Admissions

Starting School

Children are admitted to Higher Walton CE Primary School in accordance with the Local Authority's policy, which is as follows:

Children whose parents wish it may be admitted to the school from the beginning of the school year in which they become five years of age.

At this school, we have 17 places in each year group.

You are welcome to express an interest in your child having a place at our school at any time.  Just telephone Mrs Rourke, our office manager , who will be pleased to take your child's details, and arrange a suitable time for you to have a guided tour of our school if you so wish.

At this school, the Local Authority decide which pupils will be admitted each year, based on the following priorities in order:

  1. Children in public care at the time when preferences are expressed and those who have been previously looked after
  2. Children for whom the Local Authority accepts that there are exceptional medical social or welfare reasons which are directly relevant to the school concerned
  3. Children with older brothers and sisters attending the school when the younger child will start
  4. Remaining places are allocated according to where a child lives. Those living nearest to the preferred school by a straight line (radial) measure will have priority.

Please note: Although we are a church school, we are classed as voluntary controlled.  This means that you do not need to complete a Supplementary Information Form.

If a school is oversubscribed

Information on how places are allocated if there are more applicants than places available can be found here.

Appeals process

If your child has been refused a place at one of your preferred schools, you may appeal the decision of the admissions authority.

Your reasons for appealing will then be considered by an independent panel at an appeal hearing. You will have the chance to attend the appeal hearing and present your case.  For further information, please see the local authority web page.

Delayed admission to Reception

In Lancashire, provision is made for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday.  Parents of non-compulsory school age children (four-year olds) may request a pattern of part-time attendance or deferment if that best suits the needs of their child.  This also applies to summer born children.  Further information can be found here.

 

How To Apply

If your child was born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 they will start primary school in September 2025!

Applications must be made online to the Local authority 

Applications can be made from 1 September 2024 but all applications must be submitted by 15 January 2025.  

The Local Authority inform parents whether or not their application for a place at the school has been successful.  Official offers are issued on 16 April 2025 and available to online applicants later that evening.

The Local Authority also notify us on that date as to which children have been offered places at our school.  We then contact parents to confirm that you wish to accept the place you have been offered for your child.

Detailed guidance on how to apply for a place, and how to choose a school is provided on the admissions website. 

Pre-school Group

When we know which children have been offered places to start in the following September, we contact their parents with regard to their child attending our pre-school group.

This group meets every afternoon for one week in July before the children start school.  It gives the children chance to get to know their future class mates and teachers, and helps to ease the transition from home to school.

Transferring from Other Schools

All our admissions are now handled by the local authority.  If you want to transfer your child to our school from another school, then you should contact the local authority admissions team and fill in an in-year application form. 

 

Admission of Disabled Pupils

The school will not discriminate against disabled learners and will take all reasonable steps to provide effective educational provision. In order to ensure that learners who have a disability are catered for and are not treated less favourably than other learners, the school may seek advice from the Local Authority. It may be necessary in some cases for specialised equipment to be purchased, support staff to be deployed, and minor adaptions to be made to buildings and furniture. These will be completed in consultation with the Local Authority.

The SEND policy ensures that staff promptly and accurately identify, assess and arrange suitable provision for learners with disabilities and special educational needs. The SENDCo manages the Educational, Health and Care Plan Assessment Process, ensuring additional resources are available where appropriate.  The SENDCo and Headteacher ensure the provision of additional support for learners is effective and support teachers in implementing strategies for improving access to learning for any learner with a disability.

On admission to the school, any learner with a disability would have their needs assessed by the SENDCo in liaison with the Headteacher, any relevant external agencies and the Local Authority if appropriate. Following the initial assessment, an Individual Health Plan and a Learner Profile would be devised and put into action. This would set out any access arrangements or specialist equipment required, plan targets to be achieved and the provision required to enable the learner to meet those targets. A Personalised Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) would also be put in place to ensure the disabled learner is able to exit the school safely in case of emergency.

Our Accessibility Action Plan ensures the school is regularly reviewing the facilities in place to enable disabled learners to access the school and can be found here. 

We are committed to establishing equality for all learners regardless of their education, physical, sensory, social, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs. This is reflected in our ethos and values. It is the responsibility of the whole school community to implement this scheme in a manner, which promotes the inclusive ethos of our school.