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School Admissions

Admission to School

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Admission to School 

Individual pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan (EHC) which names the school will be admitted unless we feel that we are unable to meet a child’s needs. In cases where we feel we may not be able to meet a child’s needs we will follow all statutory and local authority processes, and the SEND code of practice, to find an appropriate solution. 

In deciding on admissions to all community and voluntary controlled schools in Derbyshire, the following order of priority will be adopted. 

  1. Looked after children and children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). 

  1. Children living in the normal area (see note one) served by the school at the time of application and admission who have brothers or sisters (see note two) attending the school at the time of application and admission. 

  1. Children living in the normal area (see note one) served by the school at the time of application and admission. 

  1. Children not living in the normal area (see note one) served by the school but who have brothers or sisters (see note two) attending the school at the time of application and admission. 

  1. Other children whose parents have requested a place. 

Where, in the case of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, choices have to be made between children satisfying the same criteria, those children living nearest to the school measured by the straight line distance will be given preference (see note four). 

Note One  

'Living in the normal area' is defined as the child having settled full-time residence in a property which is the child's only or main residence. Documentary evidence including proof of actual permanent residency at the property concerned may be required for example council tax or utility bills, sale or rental agreements. 

We reserve the right to withdraw any offer of a school place which has been obtained as a result of misleading or fraudulent information. 

Please note a place cannot be guaranteed for any child, even those living in a school’s normal area. 

Note two 

The term brother or sister includes: 

(a) a half brother and/or a half sister 

(b) a legally adopted child being regarded as a brother or sister 

(c) a step-brother and/or step-sister residing in the same family unit 

 

Note four 

The children and adults department has a Geographic Information System (GIS) to measure the straight line distance. This measurement is taken from the postal address file, normally the house front door. 

For schools, the grid reference is normally taken from the postal address file and will normally be the centre of the school. 

Residence - in all categories 

The home address used for school admission purposes is the address where the child is residing at the time of both application and admission. Where an application includes more than one address due to shared parental responsibility, we will use the address where the child resides for the majority of the school week (where they usually or mainly sleep between Monday and Friday). 

Parents and carers are required to submit full details with supporting information to enable us to determine which address to use for the purpose of admission. 

Where parents provide evidence that the child resides equally at both addresses during the school week , and we are unable to reach a decision based on the information received, parents will be asked to notify the council of the mutually agreed address to be used for the purpose of school admissions. Please note the same address will be used in the assessment of eligibility for home to school transport assistance. 

Where the county council has reasonable grounds for believing the home address is not the child's only or main residence, it reserves the right to carry out investigations which may include visits to the property. 

 

What to do if both parents cannot agree on the school(s) to be applied for 

Parents are expected to consult with each other and agree on the school(s) for which they wish to express a preference. The council is unable to investigate whether applications have been agreed, or to resolve disagreements between parents. In the absence of agreement between parents the council will process the preference of the parent who has care of the child for the greater part of the week (see definition of residence). In cases where the council is unable to determine the home address (see definition of residence), and / or there is no parental agreement or Court Order, the council will be unable to process the application further until the matter has been resolved. Parents are encouraged to resolve disagreements as soon as possible, as delays may affect the availability of places at preferred schools. 

Once a school place has been offered, any disagreement on the child’s placement will be a matter for parents to resolve. 

Please note 

A place cannot be guaranteed for any child whose parents apply after the closing date each year. This includes a child who moves into a school's normal area after that date. 

In situations where late applications are received and the school's admission number has been reached, but subsequently a place becomes available - if choices need to be made between normal area applications, those children living nearest to the school (measured by the nearest available route) will be given preference. 

 

In Year Transfers 

Admission decisions will be made by the Admissions Committee of the Governing body.  

 

The limits on our numbers are as follows: 

 

Nursery: 26 morning and 26 afternoon places 

Reception: 60 children 

Key Stage 1: no more than 30 children per class 

Key Stage 2: no more than 33 children per class 

 

If our classes or year groups are not at these levels, children will normally be admitted unless their attendance at the school is felt by the governors to be detrimental to the educational opportunities of the children who already attend. 

