The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1A ‘looked after child’ has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means any child who is (a) in the care of a local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by them in the exercise of their social services functions (e.g. children with foster parents) at the time of making an application to the school. A ‘previously looked after child’ is a child who was looked after, but ceased to be so because he or she was adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order. Included in this Page 7 of 9 Our Lady of Lourdes CMAT 2027-28 DETERMINED 10/12/2025 definition are those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and who ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
2. 2‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into full communion with the Catholic Church signed by a Catholic Priest and stamped with the parish stamp. For the purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were not for their status as a looked after child (i.e. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a Catholic family). For a child to be ranked as Catholic within the oversubscription criteria evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church will be required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest who, after consulting with the Diocese, will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the law of the Church.
3. 3‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens or a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp.
4. 4‘Candidate’ means a candidate for reception into the Catholic Church. This will be evidenced by a letter of verification signed by the parish priest and stamped with the parish stamp.
5. 5‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is normally evidenced by a certificate of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church.
6. 6‘Children of other Christian denominations’ means children who belong to other churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service to the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above. All members of Churches Together in England (CTE) and Churches Together in Wales (CYTUN) are deemed to be included in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the above basis. Evidence will be a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification confirming the membership of the child signed by the minister of religion for that church.
7. 7‘Children of other faiths’ means children who are members of a religious community that does not fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at note 7 above and which falls within the definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to include: Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression of belief in that supreme being through worship. This is evidenced by a Baptism Certificate, a Certificate of Dedication or a letter of verification confirming the membership of the child signed by the faith leader of the community. — • A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and • A religion which does not involve belief in a God.
8. 8‘Siblings’ means a child who lives as a brother or sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters with either one or both parents in common, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters, or the child of a parent’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is Page 8 of 9 Our Lady of Lourdes CMAT 2027-28 DETERMINED 10/12/2025 living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling. It also includes natural brothers or sisters where the child for whom the school place is sought is not living in the same family unit as the same address as that sibling. sisters, foster brothers or sisters, whether or not they are living at the same address; and unit at the same home address as the child who is the subject of the application. — (i) all natural brothers or sisters, half brothers or sisters, adopted brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or (ii) the child of a parent’s partner where that child lives for at least part of the week in the same family
9. 9A ‘parent’ means all-natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility for a child, and any person who has care of a child.
10. 10Home Address: The governors of each school use the same definition as used by the Local Authority within which the school is located and these are set out below: Nottinghamshire: The child’s place of residence is taken to be the parental home, other than in the case of children fostered by a local authority, where either the parental address or that of a foster parent(s) may be used. If a child’s parents live at separate addresses, the address where the child permanently spends at least three ‘school’ nights (that is, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) will be taken to be the place of residence. Addresses of other relatives or friends will not be considered as the place of residence, even if the child stays there for all or part of the week. Evidence that the child’s place of residence is permanent may also be sought and this should prove that the child lived at the address at the time of the application. Informal arrangements between parents will not be taken into consideration. For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area or crown servants returning from overseas to live in the area a Unit postal address or quartering area address for a service child provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date will be accepted. Nottingham City: The child’s ordinary place of residence will be deemed to be the residential property at which the child normally and habitually resides with the person or persons having parental responsibility for the child at the closing date for the receipt of the SCAF, i.e. 15 January. Where parental responsibility is held by more than one person and those persons reside in separate properties, the child’s ordinary place of residence will be deemed to be that property at which the child normally and habitually resides for the greater part of the week including weekends. If the child lives at two separate properties for an equal length of time, the ordinary place of residence will be deemed to be the address named on the Child Benefit letter. Informal residence agreements with family and friends will not be accepted unless there are exceptional circumstances, for which supporting evidence will be required. North Lincolnshire: For admission purposes, the home address is where a child usually lives with their parent or carer. You must not give the address of a childminder or relative. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of the week, the parents can choose which address to use on the application. If it is found that you have given a false address your child may lose their school place. Lincolnshire: The home address is considered as the address where the child lives for the majority of term time with a parent (as defined in section 576 of the Education Act 1996). Where a child lives normally during the school week with more than one parent at different addresses, the home address accepted for the purposes of school admissions will be the one where the child spends the majority of term time. If a parent can show that their child spends an equal amount of time at two addresses during school term time with a parent, they can choose which address to use on the application. If a parent has more than one home, we will accept the address where the parent and child normally live for the majority of the school term time as the home address. We do not take into an account an intention to move when considering a home address unless this is for members of the UK armed forces or a returning crown servant. Page 9 of 9 Our Lady of Lourdes CMAT 2027-28 DETERMINED 10/12/2025

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.