Primary admissions

Thongsley Fields Primary & Nursery School is an Academy of The Cam Academy Trust. The Trust and the local governing board agree to accept the Admission Policy guidelines produced by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Children are admitted to school at the beginning of the school year (September – August) in which they are 5. The online application process usually opens in September and closes in January. Parents are advised if they have been successful in securing a place in April.

The application process for admissions into the Reception Year (initial year of entry) is co-ordinated by the Local Authority (LA), which acts on behalf of the Governing Body to offer places at our school.

Parents should submit the online application form, available through the LA Admissions Team website linked below. If successful, offer letters will be issued by the LA. Late applications (those submitted between the deadline and the end of the first week of the autumn term) will also be handled by the LA Admissions Team.

To apply for a place after the start of term or in any other year group, please contact the LA Admissions Team.

Parents wishing to visit the school prior to submitting an application are welcome to do so, though it may not always be possible to organise this at short notice. Visits are not interviews and do not affect any decision regarding the availability of a place. Please contact the school office to make arrangements.

All parents are advised to read the LA booklet for parents on primary admissions.

For admission into the Reception Year in September, the LA, on behalf of the Governing Body, will offer places to 60 children. This is the Published Admission Number (PAN) for that year group. In the event that more than 60 applications are received, the oversubscription criteria will be applied to determine priority for places. All preferences will be treated equally, regardless of whether they are first, second or third preferences.

For children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (or Statement of Special Educational Need) or social circumstances where these needs can be best met at our school, written professional supporting evidence must be provided. A professionally qualified person such as a medical doctor, psychologist or social worker must set out in writing the particular reasons why this school will best meet the needs of the child and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend an alternative school.

Where applications for any year group exceed the number of published year group places, after the admission of pupils with a statement of SEN or EHCP naming the school, applications will be considered in the following order of priority.

1. Children in Care (CIC) and children who were previously in care (CIC) but ceased to be so by reason of adoption, a residence order (now known as a child arrangement order) or special guardianship order.
2. Children living in the catchment area with a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
3. Children living in the catchment area.
4. Children living outside the catchment area who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
5. Children living outside the catchment area who have applied and been unable to gain a place at their Cambridgeshire catchment area school because of oversubscription.
6. Children who live outside the catchment area, but nearest the school as measured by a straight line.

In cases of equal merit, priority will go to children living nearest the school according to the shortest straight line distance.

Parents may contact the Local Authority (LA) if they are uncertain whether or not they reside in the catchment area. The home address is defined as the address of the adult with parental responsibility with whom the child normally lives and which applies at the time of application. Applications based on future addresses can only be considered up to 6 teaching weeks before the child is expected to take up the place.

A sibling is defined as another child of compulsory school age living in the same family home.

You are legally entitled to appeal against the Admission Authority’s decision to refuse a place at your preferred school.

• You can appeal for places at all schools for which you have applied and been refused a place
• You are entitled to submit one appeal per school, per academic year.
• This appeal can be lodged at any time during the year.

Your appeal will be heard by an independent school admission appeals panel. The panel’s decision is binding on all parties: the school, the admission authority and you.

For more information, use the link to Cambridgeshire’s Admissions portal below.

Parents will need to put requests for accelerated or deferred admission in writing to the Local Authority.

For more information please click here to go to the relevant page on the county council website.