letter from the minister confirming membership of the faith community.
• Children from other faiths whose application is supported by a letter from a faith leader confirming membership of the faith community.
• Any other children.

If, within categories 2-11, further priority is needed, the following will apply in the order stated below

• Exceptional Need - The governors will give top priority to an application within a category where compelling professional evidence is provided at the time of an application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child that can only be met at this school. Evidence must be provided at the time of application, from a doctor, priest or social worker. This provision applies only to the child for whom the application is being made. It does not apply to the needs of the family members.
• Applicants who have a sibling attending school on the date of admission of the child.
• Distance from school as measured by a straight line, from the front door of the child’s residential address (including flats) to a point at the school. If distances are identical, the Governing Body will draw lots in the presence of an independant witness.

Application Procedure

In order to make an application, you must complete an e-admission form from your local authority either online or on paper and return it to them. You should also complete the School’s Supplementary Information Form (SIF). Whilst this is not compulsory, the information on the SIF enables the Governing Body to assess your application fully against the School’s criteria in the event of oversubscription. Please complete the online SIF (available on our school website) and submit it together with all other relevant supporting documents required for your application. If you do not complete both the forms described above and return them by 15th January , the Governing Body will be unable to consider your application against the oversubscription criteria and your child will be ranked under the lowest criterion. It is very unlikely that your child will be offered a place if a SIF is not supplied.

Procedure for Admission

• To apply for a place at this school, you must complete and return two separate forms by the closing date published in the Starting Primary School booklet. In order to make a full application, you must complete an e-admissions form from your local authority and return it to them as per their instructions. You may apply online and full details on how to do this will be provided.
• You should also complete the schools Supplementary Information Form (SIF) and return it to the Governors’ Admissions Panel via the school office, together with all other relevant paperwork required for your application. This can be downloaded from the school website at www.sacredhearthillingdon.co.uk
• If you do not complete the e-admissions form and the SIF and return them or submit online by midnight on the closing date 15th January (school open Mon 08:30am

– Fri 3.30pm), the Governing Body will treat your application as a late application and it is unlikely that your child will get a place at the school..

• Applications from families applying under criterion 2, 3 or 4 should be accompanied by a Certificate of Catholic Practice. These forms are available from the priest at the parish where the family normally worships and on the diocesan website at www.rcdow.org.uk then follow Schools, For parents. Applications from those of other faiths should also be accompanied by a letter confirming membership of the faith community
• An original baptismal certificate must be provided with all applications from Catholics; an equivalent certificate, where appropriate, must be provided with other applications.
• If the school is oversubscribed at the end of the admission round, unsuccessful candidates will automatically go on a waiting list. These applications will be reconsidered along with new applications received when a vacancy occurs, in accordance with the admissions criteria.
• Applications must be made in accordance with the London Borough of Hillingdon co- ordinated admissions process. The final date for applications is 15th January . Notification letters or emails will be sent out by the LA on behalf of the governors on 16th April.
• Applications received after the closing date (late applications) will not be considered until after the initial allocation process has been completed.
• If any of the details on either of your forms changes between the date of application and the receipt of the letter of offer or refusal, you must inform the School and the local authority immediately. If misleading information is given or allowed to remain on either of your forms, the Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the place, even if the child has already started at the School.

Reception Year Deferred Entry

Applicants may defer entry to school up until statutory school age i.e. the first day of term following the child’s fifth birthday. Application is made in the usual way and then the deferral is requested. The place will then be held until the first day of the spring or summer term as applicable. Applicants may also request that their child attend part-time until statutory school age is reached. Entry may not be deferred beyond compulsory school age or beyond the year for which the application has been made. Parents wishing to defer entry for summer born children should note that entry can only be deferred up until 1st April.

In-Year Admissions

Applications for In-Year admissions are made directly to the school. If a place is available and there is no waiting list the child will be admitted. If there is a waiting list, then applications will be ranked by the Governing Body in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. If a place cannot be offered at this time then you may ask us for the reasons and you will be informed of your right of appeal. You will be offered the opportunity of being placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained by the Governing Body in the order of the oversubscription criteria and not in the order in which the applications are received. Names are removed from the list at the end of each academic year. When a place becomes available the Governing Body will re-rank the list and make an offer to the person at the top of the list. The local authority will be informed of the offer as soon as it has been accepted.