 

We always encourage parents and children joining our school to visit the school before a place is taken.  

 

Before admission to Nursery and Reception, meetings will be arranged for parents to meet the staff and for children to visit their new classroom and meet their teacher. 

 

 

 

 

 

Admission to Nursery 

 

Highfield Hall Nursery provides term-time early years education for 3 and 4 year olds for a maximum of 52 children. This comprises of 26 morning places and 26 afternoon places. Nursery admissions are the responsibility of the school, with Governors having final say on all admissions.  

 

We take children from the term after their 3rd birthday at three main points during the year:  

• September  

• January   

• April  

 

Our Nursery admission aims are:-  

  • to provide the best nursery education for as many eligible children as possible  

  • to ensure that the admissions of pupils to nursery enables staff to maintain the balance and smooth running of the nursery 

  • to ensure that the admission of pupils enables staff to effectively plan and provide consistent, high quality provision of the Early Years nursery curriculum over five days. 

 

All 3 and 4yr old children are entitled to 15-hours free (government funded) nursery education, per week. Working families are entitled to 30-hours free (government funded) nursery education per week. To check whether your child is eligible for 15 or 30 hours childcare please visit https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/  

 

Our 26 morning and 26 afternoon places comprise a combination of part-time and full-time places.  

  • A full-time place (30-hours) can be funded using a childcare code for free additional 15 hours available to working families. We do offer a limited number of full-time (30-hour) places, which are filled in September. 

30-hour places are offered over Monday to Thursday 8.40am – 3.30pm and Friday 8.40am – 11.30am. There is an option to stay until 3.30pm on a Friday. Please refer to the ‘Optional Extras’ below.  

  • Part-time places are made up from the universal 15 hours childcare for all. Our 15-hour places are offered over 5 morning sessions of 3 hours or five afternoon sessions of 3 hours. 

 

15-hour places  

Morning session: 8.40am – 11.40am  

Afternoon session: 12.30pm – 3.30pm  

 

30-hour places: Monday to Thursday 8.40am – 3.30pm  

Friday 8.40am – 11.30am 

(There is an option to stay until 3.30pm on a Friday. Please refer to the ‘Optional Extras’ below.) 

 

Highfield Hall Nursery is inclusive and places are not restricted to children in the normal area. The Governors wish to provide nursery education for as many children as possible but cannot guarantee a place to every child. Where more applications are made than are available, places will be allocated in date of birth order. However, we will also take account of the following where possible: 

 

  1. Children who are looked after by a local authority 

  1. Children on the Child Protection at risk register. 

  1. Children with identified Special Educational Needs 

  1. Children whose families are suffering severe social and psychological stress which could significantly affect the child’s development  

  1. Children who live in the normal area served by the school 

  1. Children outside the normal area who have siblings at the school 

  1. Children from the wider area 

 

 

Please note that parents do not have an automatic right to a place in their normal area school nursery. The rules on admission and appeal do not apply to nursery places. 

 

If a child is given a Nursery place, this does not guarantee a main school place. Parents will need to apply to Derbyshire County Council for their child’s choice of school and a place in Reception. 

 

 

Parents can register an interest in their child attending our Nursery by contacting school any time after their child is 18 months old.  

 

Applications for places should be made directly to the Highfield Hall Primary School office, who will maintain a waiting list and contact you as soon as a place is available. Visits to our nursery are warmly encouraged. 

 

To apply please complete a Nursery Admission form and return it to the school office. Application forms are available from the school office. 

 

 

Admission to Reception                      

All parents are entitled to send their children to Reception in the September of the year in which they are five years old. Our Pupil admission number (PAN) is 60. 

 

Applications for places are handled by Derbyshire County Council under the co-ordinated admissions policy. The school has no authority to offer places. 

 

 

Whenever possible we follow the admissions advice from Derbyshire County Council including that relating to early and delayed admission and transfer to school.                                               

 

HHPS Spring 2025 

Next Review Date: Spring 2026