Ernesettle Community School

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

1. 1Looked after children and all 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. 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 arrangement order or special guardianship order); Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England, ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.
2. 2Children with exceptional medical or social need — Applicants will only be considered under this category if the parent, carer, or their representative can demonstrate that the child's exceptional medical or social needs can only be met by this school. The need must be specific to this school; while a child may have significant challenges requiring additional support, if such support can be provided by another school, the application will not be prioritised on this basis. Exceptional need may also arise from the circumstances of the parent or carer. Supporting evidence must be provided in the form of a statement from a medical practitioner, social worker, or other relevant professional, confirming that the child's or parent's exceptional needs necessitate attendance at this school. Applications without satisfactory supporting evidence will not be given priority on the grounds of exceptional need. It is expected that claims for exceptional medical or social need will only be made for the applicant's first-preference school.
3. 3Children with a sibling who are already attending this school at the time of admission — Children will be considered siblings if they reside at the same home address as the applicant child and form part of the same single-family unit. This includes: a biological or adopted siblings, step-siblings, the biological or adopted child of a cohabiting partner, foster siblings, a child under a special guardianship order. In all cases the sibling must live with the applicant child as part of the same core family unit. Children who are friends or cousins living in the same household with their own parents do not meet the criteria for sibling status. Full details of any qualifying sibling must be clearly provided in the application form; failure to do so may result in the sibling link not being recognized and the application being assigned a lower admission criteria.
4. 4Children attending Ernesettle Community School Nursery who are in receipt of the early years pupil premium, the pupil premium, or the service premium — Children attending Ernesettle Community School Nursery who are in receipt of the following at the time of application: the early years pupil premium, the pupil premium, or the service premium. Applicants must provide evidence by completing the Pupil Premium Supplementary Information Form.
5. 5Children of School Staff — Children may be given priority for admission if their parent or carer is a member of staff employed on a permanent contract at the school, and meets one of the following criteria: has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time the application is submitted; or has been recruited to fill a vacant post where there is a demonstrable skill shortage, as evidenced by completion of the staff supplementary information form. This Criteria applies to all staff employed directly by the school to which the application relates, including both teaching and non-teaching staff. It does not apply to individuals who work on the school site but are employed by external organisations or contractors.
6. 6All other children — All other children: Who are not covered by a higher oversubscription criterion.

If two applications tie: Where it is necessary to choose between two or more children within the same admissions category, priority will be given to the child who lives closer to the school. Distance is measured in a straight-line using Plymouth City Council's electronic mapping system. Measurement is taken from the spatial locator identified by the National Land and Property Gazetteer, which defines the address point based on a general internal location. In the case of flats or apartments, all units within the building are treated as having the same measurement point, regardless of floor level. If the distance tie-breaker does not distinguish between applicants, a random ballot will be conducted in accordance with the School Admissions Code. This process will be carried out by an officer of Plymouth City Council using an electronic random number generator.

Criterion 4 applies only to children attending Ernesettle Community School Nursery who are in receipt of early years pupil premium, pupil premium, or service premium. The document contains separate oversubscription criteria for In-Year admissions (5 criteria, omitting the nursery/premium criterion). The criteria listed here are for the Normal Point of Entry (Reception/Foundation).

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.