In Year Admission Process

If you are interested in transferring your child to Eastchurch School please complete and return an In Year Application Form. The form is given at the link below.

On receipt of your completed In Year Application Form we will be able to check availability. 

Admission to Eastchurch School

The governing body of Eastchurch School applies the regulations on admissions fairly and equally to all those who wish to attend this school. The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 introduced a new framework for school admissions as of September 2000. This policy conforms to the regulations that are set out in that Act and also further explained in the statutory School Admissions Code of Practice and the statutory Appeals Code of Practice.

Aims and objectives

We are an inclusive school that welcomes children from all backgrounds and abilities.  All applications will be treated on merit and in a sensitive manner.

The only restriction we place on entry is that of number. If the number of children applying for entry exceeds the places available, we enforce the procedure set out by the LA in order to determine whether a child is accepted or not. It is our wish to allow parents the right to have a place at the school of their choice. However, this is not always possible, due to the excess demand on the school places available.

 The level of ability of a child or any special needs that s/he may have plays no part in the admissions policy of this school.

How parents can apply for their child to be admitted to our school

As our school is a community school, the school determines the admission arrangements in agreement with the LA. The LA is therefore the ‘Admissions Authority’ for our school. The regulations for entry to each school, where the Admissions Authority is the LA, are published each year by the LA. Parents/carers can receive a copy of these regulations directly from the LA.

If the school is over subscribed the over subscription criteria information as published by the LA is followed.  This is:

1.   Children in Local Authority Care

2.   Attendance at a linked school (ie. Where links between infant and junior schools have been established)

3.   Current family association (sibling already at the school)

4.   Health and Special Access reasons

5.   Nearness of children’s homes and ease of access to school

After you get your school offer:

An acceptance/refusal form will be available for you to complete once applications close.

Parents who have not been offered a place can request to be put on our waiting list by completing a Waiting List request Form available in April from the KCC website

If your child is due to start school in September 2024, parents will be offered a place by email in April 2024 and you must accept or decline this offer.

If parents are happy with their offer, they will need to complete the Acceptance/Refusal Form available with your offer letter.

The form should be returned to school by the deadline stated in the offer letter.

If you are unhappy with your offer:

We suggest that you visit the school you have been offered and get to know more about it.

If you are unhappy you can request to be put in the school's waiting list or you can make an appeal to any of the other schools you requested.

We recommend that you still accept the place your child has been offered. 
This will not affect your waiting list position or your appeal. It will guarantee your child has a school place if no places become available or if your appeal is unsuccessful. 
If the waiting list or appeal are successful you must remember to tell the school you were originally offered that you no longer want the place

Appeals

•  If your child is due to start primary, infant or junior school in September you can appeal between the published dates in April and May to guarantee that your appeal will be heard by June of that year. For applications made in the normal admission round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals. For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 schools days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 schools days of the appeals being lodged. Advice for appeals can be found here.  KCC Appeals Advice

• If your child is due to start primary school in September 2024, you can appeal if you are refused a place at one of your preferred schools on National Offer Day (Tuesday 16th April 2024).

  You must submit your appeal before Tuesday 16 May 2024 for it to be considered by Tuesday 18 July 2024. Any appeals received after this time will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline, or where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

Waiting Lists

To add your child’s name to a waiting list you please contact the school office and speak to the Office Manager. You will need to complete the waiting list form and return by the May date given by KCC.

If you weren't offered any of the schools you applied for

This may be because:

• your child was not eligible for the school
• there were more applications than spaces available so the school used its oversubscription criteria to prioritise which children to offer places to.

Pupils transferring into the school are admitted using the same criteria. Children who are above the statutory age and are seeking a place in the school may be admitted at any time provided a place exists within the appropriate year group.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office should you have any questions or queries with regard to this matter.