Admissions

Parents' information on admissions

To find out why Finstock Church of England Primary School is the best school for you and your child, please explore our website, watch our video and contact us on office.3040@finstock.oxon.sch.uk or 01993 868314 to arrange to have a telephone conversation or virtual meeting with a member of our leadership team. 

Finstock Church of England Primary School is an academy which is part of The MILL Academy Trust which is its own admissions authority.  The MILL Academy Trust has delegated the responsibility for admission arrangements to the Local Authority, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC). 

 

Reception admissions and in-year admissions to Finstock Church of England Primary School are co-ordinated by Oxfordshire County Council.

Applications can be made by visiting the Oxfordshire website at:

Web: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions
Email: admissions.schools@oxfordshire.gov.uk
School Admissions Team
Ground Floor
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND
Tel: 01865 815175

OCC website has a Frequently asked Questions area on their website. Please click here to view these FAQs.

 

The Process for In-Year Admissions 

Usually, places will be offered if there are places available in the year group (the number of children in the year group is less than the published Admission Number for the school).  

Sometimes, it will not be possible to offer places even though there are less children in the year group than the Admission Number because the school has had to organise in a way that means the admission of a further pupil would cause prejudice to the efficient education of the children already there. 

For admissions after a September intake i.e. In- year admissions if a year group has been undersubscribed and therefore staffing is established for a lower number of forms at the start of the academic year, the Trust reserves the right to refuse in-year admission applications which would require an additional class to be established and therefore the employment of additional teachers.

 

Admission Number

A Published Admission Number (PAN) is set for each year group that takes into account our capacity to offer and deliver an effective education for all students at our Trust schools.   For admissions after September i.e. In- year admissions if a year group has been undersubscribed and therefore staffing is established for a lower number of forms at the start of the academic year, the Trust reserves the right to refuse in-year admission applications which would require an additional form to be established and therefore the employment of additional teachers. 
 

Finstock Church of England Primary  School is part of the coordinated in-year admissions process for Oxfordshire. The scheme is published on the County Council’s public website:  https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/apply-school-place/transferring-or-moving-school

Once an application is received, it will be submitted to the Trust's Admissions Panel for consideration.  A decision will be communicated within 15 working days of the receipt of the application. 

 

Appeals

If we receive more applications than we have places, it may not be possible to offer a place. If we cannot offer places to all the children in our catchment area we will use our admissions rules to allocate the places.

All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. The Trust will utilise the services of the Local Authority to assist with any appeals. Details of the procedure are available from the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) website and details of the procedure will be sent out with the response letter: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/apply-school-place/school-appeals

 

For all other admissions and in year transfers please contact the school office in the first instance.

 

A Statement on Flexi-Schooling  

Since the pandemic, a small number of parents and carers have asked Trust Schools about Flexi-Schooling. 

The parent or carer is responsible for ensuring their child receives full-time education at statutory school age. Where a parent or carer educates a child partly at school and partly at home or elsewhere as an expression of parental preference, this is called Flexi-schooling.  

Flexi-schooling must not be confused with elective home education (EHE). Parents and carers have a legal right to choose to home-educate their child, but they do not have a legal right to insist on a flexi-schooling arrangement with a school. The discretion to allow Flexi-schooling rests with the Headteacher. 

The MILL Academy Trust considers that a school is best placed to deliver the complex demands of the National Curriculum. Therefore, Headteachers within our Trust will not support requests for Flexi-Schooling arrangements.