Good Shepherd Primary School

Amendment to the Admissions Policy and Procedures in light of COVID-19

The in-year variation sought in regards to Catholic practice and the suspension of the obligation to attend Mass has been agreed by the RSC.

On the advice of the Education Commission of the Archdiocese of Southwark the governing body of Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery School has agreed the following statement in order to clarify how its faith-based oversubscription criteria will be interpreted whilst churches are closed or attendance at church is not possible due to COVID19. This statement has been shared widely with parishes in order to ensure that determinations made by parish priests concerning regular practice of the faith are being made on a consistent basis. The suspension of the obligation to attend Sunday Mass was announced on 18th March 2020 by Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. If a parent/carer attended Mass at particular parish (or parishes) prior to 18th March 2020 then they will be considered to have attended Mass in that parish (or parishes) regularly since that time. This will remain the case until the Sunday obligation is reintroduced by the Bishops.

The governing body can allocate up to 30 places for children in the reception year. Places are allocated according to the school’s admissions criteria for that academic year. Children commence school in the September of the year in which their 5th birthday occurs. Parents wishing to apply for the September intake into the Reception year are required to complete a supplementary application form along with the statutory form required by the Local Authority. Admissions at other times and for all other year groups will  require the completion of an appropriate school application form.

For places in other year groups, parents are invited to contact the school office for details on availability. Visits to the school are welcomed for parents considering Good Shepherd for their child and appointments can be made by contacting the school office.

All places are allocated in accordance with the relevant Admissions Policy for the time of intake.

At the end of Year 6, children transfer to secondary schools to which parents must apply for admission.

Documents for admissions:

General information regarding admissions for Croydon schools can be found on the Local Authority website at www.croydon.gov.uk. 

In-year admissions

Good Shepherd manages its own in-year admissions and parents are requested to complete both an In-Year Application Form and an In-Year Supplementary Information Form.

Parents will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as a place become available and details of their right to appeal any decision.

The school office can provide a hard copy of the information regarding in-year applications on request.

Appealing a school's decision

You will be sent a letter with the decision about your application. If your child is refused a place, you can appeal against the decision, in writing, within 25 school days from the date on the decision letter.

You must appeal against each rejection separately. You can only appeal once against each rejection.

In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, the class size is limited to 30. Your application can be turned down if all the classes already have 30 children.

Your appeal could be successful if:

• Giving your child a place will not increase the class size above the limit
• The admission arrangements have not been properly followed
• The admission criteria do not comply with the school admissions code