Admission and Appeal Arrangements

ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 2026 -2027

St Peter's is a very popular school and we have a clear admissions arrangement as detailed in the link below. Please note that oversubscription criteria 2 is 24 consecutive months attendance at St Peter's Church up until your admission goes in to St Helens Council.

Applications for reception year in September 2026 should be made on the applicant’s home local authority common application form. Copies of St Helens Primary Education Information for Parents Booklet will be available and applications made on-line via St Helens Council’s web-site from September 2025.

Applications must be submitted by 15 January 2026.

All applications will be considered at the same time and after the closing date.

Decision letters/emails will be sent to parents on 16 April 2026.

You can view our latest admission information  on the St Helens Council Admission Website ;

Link to the Local Authority admissions booklet

There are no planned changes to our 2026 / 2027 admissions arrangements. The same conditions apply that are found in the 2025/2026 booklet.

OVERSUBSCIPTION CRITERIA

OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA If the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan where the school is named in the Plan, priority for admission will be given to those children who meet the criteria set out below, in order:

1. looked after children or children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order (1) including those who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted

2 Children of parent(s) who regularly attend St Peter’s Church of England, Newton-le-Willows. Regular attendance shall be defined as public worship for at least once a month and for at least 2 years before application. Parents should submit evidence of attendance at worship with their application form following the specified instructions on the St Peter’s church website*. In the event of oversubscription within this category children who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of likely admission will be prioritised. (4)

3 Children who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of likely admission.(4)

4 Children of parent(s) (3) who regularly attend St Peter’s Church of England, Newton-leWillows or another Christian church that is a member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (www.ctbi.org.uk) or a place of worship which is associated with the UK Interfaith Network (www.interfaith.org.uk). Regular attendance shall be defined as public worship for at least once a month and over a one year period prior to application. Parents attending St Peter’s Church of England, Newton-le-Willows should submit evidence of attendance at worship following the specified instructions on the St Peter’s church website. Attendance at other churches should be confirmed in writing by the appropriate minister of religion or religious leader. Evidence must be submitted by the parent with their application form*.

5 Children who for medical or social reasons require a place at the school. Such applications would need to be supported in writing by a registered health professional or social worker at the time of application. (The supporting letter or report must set out the particular reasons why the school is the most suitable and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school.)

6 Other children

1 A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority , or (b) is being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

2 A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. Applications must be supported with appropriate evidence that the child has been adopted from state care.

3 A parent is any person who has parental responsibility for the child.

4 This includes full, half or stepbrothers and sisters, adopted and foster brothers and sisters or a child of the parent/carer’s partner, and in every case who is living at the same address and is part of the same family unit.

* In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship

DEFINITION OF HOME ADDRESS & FALSE INFORMATION

This is the confirmed address (before allocation procedures begin) where the child and parent, or person with parental responsibility, normally live. It may be necessary for the Governing Body to carry out checks to confirm that addresses given are genuine. You may, therefore, be asked to produce documentary evidence of your child’s address e.g. Council tax or utility bills

If you are separated and your child spends time at each parent’s address, the address we shall use is that of the main carer. The address which receives child benefit will normally be used  but the Governing Body reserves the right to request other proofs as fit the individual circumstances.

Please note:

Any change in your home address after you have completed the application form must be notified to the Admissions Section and supported by documentary evidence.

False Information

Where the Governing Body discovers that a child has been awarded a place as a result of any false information relating to the home address, proof of date of birth or involvement in a place of worship, it will withdraw the offer and your child will lose the place. 

Waiting List

During the normal admissions round, if a place is refused because the school is oversubscribed your child’s name will automatically be placed on the waiting list. The waiting list will be kept in priority order according to the oversubscription criteria and not on the date on which applications were received. If a place becomes available within the admission number, the child whose name is at the top of the list will be offered a place.

Children who are the subject of a direction by the local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with the Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list

The waiting list will close on the 31st December 2026 for the September 2026 reception year intake.

Fair Access Protocol

The Governing Body has a duty to comply with the Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol and may have to admit above its published admission number, even if the year group concerned is full.

All schools must participate in their Local Authority’s protocol. For that reason, admission appeal panels will not view the fact that the school is obliged to admit over its admission number as an indication that it can do so for all in year transfers without causing prejudice to the efficient provision of education or efficient use of resources.

In Year Transfers

Applications for a place in reception year after the waiting list has closed or years 1 – 6 should be made on the Local Authority’s in year common application form. The application will then be processed in accordance with St Helens in year co-ordinated admission scheme. 

Parents will normally receive a written response to their application within ten school days. 

The school will ensure it meets its duties set under the DfE’s ‘School Admissions Code’ by:

• Not refusing admission for a child thought to be potentially disruptive, or likely to exhibit challenging behaviour, on the grounds that the child is first to be assessed for SEND.

• Not refusing admission for a child that has named the school in their EHC plan.

• Considering applications from parents of children who have SEND but do not have an EHC plan.

• Not refusing admission for a child who has SEND but does not have an EHC plan because the school does not feel able to cater for those needs.

• Not refusing admission for a child who does not have an EHC plan.

• Not discriminating against or disadvantaging applicants with SEND.

• Ensuring policies relating to school uniform and trips do not discourage parents of pupils with SEND from applying for a place.

• Adopting fair practices and arrangements in accordance with the ‘School Admissions Code’ for the admission of children without an EHC plan.

• Ensuring the school’s oversubscription arrangements will not disadvantage children with SEND.

• Ensuring that tests for selection are accessible to children with SEND, with reasonable adjustments made where necessary.

• The governing body has a duty to comply with LA Fair Access Protocol

APPEAL ARRANGEMENTS

Parents should be aware that legislation limits infant class sizes to 30 pupils and restricts the grounds upon which an appeal can be upheld. You would have to show that the decision was one which in the circumstances no reasonable governing body would have made, or that your child would have been offered a place if the governors’ admission arrangements had been properly implemented.

Parents may exercise their right to appeal to the Independent Appeal Panel. St Helens Local Authority administers appeals on behalf of the Governing Body of St Peter's CE Primary School, more information can be found at:

Link to the appeal process

All Enquiries about school admissions should be made through the Local Authority School Admissions Section 01744 671035

https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/3298/School-admissions