Blackfell Primary 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 and previously looked after children — A ‘Looked-after’ child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residency/child arrangement or special guardianship order - a child that is looked-after’ by a Local Authority in accordance with Section 22(1) of the Children’s Act 1989 and a child who was looked after, but ceased to be so, because of adoption (or become subject to a child arrangements order, residence order or special guardianship order) and a ‘Looked-after’ child who appears to the Admission Authority to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as 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 attending a feeder school — A sibling link - an older brother/sister or older child (including adoptive, foster or step-children) that shares the same parent/carer and lives at the same address, who will still be attending the preferred school or the junior school for which the preferred school is the feeder infant school, at the time of admission.
3. 3Children attending a feeder school — Attendance in Key Stage 1 (age 5–7) at the named feeder infant school (This applies to Infant - Junior transfers only)
4. 4Children in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium funding AND attending the nursery class… — Children in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium funding AND attending the nursery class within the school
5. 5Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Exceptional medical or psychological reasons (you must include a medical or psychological report, prepared by a professional, to confirm information that you include in this section. This report should explain why only this school can meet your child’s medical or psychological needs. Common childhood medical conditions such as asthma or giving a child’s or giving a child’s nervousness at starting new school as a psychological reason for Apply online at: www.sunderland.gov.uk/admissionsonline Page 31 Admission to Primary Schools – Information for parents 2027–2028 choosing a particular school are unlikely to be accepted as exceptional). If you intend to use this criterion when expressing a preference, please contact the School Admissions Team before completing the application form. (Eligibility under this category will be considered by a meeting of Senior LA Officers).
6. 6Pupils for whom preferences are expressed on grounds other than those outlined above — Pupils for whom preferences are expressed on grounds other than those outlined above. NOTES Within each of the above, places will be offered on the basis of distance from the centre of the home address to the main entrance of the school with priority being given to those living closest to the school. Distance is measured by a straight line measurement from the centre of the home to the main entrance of the school, using a geographical information system (GIS). This uses Ordnance Survey maps and Land & Property Gazetteer (LLPG), which provides co- ordinates for every dwelling. At the first stage of allocations there will be no distinction between 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. preference applications. Therefore all applications will be considered equally against the admission criteria. If a pupil then qualifies for a place at more than one school, the parent’s highest ranked preference will be offered and any lower ranking offers will be disregarded. In determining allocations, priority will be given to those applications where the parental preference is received by the published deadline date. Where it is not possible to offer at a school, the child will be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list is sorted using the admission criteria and will be held until 31 December, after the children start school in September. Parents/carers who are refused a place have a statutory right of appeal. Further details of the appeals process will be included with the notification letter but are also available from the School Admissions Team. Where a pupil has an Education, Health & Care Plan naming a school, a place will be offered at that school (subject to confirmation by the SEN Unit). It will be possible for Infant classes to exceed the statutory limit where the 31st child is a twin or from multiple births, or of armed forces personnel. Parents/carers who are awarded a place for their child may request that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the year or subsequent year, for example, until the start of the term when the child reaches compulsory school age. Parents can also request that their child takes up the place part time, if it is in the interest of the child, until the child is of compulsory school age. In this instance, parents must discuss this with the Head teacher. Compulsory school age is determined as the term after the child’s fifth birthday. It is possible for parents/carers to defer entry to Reception for summer born children until the following September, i.e. born between 1 April & 31 August). In the first instance, parents/carers should seek advice from the Local Authority. Page 32 Apply online at: www.sunderland.gov.uk/admissionsonline

Read 2026-09-12 from page 33 of Sunderland's Admission to Primary Schools booklet 2027-2028. Sunderland abolished catchment areas in September 2003 and replaced them with a cluster system - a group of primary schools feeding a single secondary school - so proximity does not appear in the council's criteria at all. The council is the admission authority for community and voluntary controlled schools only. sunderland.gov.uk rejects automated clients at its firewall although its robots.txt says Allow: /, so documents were retrieved through the operator browser. CORRECTION 2026-09-12: this row was first written the same day with the right notes but an empty criteria list — every rule came out blank. The rules below were re-read from the same determined document and written back.

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.