Admissions

Supplementary Application Form - September 2025

Our Lady of Grace RC Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Roman Catholic School, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark. It serves the parish of Charlton.

A school application form can be downloaded above or obtained from the School Office. The Headteacher and Deputy Head are happy to talk to parents about admission to our School and open mornings are usually held in October and November each year. Details of the school’s admission arrangements can also be obtained from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Primary Admissions Team (www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk).

The Governing Body has sole responsibility for admissions to this School and intends to admit 60 pupils at one point of entry to the Reception class in the school year which begins every September.

Priority will be given to looked after Catholic children or looked after children in the care of Catholic families and previously looked after Catholic children followed by baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families (where at least one parent/carer is practising), who are resident in the parish of Our Lady of Grace. Please refer to the Parent Information section on the website for the full Admission Policy detailing the complete criteria.

When the School is oversubscribed with Baptised Roman Catholic children who satisfy the above conditions, the presence of siblings in the school at the time of admission, frequency of Mass attendance, exceptional social, medical or pastoral needs and distance would contribute to admission decisions.

The Governing Body will annually review this policy at the start of each Autumn Term.  A copy of the admissions policy detailing the full criteria can be found on the website under the Admin/Office section.

The total school roll for 2024/2025 is 420

 

Admission to the School - September 2025

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Primary School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families.  The school is conducted by its governing body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government and seeks at all times to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will always be given to Catholic applicants in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below.  The Governing Body welcomes all applications, particularly those of other denominations and faiths who support the religious ethos of the school.

The Governing Body has sole responsibility for admissions to this school and intends to admit 60 pupils at one point of entry to the Reception class in September 2025..

 

Admission Arrangements

First priority will go to children with a statement of special educational needs (SSEN) or an education health and care plan (EHCP) naming the school.  Where there are more applications for places than the number available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.

1. Looked after Catholic children or looked after children in the care of Catholic families and previously looked after Catholic children who have been adopted or become subject to a child arrangement or special guardianship order, immediately having been looked after.
2. Baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families (where at least one parent/carer is practising) who are resident in the parish of Our Lady of Grace (map available from the School office). Evidence of practice must be supported by a priest.
3. Other baptised Catholic children from practising Catholic families (where at least one parent/carer is practising) who are not resident in the parish of Our Lady of Grace (map available from the School office). Evidence of practice must be supported by a priest.
4. Baptised Catholic children but whose parent(s)/carer(s) are non-practising members of the Catholic Church
5. Other looked after children and other previously looked after children who have been adopted or become subject to a child arrangement or special guardianship order, immediately having been looked after.
6. Baptised children of other Christian denominations from Christian families whose parent(s)/carer(s) desire a Christian education for them.
7. Non-Christian children whose parent(s) / carer(s) desire a place for their children in a Catholic school promoting Christian values and beliefs.
8. Any other children.

 

Oversubscription Criteria

When applications within any of the above categories (unless stated below) exceed the places available and it is necessary to decide between applications, the following order of priorities will be applied:

(i)  Children with siblings in the school at the time of admission. (Where twins are ranked 60 and 61 they will be deemed as equal 60 and both children will be offered places).

(ii)  For categories 2 and 3, the frequency of Mass attendance as shown on the supplementary information form.  Applications will therefore be ranked weekly, fortnightly, monthly, occasionally.

(iii)  At the time of application, those with an exceptional social, medical, pastoral or other need which can most appropriately be met at this school and which make the School particularly suitable for the child in question. Strong and relevant evidence must be provided by an appropriate professional authority e.g. qualified medical practitioner, education welfare officer, social worker, priest and this should set out the particular reasons why Our Lady of Grace is the most suitable School and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another School. This evidence will be considered by the Governing Body and advice sought from professionals if necessary.

(iv) To those living nearest to the school measured as a straight line from the home to the school using the measurement supplied by the Royal Greenwich Local Authority derived from their geographical information system. The computerised mapping system measures from a single fixed point in the centre of the home address to the centre of the school. Should two applicants live an equal distance from the school, including instances where more than one applicant lives in a multi-occupancy building, the offer of a place will be decided by random allocation. Where the last remaining place is to be allocated and two or more children are deemed to live at the same distance from the school, the place will be decided by the drawing of lots.

Definitions:

Catholic: Catholics include members of the Ordinariate and the Latin and Oriental Rite Churches that are in union with the Bishop of Rome.  Reference to other Christian denominations refers to denominations that are full members of Churches Together in England.

