Brampton the Ellis Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Introduction
Brampton ‘The Ellis’ Church of England Primary School is an academy within the James Montgomery Academy Trust, which is also within the Diocese of Sheffield and Rotherham Local Authority.
The school provides a distinctively Christian education for children aged 3 to 11years.
Historically, Anglican schools were parish schools providing education for the community in accordance with the principles of the Church of England. Thus, the majority of Sheffield Diocesan schools were established to provide education for the children of the parish within a Christian context. This two-fold aim of being “distinctively Christian” and “serving the local community” are reflected in the school’s admission criteria.
The school is a Voluntary Aided School in which the Governing Body is the Admission Authority and responsible for admissions. It is guided in that responsibility by the requirements of the law, the school trust deed, by advice from the Diocesan Board of Education and its duty to the community and Common Good.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the rest of this booklet.
The admission number for this year is 40 and all children will be admitted during the Autumn Term prior to their 5th birthday. Where parents wish to defer entry or request that the child attends parttime, the request will be considered where it appears to be in the best interest of the child.
All children will be admitted by the term following their 5th birthday ‐ compulsory school age.
Admission to Year 3
The Primary School has a higher admission number of 90 for pupils in Years 3 to 6. The Governing Body will give priority to applications from parents of children in Year 2 at Brampton Cortonwood Infant School, which is considered a feeder school to Brampton the Ellis CE Primary.
If the number of applications from Cortonwood Infant school means the school exceeds the admission number of 90 then each of the applications will be assessed against the criteria.
PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU NEED ANY HELP TO COMPLETE THE COMMON APPLICATION FORM OR THE SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FORM
Parental Preference
The Local Authority Common Application form provides the opportunity for parents/carers to express up to 3 choices of schools in rank order of preference. Along with the Local Authority, we will be operating an ‘equal preference’ system. This means that all applications for a place at Brampton ‘The Ellis’ C of E Primary School will be assessed according to the admission criteria and no priority will be given according to the ranking.
Ranking by your preference will only be used in the final allocation of a place within Rotherham LA’S co-ordinated scheme where there is more than 1 potential offer.
Co-ordinated Scheme for Admission Arrangements
In order to provide every parent with an offer of one single place, the Authority will be working with the Governing Bodies of Voluntary Aided primary schools within the Rotherham area, including our school Brampton ‘The Ellis’ Church of England (Aided) Infant School.
Details of the co-ordinated scheme can be obtained from the Local Authority.
The closing date for applications is 15 January 2024 with the offer day being the 16 April 2024.
CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION
Children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the school as the most appropriate educational setting will gain a place at the school through the EHCP process. EVIDENCE OF THE CHILD’S EHCP MUST BE PROVIDED
Where there are more applications for admission than the published admission number stated, the Governing Body /Admission committee will apply the following admission criteria in strict order of priority:
Category One
Children who are in Public Care (Looked After Children) or have previously been in public care.
Category Two
Children who will have an elder brother or sister in this school or Brampton the Ellis Junior School at the anticipated time of admission.
Category Three
The children of parent(s) carer(s) who are resident within the ecclesiastical parish of Christ Church, Brampton Bierlow and
- regularly and frequently attend Christ Church Brampton Bierlow excluding school assemblies held in Church.
- regularly and frequently attend another Church of England church on a Sunday.
- regularly and frequently attend another Christian denomination participating in ‘Churches Together in England’ on a Sunday.
- whose parent(s)/carer(s) are active members of other World Faiths.
- whose parent(s)/carer(s) are seeking a Christian environment for their child’s education.
Category Four
The children of parent(s)carer(s) who are not resident within the ecclesiastical parish of Christ Church, Brampton Bierlow and
- regularly and frequently attend Christ Church Brampton Bierlow excluding school assemblies held in Church.
- regularly and frequently attend another Church of England church on a Sunday.
- regularly and frequently attend another Christian denomination participating in ‘Churches Together in England’ on a Sunday.
- whose parent(s)/carer(s) are active members of other World Faiths.
- whose parent(s)/carer(s) are seeking a Christian environment for their child’s education.
Category Five
Any other children’s applications not falling within Categories 1 -4.
Should the admission number be reached mid category, applications in that category will be prioritised by the measurement of the distance in a straight line between the pupil’s home and the school. The shortest distance having the highest priority. Any distance measurement will be undertaken by the Local Authority and a full definition is given below.
