Admissions
Primary School Admissions Policy
Primary Information Booklet 2023 – click here
The current published admission number (PAN) for Kells Lane Primary School is 60 pupils for each year group from Reception to Year 6.
Gateshead Council admissions policy is as follows:
Your child will start school at the beginning of the academic year in which they will reach the age of five. (An academic year lasts from 1 September in one year to 31 August in the following year). However in many schools the first year will include an induction period, (a period for your child to get used to school life). This period may last from September until no later than the end of the October half term holiday. Parents who wish to defer their child’s entry beyond this period must make this request in writing at the time of application for admission to school. Deferred entry must not extend beyond the beginning of the term after the child’s 5th birthday, or beyond the academic year for which the application was accepted. Deferred entry will be considered by us the local authority (LA) in consultation with the Head Teacher and governors of the school.
We will accept pupils up to the school’s agreed Planned Admission Number for the year group unless we feel there are lawful grounds not to do so.
Oversubscription Criteria
Oversubscription Criteria – We will consider applications from parents who have named the school as any ranked preference on their application form – this is called the Equal preference system. If there are more applications for the number of places available at the school we will than allocate places by using the following order of priority:
- Children in Public Care (and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) including a child who was previously “looked after” but immediately after being “looked after” became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order (see definition*).
- Children who live in the school’s catchment area and who will have a brother or sister at the school, or at the feeder junior school during the coming academic year. (see definition*)
- Other children who live in the school’s catchment area.
- Other children who will have a brother or sister at the school or at the feeder junior school during the coming academic year.
- Other children who have exceptional medical or social grounds see point 1 below
- All other children.
(*see definitions of our criteria in priority 1, 2 and 4 above in our parent’s information booklet and at www.gateshead.gov.uk)
Policies Primary & Secondary
Further Details
Point 1 – We can consider exceptional individual applications, particularly in cases involving medical or social needs. If you wish to apply on medical or social grounds you must provide written evidence from relevant registered health professionals i.e. a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why the chosen school is more appropriate and what difficulties would be caused if they were to travel to and attend alternative schools. We will not consider such applications if the relevant professional evidence is not provided. The evidence will be assessed by the LA Admission Panel. No assumption should be made that submission of the relevant evidence will, in itself, be sufficient to allocate a place.
Whickham Parochial Church of England Controlled Primary School – This school has the same oversubscription criteria as priorities 1 to 6 above except that criteria 3 and 4 above are reversed. Priority 1, 2, 5 and 6 remain in the same order however for this particular school their oversubscription criteria places priority 4 children above those children in priority 3.
Address – For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or legal guardian’s address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility, as defined under the 1989 Childrens Act, for the child.
Tie breaker – If, within any of the above criteria, there are more applicants than places available priority will be given to those children based on the distance they live from the school, measured ‘as the crow flies’ i.e. in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the school’s main entrance. Children living nearest to the school will have priority. We measure the distance using a geographical information system (GIS).
Waiting list – If places become available we will consider all relevant applications based on a waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained by the council from the start of the academic year and be kept for the rest of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list are placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above. However children who are the subject of a direction to admit by the LA or who have been referred for admission and have been allocated a place through the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over any child on the waiting list.
If you live outside of Gateshead and want to apply to a Gateshead school you must obtain an application form from your own Council and return it to them by their closing date or apply through their on-line application system. However, you must still consider the information in Gateshead Council’s “Admission to Primary school” booklet so that you know what the admission arrangements are to Gateshead schools. This information is available at www.gateshead.gov.uk. Your own Council will send us notification of your application and they will let you know the final allocation of a school place for your child.
For information on our admission arrangements and definitions of the terms used in this policy please visit www.gateshead.gov.uk The co-ordinated admission scheme and Catchment areas referred to in this policy can also be viewed at Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH and on the website above.