Siblings are defined as natural brothers/sisters, adopted brothers/sisters, step-brothers/sisters and foster-brothers/sisters but not other relatives (e.g. cousins) or unrelated children who live at the same address.

Practice is defined as regular and faithful worshippers who attend Sunday Mass (or a Saturday evening vigil Mass).  The frequency of Mass attendance will be ranked as laid out in the tie-break above.

Home - if your child resides equally between both parents, we consider the principal home address as being the address at which your child is registered whilst attending early years provision, with a GP and, if applicable, the address of the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credits for your child.

 

Application Procedures and Timetable

The online or paper Common Application Form (CAF) should be submitted to Greenwich Council by 15^th January 2025.  Applicants wishing to apply under the faith criteria must submit a CAF to the school by 15^th January 2025. Notifications to parents of the outcome of their applications will be made by the home LA in April 2025.

If the supplementary information form is not completed, the Governing Body of the school will consider the application under criterion 8. (Copies are available from the School Office, School website, Royal Greenwich’s website and from the Admissions Section at Royal Greenwich Council).

Late applications - any late applications will be considered by the Governors’ Admissions Committee, in the event of there being any available spaces, using the above criteria. If all places have been filled, parents will be offered the opportunity of placing their child’s name on the waiting list. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place.

 

Appeals

Parents whose applications for places are unsuccessful may appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel set up in accordance with sections 85(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Appeals must be made in writing and must set out the reasons on which the appeal is made. Appeals should be made to the Admissions Appeal Clerk at the school address. Parents/ carers have the right to make oral representations to the Appeals Panel.  Appeals meetings: June/July 2025

Infant classes are restricted by the legislation to 30 children. Parents should be aware that an appeal against refusal of a place in an infant class may only succeed if it can be demonstrated that:

a)    the admission of additional children would not breach the infant class size limit; or

b)    the admission arrangements did not comply with admissions law or had not been correctly and impartially applied and the child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had complied or had been correctly and impartially applied; or

c)     the panel decides that the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admission authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.

 

Admission of children below compulsory school age or out of cohort

The governors will provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents can request that the date their child is admitted to the school is deferred until later in the school year or until the child reaches compulsory school age in that school year; parents may also request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age. With regard to requests for children to be educated outside the chronological year group, the school follows the Royal Greenwich’s procedures as stated in the booklet “Primary Schools in Royal Greenwich” www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/admissions

 

Waiting Lists

Parents of children who have not been offered a place at the school may ask for their child’s name to be placed on a waiting list. The waiting list, which will be maintained until the end of the August 2025, will be operated using the same admissions criteria listed above. Placing a child’s name on the waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available. This does not prevent parents from exercising their right to appeal against the decision not to offer a place. It is possible that when a child is directed under the local authority’s fair access protocol they will take precedence over those children already on the list.

 

In-year Admissions

The school manages its own in-year applications for admission to primary school. Application forms for in-year admissions are available from the school office or can be downloaded (see above). Forms should be completed and returned to the school office along with copies of the baptismal certificates (if available). Families will be contacted directly by the school to arrange for the child to visit the school. Our Lady of Grace participates in the Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol. Children admitted via the Fair Access Protocol take priority over those children on the school’s waiting list and those pending appeal.

 

Pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or Education Health Care (EHC) Plan

The admission of pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or with an EHC Plan is dealt with by a completely separate procedure.  The procedure is integral to the making and maintaining of statements and EHC plans by the pupil’s home local authority.  Details of this separate procedure are set out in the SEND code of practice.  Pupils with a statement or EHC plan naming the school will be admitted without reference to the above criteria.

The Reinstatement of the obligation to attend Mass 5th June 2022

As of June 5^th 2022, Pentecost, the suspension of the obligation to attend Mass will be lifted. Parents applying for a place at Our Lady of Grace RC Primary School, under a faith based criteria will need to complete a Supplementary Information Form. Evidence of practice will be measured by frequency of attendance at Mass as validated by either a priest or minister, as was the case prior to 18^th March 2020. These arrangements apply to the admissions round for 2023 and subsequent rounds.

 

Consultation on changes to Admission Arrangements for entry in September 2026 by

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Primary School

In line with the admissions policy for all schools in the Archdiocese of Southwark, Our Lady of Grace is consulting on proposed changes to the school’s admissions policy for the 2026 intake.
 
Key amendments to note are:

• Removal of mass attendance from the information page which means the form is no longer required to be signed by a Priest.
• Introduction of the Catholic Certificate of Practice (COCP).

 
The consultation will run for six weeks ending on 31st January 2025.