Address:
Moorside Road
Swinton
M27 9PD
Telephone: 0161 794 4356
Email: Stcharles.rcprimaryschool@salford.gov.uk
Headteacher: Mrs C Campbell
School type: Voluntary aided
Total number of places for nursery: 26
Total number of places for reception: 30
Total applications received by offer day for reception: 43
Breakdown of reception offers at offer day (19 April 2022): All applicants offered
Total numbers of reception offers made: 27
Total reception vacancies: 3
St Charles is a Catholic Primary School under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Salford. It is maintained by Salford Authority. As a Voluntary Aided School, the Governing Body is the Admissions Authority and is responsible for taking decisions on applications for admissions. The co-ordination of admissions arrangements is undertaken by the Local Authority.
For the school year commencing September 2023, the Governing Body has set its admissions number at 30.
Admissions to the school will be made by the Governing Body. All preferences listed on the Local Authority Preference Form will be considered on an equal basis with the following set of admissions criteria forming a priority order where there are more applications for admissions than the school has places available.
St Charles RC Primary School will admit children with an Education Health Care Plan naming the school. We will then allocate the remaining places in accordance with this policy.
a. All applicants will be considered at the same time and after the closing date for admissions which is 15 January 2023.
b. All Roman Catholic applicants not baptised at St Charles Borromeo Church, Swinton will be required to produce a Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate at the time of application. The Baptism Certificate should be hand-delivered or sent by recorded delivery directly to the school to arrive before the application closing date.
c. A Looked-After Child is a child who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a Local Authority in the exercise of their Social Services functions (under section 22 (1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously Looked-After Child is one who immediately moved on from that status after becoming subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order.
d. It is the duty of governors to comply with class size limits at Key Stage 1.
e. If in any category there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of distance from home to school. Distance will be measured as the shortest straight-line distance measured from the address point of the home (including flats) to the centre point of the school in miles using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system with those living nearer to the school having priority.
In the event of distances being the same for 2 or more applicants where this distance would be lasts place/s to be allocated, a random lottery will be carried out in a public place. All the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names will be drawn out.
f. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, each for part of a week, the child’s “permanent place of residence” will be determined as the address of the parent who normally has responsibility for the majority of school days in a week.
g. Sibling is defined as a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the school place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.
h. A waiting list will be maintained until the end of the autumn term and children will be ranked in the same order as the oversubscription criteria. The waiting list will be re-ranked as new names are added and this can result in applicants moving up and down the waiting list. Parents will be contacted by the school should a place become available for their child. Please note that children with an EHCP, looked after and previously looked after children, and in year fair access pupils take precedence over the waiting list.
i. Once the waiting list end-date has been reached (end of the autumn term) if a place is still required, the parent will need to reapply for a place using the Local Authority In-Year Fair Access process.
j. For 'In year' applications received outside the normal admissions round and if places are available then children qualifying under the published criteria will be admitted. If there are places available but more applicants than places then the published oversubscription criteria will be applied. 'In year' and late applications will be treated as per the co-ordinated arrangements published by the Local Authority.
k. If an application for admission has been turned down by the Governing Body, parents can appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel. Parents must be allowed at least 20 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to submit that appeal. The parents must give their reasons for appealing in writing and the decision of the Appeals Panel is binding on the Governors.
l. Late applications will be considered in accordance with the published admissions criteria. If the school is oversubscribed, late applications will be placed on a reserve list in priority order according to the published admissions criteria. Parents will be notified if a vacancy subsequently arises. Parents will be expected to provide one or more reasons for their late application. If this is not exceptional the application will be dealt with after all others have been considered.
m. Governors reserve the right to make individual admission decisions based on exceptionally strong medical, social or welfare reasons associated with the child and/or family, which are directly relevant to the school. When necessary, supporting professional evidence may be requested from external bodies, such as doctors, health visitors and social services. Decisions will always be made in line with the equality act and for the best pupil outcomes.
n. The governing body reserves the right to give special consideration to twins or triplets etc to prevent breaking the sibling link.
o. Parents/carers can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made. Alternatively, where parents wish, children may attend part time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age. Parents wishing to take either of the above options should inform the school as soon as a place is offered so that the appropriate arrangements can be made.
p. Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, parents of children born between 1 April and 31 August (summer born children) may choose not to send that child to school until the September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1 ie starting reception a year later than those in their age group.
Parents should discuss this with the Headteacher of the school first and then they and should make their application to the school admissions committee giving reasons for the request. This should be done at the time the child would usually be expected to apply for a reception place.
The request will be considered in conjunction with the school and the parent, and the governing body for the school will decide on whether the child should be offered delayed admission or not. The decision, and the reasons for it, will be communicated to the parent in writing. Where a child is offered a place at a school but not in the year group preferred there will be no right of appeal.
q. Admission arrangements to the reception class are separate from those for the nursery. Attendance at nursery does not give a child any guarantee or priority when it comes to consideration by the Governing Body of applicants for admission to the reception class.
r. The Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a school place where false evidence is received in relation to the application.