Bishop Aldhelm's CE

Primary School

Loved by God; United in Learning

Admissions

Are You Considering a Place at Our School?

Our website provides information about many aspects of our school and we are always pleased to meet parents/carers who are considering sending their child to our school and to show them around. If you wish to do this please contact our school office to make an appointment.

Our Admissions Policies detail the ethos of our school and list the oversubscription criteria which we use if there are more applications for places than we have available. They also explain how to apply for a place at our school.

We are a Church of England School and three of the oversubscription criteria are for children who regularly go to church and worship there. If you decide to apply for a place on this basis you must also submit a Supplementary Information Form. The Form is designed by the Borough of Poole and contains, in one Form, all the oversubscription criteria used by all the Poole schools (different schools have different criteria).

The Supplementary Information Form can be downloaded from this page.  Alternatively, you are welcome to collect a paper copy from our school reception.  Please feel welcome to contact us if you want any guidance about this process.

The Borough of Poole’s School Admissions Team produces a Parents’/Carers’ Guide to School Admissions each year. This details all of the schools in Poole and has the oversubscription criteria for each of them. This document can be accessed on the Borough of Poole website (http://www.boroughofpoole.com/education-and-learning/school-and-colleges/school-admissions/) or viewed at the Admissions Team office in the Dolphin Centre in Poole (telephone 01202 261936).

https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Schools-and-learning/School-admissions/School-admissions.aspx

Admissions Policy for 2023-2024

The Admissions Policy and Supplementary Information Form for 2023-2024 are applicable for parents/carers applying for a place for their child/children during the 2023-2024 school year which their child will take up between 1st September 2023 and 31st August 2024.

Supplementary Information Form

Admissions Policy for 2024-2025

The Admissions Policy and Supplementary Information Form for 2024-2025 are applicable for parents/carers applying for a place for their child/children during the 2024-2025 school year which their child will take up between 1st September 2024 and 31st August 2025.

A children wishing to join Year Foundation a year later than the normal year group join it)

As a general rule the school considers that children attending the school should normally be placed with their own age group, and be educated for the majority of the time with their age peer group. The school believes that this is in the best interests of the child. Parents do however from time to time seek places for children in a lower or higher age group. Such requests may be made for a variety of reasons, for example where a child has moved to the area from abroad, or has missed schooling due to illness, or has a marked talent or ability. In these cases differentiation of the curriculum and/or additional support within their age group should usually address the particular circumstances.

The School Admissions Code requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents can request that their child attends part-time until they reach compulsory school age, or that the date their child is admitted to school is deferred until later in the same academic year or, in the case of summer born children (ie those born between 1 April and 31 August), that their child is admitted to Year Foundation one year later than their chronological age would normally determine. However again, as a general rule, the school does not encourage delayed admission as it does not believe that this is in the best interests of the child unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to consider such requests and to take account of the circumstances of each case. The approach that we take is set out in our ‘Policy For Responding To Parental Requests For Admission To A Year Group Different To That Determined By Their Date Of Birth, Including Delayed Admission To Reception For Summer Born Children’.