Dereham Church of England Junior Academy

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 3), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after children (children in care) and all previously looked after children, including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been… — Looked after children (children in care) and all previously looked after children, including 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. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order
2. 2Siblings of children already at the school living in the catchment area [for the definition of sibling and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in the definiti… — Siblings of children already at the school living in the catchment area [for the definition of sibling and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in the definitions section of the Appendix 1]
3. 3Children who are resident within the catchment area of the school [for explanation of resident refer to item 2 in the clarifications section of Appendix 1. For … — Children who are resident within the catchment area of the school [for explanation of resident refer to item 2 in the clarifications section of Appendix 1. For explanation of catchment area refer to item 3 in the definitions section of Appendix 1].
4. 4Siblings of children already at the school living out of catchment [for definition of sibling and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in definitions section o… — Siblings of children already at the school living out of catchment [for definition of sibling and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in definitions section of Appendix 1].
5. 5Children living out of the catchment area who have a faith and / or whose parents are committed Church members and wish them to receive an education in a school… — Children living out of the catchment area who have a faith and / or whose parents are committed Church members and wish them to receive an education in a school with a Church of England foundation [for explanation of committed Church member refer to item 3 in clarifications section of Appendix 1]. They should support this application by completing the Supplementary Information Form (SIF) in Appendix 2. Within this criterion the following hierarchy will be applied: I. Anglican II. Other Christian denomination For further information and advice on this criterion refer to items 5 and 6 in the clarifications section of Appendix 1. This criterion only applies to academies with a Church of England designation. See Appendix 3.
6. 6Children who are eligible for the service premium. A pupil is eligible for the service premium if: a) one of their parents is serving in the regular armed force… — Children who are eligible for the service premium. A pupil is eligible for the service premium if: a) one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full time reserve service); b) they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on the January school census at any point since 2016; c) one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.
7. 7Children of staff where: I. a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the sc… — Children of staff where: I. a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made and/or II. the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrable skill shortage
8. 8Children who are due to start school or to transfer and live outside the area served by the school who attend a school within DNEAT at the opening date of the a… — Children who are due to start school or to transfer and live outside the area served by the school who attend a school within DNEAT at the opening date of the admissions round.
9. 9Children who are resident out of the catchment area of the school [for explanation of resident and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in the clarifications s… — Children who are resident out of the catchment area of the school [for explanation of resident and catchment area refer to items 2 and 3 in the clarifications section of Appendix 1] In the event of the having to use a “tie-break” to distinguish between two or more applications of equal strength, the child living the shortest distance from home to school in a straight line as the crow flies should have priority [for explanation of shortest distance refer to item 4 in the clarifications section of Appendix 1]. If the Academy or Trust’s decision is not to grant a place for your child, you have the right to appeal against its decision. You will be sent information on how to appeal by the local authority admissions team. All unsuccessful applicants are placed on a waiting list that is maintained in the rank order of the oversubscription criteria (taking into account the distance tie-break if appropriate). This does mean that the position of applicants on the list could change during the lifetime of the waiting list. If, at any time, the number of pupils to be admitted falls below the PAN then the available place(s) will be offered to the applicant(s) at the top of the waiting list. This waiting list ceases to be valid on 31 December 2027. 10. In-year applications and applications to other year-groups Trust follows the accepted procedures agreed with Norfolk County Council/Suffolk County Council in considering applicants at all other times of the year. The PAN per year group, as well as the upper limit on class sizes, is maintained (as far as possible) throughout the school. The Trust applies the oversubscription criteria where necessary. No waiting lists are maintained for year groups other than the first admission year (Reception, Year 3, Year 7, Year 12). The following process applies for in-year application: 1. Applications are not normally considered more than one term ahead of the date the place is required and only one application per school year is allowed. For full details of the process please refer to the relevant Local Authority’s website. 2. Parents wishing to transfer their children from one school to another where there is no change of address should, in the first instance, discuss the matter with the Headteacher of their current school before applying for another school or academy. 3. Parents who wish to make an in-year application for a place at a Norfolk academy should contact Norfolk County Council who will consult with the Academy and offer the place if one is available. For any Suffolk academy the Headteacher should be contacted – Suffolk County Council do not administer in-year admissions. 4. When a place becomes available in a year group that has been full at this academy, any applicant refused a place for that school year in the last 15 school days and any applicant for whom an appeal has been lodged and is still to be heard, will be considered alongside any new applications. The place will be offered to the pupil ranked highest in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. The Academy is responsible for recording recent applications within the 15 school day period and managing this part of the process. 5. All ap

The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust is the admission authority for all its academies and publishes ONE determined policy a year. This is the trust's Pupil Admissions Policy 2027-2028, approved by the Trust Board on 18/12/2025 following statutory consultation and issued 17/01/2026. The nine criteria are the trust's, shared by every academy; this academy carries a Church of England designation, so the faith criterion (printed as 5) applies. PAN and entry point are as printed in Appendix 3 of the same document.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.