Starting school for the first time is a very important step for both a child and the parent/carer. We feel it is important that you get to know the school so we would love to welcome you to visit us before your child starts school. Please contact the School Office on 0161 764 5330 for details of our New Intake Open Days or to arrange an individual visit to school.
Reception Class Intake
Children are usually admitted to school into the Foundation Stage (Reception class) in the September of the school year during which they become five.
We want your child to enjoy the first days in school, making the transition from home or nursery to school as smooth as possible. In addition to looking around the school prior to application, we will also visit your child at nursery or at your home if they are allocated a place at our school, which helps us to gain additional information about your child.
Arrangements are also made during the Summer term for your child to make pre-school visits to come into their future classroom, meet their future class teacher and future fellow classmates in order to promote as smooth and trouble-free induction as possible.
The Application Process
If you live in the Bury area then Bury Local Authority is responsible for Reception Class admission procedures. Parents/carers are asked to complete and return a form online stating their three preferences of primary school. For information from the Local Authority on how to apply for a place at our school, please click here.
If you are interested in your child attending our Nursery then please contact the School Office on 0161 764 5330 in the first instance for availability/further information. Please click here for the Nursery application form.
In Year Intake
If you would like to apply for a school place outside of the September Reception intake, please contact the School Office on 0161 764 5330 for details of class sizes and availability. Parents/carers and children transferring from another school are encouraged to visit the school for a pre-transfer welcome visit to ensure they have all the information required prior to starting. Once you know there is an available place, you need to apply formally through Bury Local Authority via the following link: bury.gov.uk/admissions and completing the in-year transfer form.
Primary school transfer process
Once the form has been completed in full, it should be forwarded to each of the individual school preferences. The school(s) will review the application and there can be one of four outcomes:
- the school have a vacancy and there are no issues, then the school can offer the child a place, arrange admission and the child will start school
- there are no issues with the application, however the school is full. The school will then forward the application to the admissions team who will process the application as an appeal
- there are issues with the application, however the school are happy to take the child and will arrange to admit the child and notify the Local Authority inclusion team
- the final option is that the child has issues which will make admission into school a difficult transition. In this case, the school will put their objections and concerns in writing and it may be necessary for the application to be heard at a special meeting before allocating a suitable school placement.
It should be noted that the majority of applications will be covered in either the first or second category noted above.
The in-year primary school transfer form will be processed as an appeal if the school is full and falls under the second category as noted above.
Primary school admissions appeals
A statement will be prepared outlining the reasons why a place has not been offered at your preferred school(s). The two forms will then be forwarded to the Democratic Services section which is responsible for arranging the appeals meetings. You will receive notification of the date of the meeting and will be invited to attend.
The appeals panel will consider your submission, the Local Authority's statement and any other information made available to them at the meeting. A decision will be reached based on this information. Any enquiries relating to the date or time of the appeals meetings, the decision or the process of the appeals panel should be made to Democratic Services by calling 0161 253 5134.
The decision of the appeals panel is binding. If the decision is in your favour, then a place will be offered to your child and the school will be notified accordingly.
If you need any advice on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the Admissions Team at Bury Local Authority on 0161 253 6474 and they will try to help you.
If your child has a statement of special educational needs, you cannot appeal through the local appeals panel. If you do not live within Bury Council's area, you should contact the Special Needs Section of your own Local Authority. If you do live in Bury, you should contact the Special Educational Needs (SEN) team on 0161 253 5969.
Transition to High School
The transition of our children to high school is a very important stage in a child’s school career. All high schools organise Open Days and evenings plus formal transition days during the summer term. Staff from each high school will also visit our children at St John with St Mark during the summer term as they ‘get to know them.’ They will also liaise with key staff in school in support of the transition process. Where our staff or parents/carers feel their child may need extra support with the transition process in terms of greater familiarisation with the layout of the building, routines and relationships, extra sessions are planned in liaison with the chosen high school.
Policies
Please see our Policies page for further information regarding admission arrangements including our oversubscription criteria.