Tie Break
In the event of two or more children still living equidistant from the school, the PLACE WILL BE DECIDED BY DRAWING LOTS. The first name drawn out of the bag will be offered the place.
In Year Transfers
Rotherham Local Authority will co-ordinate in year transfers for our school in 2022/23.
Footnotes/Definitions
The school number has been calculated according to the net capacity of the school which the law defines and has been agreed with the Local Authority.
Looked After Children (Child In Public Care)
A ‘relevant looked after child’ is a child that is looked after by a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application for admission to nursery/foundation stage 1 is made, and who the local authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the time when he/she is admitted to the nursery/foundation stage 1.
Previously Looked After Children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). For further information please refer to the Admissions Code of Practice which can be downloaded from www.dfe.gov.uk.
Brother/Sister
For the sibling (brother or sister) criterion to be applicable one of the following conditions must exist:
- brother and/or sister to be permanently resident at the same address.
- stepbrother and/or stepsister to be permanently resident at the same address.
- half-brother and/or half-sister to be permanently resident at the same address.
- brother and/or sister who do not live at the same residence but, who share the same parent.
- child of the parent/carer’s partner to be permanently resident at the same address.
You may be required to provide proof e.g. Birth Certificate and proof of residence as stated above Place of Residence
The child’s ordinary place of residence will be deemed to be a residential property at which the person or persons with parental responsibility for the child resides at the closing date for receiving applications for admission to the school.
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 resides for the greater part of the week, including weekends.
Definition of Regular Church Attendance
Regular and frequent attendance by children is defined as attendance at a Church of England Church or another Christian denomination participating in “Churches Together in England” for the equivalent of at least once a month over the last 12 months.
Definition of Churches Together in England
Please refer to www.cte.org.uk for an up to date list of ‘Churches together in England’.
Distance Measurement
Should the published admission number be reached mid category, priority within that category will be based on the shortest distance between the applicant’s home and the school by the most direct route as measured by Rotherham Authority. A Geographical Information System is used which applies seed points as determined by Ordnance Survey. Measurements are taken from the seed point of the ordinary place of residence to the seed point of the school. Where the school has more than one seed point, the seed point closest to the geographical centre of the complex is used.
Waiting Lists
The waiting list will be operated in accordance with the Rotherham Authority Scheme. Please refer to Section 8 – Waiting Lists on Page 117.
False Information
- Where the Governing Body has made an offer of a place at this school on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from a parent/carer, which has effectively denied a place to a child with a stronger claim to a place at the school, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.
- Where a child starts attending the school on the basis of fraudulent and intentionally misleading information, the place may be withdrawn depending upon the length of time that the child has been at the school.
- Where a place or an offer has been withdrawn, the application will be re-considered and a right of independent appeal offered if the place is refused.
- If an application is made outside of the normal admissions round and there is spare capacity in school then a place will be offered. If there is more than one application for one place then the admission criteria will be applied. Our admission number for each year group is 40.
Appeals Against the Governing Body’s Decision To Refuse Admission
- If a place is not offered, parents have the right of appeal. Such appeals against non admission will be heard by an Independent Appeals Panel formed in accordance with the DCSF Code of Practice. Details of the appeals process will be made available to all unsuccessful applicants.
- Parents who intend to make an appeal against the Governing Body’s decision to refuse admission must submit a notice of appeal within 21 days of receiving the refusal letter to
The Appeal Clerk
Legal and Democratic Services
Town Hall
The Crofts
Moorgate Street
Rotherham
S60 2TH
Tel. 822054 or 822062
Normally appeal hearings will be held within 6 weeks of the closing date for receiving the notice of appeal.
Documentation Required
- The school requires additional information not contained on the Common Application form. This additional information is needed to place your application in the correct priority of admission category.
- The Supplementary Information Form is available in the LA admission booklet and you are strongly recommended to complete this form, which should be securely attached to the Common Application form and returned to the Local Authority.
- Ministers reference to support regular church attendance.
- This Supplementary Information Form is not an application for admission to the school and its return does not guarantee a place at the school, however it does affect the admission category your application will be placed in.
- The Supplementary Information Form may assist Governors when deciding which priority of admission category your application is placed in.
Governing Body of: Brampton ‘The Ellis’ C of E (Aided) Primary School
Date: - 07.10.22
