Thornaby Church of England 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.
2. 2Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Children who have an exceptional medical or social need (recommend by the appropriate professional – please read notes and definitions carefully)
3. 3Residence in the school's catchment area — A child who resides within the catchment area of the school.
4. 4Sibling link — A child who has a sibling who will be attending the school at the proposed date of admission.
5. 5A child whose parent has worked at the school for more than two years at the time of adm… — A child whose parent has worked at the school for more than two years at the time of admission or whose parent has been recruited to the school fill a demonstrable skill shortage.
6. 6Distance from the school — Children living closest to the school -measured in a straight line “as the crow flies”. *For definitions and additional explanations, please see Notes and definitions section below. Tie break If there are not enough places for all the children in one of these priority groups, we will give priority first to those with a sibling at the school at the time of admission and then to those living nearest the school. In all cases sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step-brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling. If within a priority group there are not enough places for all those with a sibling at the school at the time of admission, we will give priority to those children with a sibling living nearest the school. The LA uses a Geographic Information System, known as GIS, to identify and measure the distance from the central point of the home to the central point of the school. The distance is measured electronically from the central point of the school taken from the council maintained Local Land and Property Gazetteer, LLPG, (the same point for all applications) to the central point of the home (including flats) also taken from the LLPG. The GIS undertakes all measures in the same way for every applicant, to ensure consistency and fairness If the distance tie-break is not sufficient to distinguish between applicants in a particular priority group, a random allocation will be used; this process will be independently supervised. Waiting lists Where an application has been unsuccessful parents / guardians may request that the child’s name is added to the waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained until December 31st. Any places that become available will be allocated according to the published oversubscription criteria of the admission arrangements with no account being taken of the length of the time on the waiting list. In accordance with the School Admissions Code as soon as places become vacant the Governing Board must fill the vacancies from any waiting list, even if this is before admission appeals have been heard. Placing a child’s name on a waiting list does not affect a parent’s/guardian’s right of appeal against an unsuccessful application. Appeals process By law, if your child is refused a place at your preferred school, you have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent panel. School admission appeal panels are independent of the school and the local authority. At the hearing, you can present your reasons for preferring that particular school and the panel will decide whether your reasons are strong enough to overturn the admission authority’s decision. For appeals guidance and forms, please visit the local authority website: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council In-year admissions Admissions after the age of 5 (in-year admissions) will be handled by the school. In-Year Application for a school place or a change of school place' will be available for any applications made for an "in year transfer" into any year group. A form can be requested by contacting the School Admissions team via email school.admissions@stockton.gov.uk or by phoning 01642 526605 Where more applications are received than places available the over-subscription criteria will be used to support the decision. Fair Access Protocol The school participates in the local authority’s Fair Access Protocol. This ensures that, outside of the main admissions rounds, children who do not have a school place are placed in a suitable school as quickly as possible. A child would only be eligible to be placed via the Fair Access Protocol (FAP) where they have not been able to secure a school place in-year and they fall into one of the specified FAP categories. Children below statutory school age and deferred entry A child is entitled to a full-time place in the September following their fourth birthday. A child’s parents may defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which an offer was made. A child may take up a part-time place until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory age. Following receipt of the offer of a place a parent should notify the school, as soon as possible, that they wish to either defer their child’s entry to the school or take up a part-time place as above. Admission of children outside their normal age group Parents may request a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1. Any such request should be made in writing to the Chair of the Governing Body, Thornaby Church of England Primary School, Baysdale Road, Thornaby, TS179DB at the same time as the admission application is made to the Local Authority and not later than the closing date of the 15th January 2026. The decision will be based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. In addition to considering the views of the headteacher, the governors will also take in to account the parent’s views and of appropriate medical and educational professionals. Applications need to be made under the normal round expressing the wish that the child be admitted the following year. Fraudulent applications The Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place if fraudulent or intentionally misleading information has been used on an application, e.g. false home address. This includes cases where parents take out a short-term let or buy a property solely to use its address on the application form without any intention of taking up permanent residence there. In fairness to all parents, all allegations of fraudulent practice brought to the Governing Body’s attention will be investigated. Notes and definitions Catchment / priority areas A map showing the catchment/priority area is available: Parents ‘Parents’ include all those people who have parental responsibility for a child as set out in the Children Act 1989. Where responsibility for a child is ‘shared’, the person receiving Child Benefit is deemed to be the parent responsible for completing application forms. Siblings Siblings (brother or sister) includes: i) half-brother or half-sister, adoptive brother or adoptive sister, foster brother or foster sister, stepbrother or stepsister living as one family unit at the same address in attendance at the same school on the date of admission. ii) It will also be applied to situation where a full, half or adopted brother or sister are living at separate addresses at the same school on the date of admission. iii) The child of a parent’s partner where that child lives for at least part of the week in the same family unit at the same home address as this child who is subject of the application. Home address The child’s home address must be where the child lives permanently. If the residency is split between two parents, the address must be where the child lives for the majority of the time. If the residency is split equally between two parents, they can nominate the address they wish to use for the allocation of a school place. Families who are due to move house should provide: a) a solicitor’s letter confirming that exchange of contracts has taken place on the purchase of a property; or b) a copy of the current Rental Agreement, signed by both tenants and the landlords, showing the address of the property; or c) in the case of serving H.M. Forces personnel, an official letter confirming their date of posting from the MOD, FCO or GCHQ Exceptional medical or social need Priority will be given to those children whose evidence establishes that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend this school in particular. Equally this priority will apply to children whose evidence establishes that their parent’s/guardian’s physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend this school in particular. All schools can support children with a wide range of additional needs and are expected to accommodate severe medical and social needs. An application made under this criterion should clearly demonstrate why this school applied is the only one that can meet your child’s needs in a way that no other school can. Evidence must be submitted in writing by the closing date for applications (stated above) and include recent independent objective evidence, for example from a doctor, psychologist, social worker or other professional involved with your child. It should confirm the circumstances of the case and must set out why the child should attend this school and why no other school could meet the child’s needs. If this school is not the nearest school to your child’s home address, give specific reasons why closer schools will not meet your child’s needs. Providing evidence does not guarantee that a child will be given priority at this school and in each case a decision will be made based on the merits of the case and whether the evidence demonstrates that a placement should be made at this school above any other. In consideration of each case the Governing Body may consult with other medical or educational professionals for a further opinion as to whether the pupil should be allocated a place at this school. ‘Medical need’ does not include mild medical conditions, such as asthma or allergies. ‘Social need’ does not include a parent’s wish that a child attends the school because of a child’s aptitude or ability or because their friends attend the school or because of routine childminding arrangements. Children who are looked after Children who are ‘looked after’ by the Local Authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989 (i.e. a child who is in the care of the Local Authority, or provided with accommodation by the Authority) and children who were ‘looked after’ but have been adopted or have become subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order, 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. This applies to all looked-after children, including those who are in the care of another local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services function at the time of making an application. 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 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. In the case of previously looked-after children, a copy of the relevant documentation will be required in support of the application. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 and children who were adopted under the Adopted & Children’s Act 2002. Child Arrangement Orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a Child Arrangements Order. See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians). Multiple births Where a family of ‘twins’, ‘triplets’ or multiple births request admissions and one child has been offered the last place the ‘expected pupil’ rule comes in and the other twin / triplet is offered a place.

Transcribed verbatim from the school's own published determined admission policy. A child with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school must be admitted; that is not an oversubscription criterion.

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.