St Andrew's Cof E VA Primary School

When there are more applications than places for 2026-27 (Reception), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after and previously looked after children — Looked 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 arrangements order or special guardianship order). Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and 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. 2Exceptional medical or social need — Children with an exceptional medical or social need for a place at this school. Applicants will only be considered under this heading if the parent/carer or their representative can demonstrate that only the preferred school can meet the exceptional medical or social needs of the child. The need must be specific to this school: a child may have very challenging circumstances that require additional support but if that support could be provided at another school, there would be no exceptional need to attend this school. The exceptional need could be due to the parent/carer's circumstances. Evidence provided can be in the form of a testimony from a medical practitioner, social worker or other professional who can support the application on an 'exceptional' basis. Without satisfactory supporting evidence, we will not prioritise an application as demonstrating exceptional need.
3. 3Children in the designated area — Children who live in the school's designated area shown in 3.1-3.2 below.
4. 4Siblings in the designated area — 3.1 Siblings of children who attend this school at the time of admission. Children will be classed as siblings if they live at the same home address as defined in this policy, as a single-family unit. This includes a natural or adopted brother or sister, step-brother or sister, a natural or adopted child of a cohabiting partner, or a foster brother or sister or 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.
5. 5Other applicants in the designated area — 3.2 Other applicants living in the school's designated area.
6. 6Siblings outside the designated area — 4.1 Siblings of children who attend this school at the time of admission. Children will be classed as siblings if they live at the same home address as defined in this policy, as a single-family unit. This includes a natural or adopted brother or sister, step-brother or sister, a natural or adopted child of a cohabiting partner, or a foster brother or sister or 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.
7. 7Church-going families outside the designated area — 4.2 Children from church going families i.e. attend a Christian place of worship at least once a month. Faithful and regular worship at a Christian Church is defined as regular attendance (at least monthly for a period of two years immediately prior to the point of application) with supporting evidence from parents/carers and the church minister. This reference should include regularity of attendance and return to the school by the closing date for applications.
8. 8Children of staff outside the designated area — 4.3 Children of staff of the school. A member of staff employed on a permanent contract by the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission is made or a member of staff recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. This covers all staff working at the school to which the application relates but does not include staff who work on the school site for other employers.
9. 9Other applicants outside the designated area — 4.4 Other applicants living outside the school's designated area.

If two applications tie: Where we have to choose between two or more children in the same category as each other, then the nearer to the school the child lives - as measured by a straight line on the map using Plymouth City Council's electronic mapping system - the higher the priority. Measurement points will be from the spatial locator identified by the National Land and Property Gazetteer. The spatial locator is the address point based on a general internal point. Flats are therefore taken to be the same measurement point regardless of floor of location. If the tie-breaker is not sufficient to distinguish between applicants in a particular category, there will be a random ballot as set out in the School Admissions Code.

Criteria 3, 4 and 5 are sub-categories within 'in designated area'; criteria 6, 7, 8 and 9 are sub-categories within 'outside designated area'. The document presents siblings within catchment (3.1) and other catchment (3.2) as sub-criteria of criterion 3, and similarly for criterion 4. Faith criterion (4.2) applies only to children living outside the designated area.

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.