Admission Policy 2021-2022
Christ Church Academy serves mainly those areas of Stone and District which are east of the River Trent. The Governors are committed to developing an inclusive school that reflects the diversity of the local community.
Pupils with a statement of special education need or Education, Health and Care Plan that names the Academy will be admitted. This will reduce the number of places available.
The Governors set the following order of priority for considering applications for admission:
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Priority will be given to children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements 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.
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Pupils who have brothers or sisters (including step brothers and sisters and foster and adopted children living at the same address) in attendance at the Academy at the time of admission or application.
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Pupils living within the Academy’s catchment area. A catchment area map is available to view at the Academy or via Staffordshire County Council.
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Pupils who attend a school from within The Key Educational Trust at time of admission or application.
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Children of members of staff at Christ Church Academy in either or both of the following circumstances:
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where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
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the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
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Pupils from recognised feeder schools, Barlaston First School, Green Lea First School, Pirehill First School and St. Michael’s First School.
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Pupils whose parents express a wish for a Church of England education for their child. (See note 2)
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Pupils with exceptional circumstances either on medical or social grounds. Applications must be supported by a professional report stating exactly what circumstances provide the grounds for medical or social inclusion.
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Other pupils arranged in order of priority according to how near their home address is to the main gate of the Academy, determined by a straight-line measurement as calculated by the Local Authority’s Geographical Information System. Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then the Academy will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria.
Notes
Note 1
The Key Educational Trust is comprised of Christ Church First School, Oulton First School and Christ Church Academy.
Looked after children means children who are looked after by a local authority in accordance with section 22
(1) of the Children Act 1989 and who is (a) in care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in Section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school. This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).
Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a special guardianship order as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
If there are a limited number of spaces available and we cannot distinguish between applicants using the criteria listed, such as in the case of children who live in the same block of flats, then the child or children who will be offered the available spaces will be randomly selected. This process will be independently verified.
Repeat and late applications will be considered by the Governors’ Appeals Committee. The Local Authority uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to calculate home to school distance in miles. The measurement is calculated using Ordnance Survey (OS) data from an applicant’s home address to the main front gate of the school. The co-ordinates of an applicant’s home address is determined and provided by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.
The home address is considered to be the child’s along with their parent’s main and genuine principal place of residence at the time of the allocation of places i.e. where they are normally and regularly living. If a child is resident with friends or relatives (for reasons other than legal guardianship) the friends or relatives address will not be considered for allocation purposes.
Unsuccessful applications will be placed on a waiting list which will be kept in admission criteria order. The list will be kept until the 31 December of the year of admission.
Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governors to refuse their child a place at the Academy may apply in writing to the Governors of the Academy. Appeals will be heard by an independent panel.
Parents may seek to apply for their child’s admission to school outside of their normal age group, for example if the child is exceptionally gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.
These parents will need to make an application alongside children applying at the normal age which should explain why it is in the child’s best interest to be admitted outside of their normal age which may include information such as professional evidence as to why this is the case and why an exception should be made in the case of the child. A decision as to whether this is an appropriate course of action will be made by the Governing Body who will take into account the circumstances of the case and views of the Principal. Parents do not have the right to insist that their child is admitted to a particular year group.
Note 2
Pupils whose parents express a wish for a Church of England education for their child applies to those families that are faithful and regular worshippers in a Church of England Parish Church or other place of worship or other Christian Church affiliated to Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) and/or the Evangelical Alliance.
“Faithful and regular worshipper” is defined as worshipping at least twice a month for two years prior to application.
Written evidence of applicants' commitment to their place of worship (in the form of the Christ Church Academy Supplementary Information Form) will be required at the time of application.
The Governors have placed a temporary admission limit of 150 pupils for the Academic Year 2021-22.
