A-Z of Services

Admissions to Reception at Infant/Primary School for September 2011

The School Standards and Framework Act (1998) enables you to express a preference for the Infant/Primary School you would wish your child(ren) to attend. To help you to do this, the Local Authority (LA) has to publish certain information about its schools and policies which, together with the prospectus that the school has prepared, will help you state your preference.

Copies of the County Borough's 'Parents' and Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham' are available at the Authority's schools, offices and, for reference purposes, at public libraries, or click on the link to view this document. If you wish to visit a school prior to expressing your preference, you should arrange an appointment with the headteacher. You will then be able to express your preference on the basis of the information contained in these documents and on the basis of any visit(s) you have made to the school(s).

Please note that the law does not allow you to choose a school for your child, merely to state a preference for your child(ren) to attend at a particular school. Of course, every effort will be made to ensure that your child gets a place at your preferred school.

The Authority will accept only the pupil's home address and not that, for example, of childminder or grandparents. Parents may be asked to provide official documentation showing home address. Parents are advised that a school place may be lawfully withdrawn if the information given on your application form is fraudulent or misleading, and the consequence of this may be that there would be no place available at your next nearest school. If two parents cannot agree which school/schools they prefer, they must seek independent legal advice, and if necessary an appropriate court order, before submitting their one application form to the LA.

If your child has a disability which could affect his/her progress and participation in school life, please note this on the form.

If your child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs, the LA will try its best to allow your preference of infant/primary school but it has to make sure that the school can meet your child's needs fully. After your form has been received, a Local Authority Officer will write to you and may wish to arrange a meeting to discuss your child's primary education.

If your child has an older brother or sister currently registered at the preferred school, who will still be registered at the time the younger one is due to start, please note this on the admission form, giving his/her name and date of birth.

You can download and complete an admission form and return it to the headteacher of the selected primary/infants school by 31 October 2010. The Admitting Authority will admit pupils up to the school's admission number, this number is shown in the school list in the Parents' and Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham. Late applications will be dealt with after all those that have been handed in by the deadline, it is therefore very important for you to meet the deadline referred to above.

In the event that there are more applications made than there are places available at your preferred school, the LA will apply the criteria published in the County Borough's Parents' and Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham to decide who should be given the places at that school. Parents are reminded that if their child is currently in nursery, there is no guarantee of a place in reception at that school.

If you have expressed a preference for a community or a voluntary controlled school, your application will be considered by the LA (see page 15 of the ‘Parents' & Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham’). Alternatively, if you have expressed a preference for a Catholic or Church In Wales Aided School, your application will be considered by the governing body of that school.

It will take some time for the allocation process to be completed but you will be informed by 18 March 2011 whether or not your child has been allocated a place at your preferred school.

If the LA, or in the case of the voluntary aided sector the governing body of the school, are unable to comply with your preference and are unable to allocate a place for your child at your preferred school, you will have the right to make representations to an independent Appeals Panel.

If you wish to appeal in the case of a community or voluntary controlled school, you should write to the Chief Learning and Achievement Officer. For a Catholic school, any appeal should be referred to the Secretary of the Diocesan Education Committee and for a Church in Wales aided school you should contact the Diocesan Council for Education. The relevant addresses are to be found in the County Borough's Parents' and Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham. For pupils with statements this procedure is dealt with by The Pupil Support Officer, who is based at Lord Street and can be contacted on (01978) 297505.

Admission to community or voluntary controlled primary/infant schools is governed by the Authority's Admissions Policy. Please note that, should you choose a community or voluntary controlled school other than the nearest primary/infant school, the Authority will not be in a position to provide transport for your child(ren) and consequently you will have responsibility to make and pay for such arrangements. Details about the Transport Policy are set out in the County Borough's Parents' and Carers' Guide to Education Services in Wrexham.

Contact

Should your circumstances change and you need to change your preference of school but have already returned the admission form, please contact the Admissions Office on 01978 297505.

View a list of schools from our Schools Database >>

Reception Admission Pack

The Reception Admission Pack is available to download in the following formats:

Reception Admission Pack - Word format 81Kb

Reception Admission Pack - PDF format 42Kb

Reception Admission Pack - Plain Text format 630Kb

To view and print PDF files, you must have Adobe® Acrobat® Reader installed.

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Adobe Acrobat documents can be converted back to plain text using Adobe's Web-based conversion service.

To view and print Microsoft Word files, you must either have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, or you can download free Microsoft Word Viewer software.

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