Woodheys Primary School

Admissions

All local admissions are overseen via the local authority (Trafford Council) - school have no influence on admission decisions.

A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following his or her fifth birthday (or on his or her fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day). The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August. 

In Trafford, all children may commence primary education earlier than the legal admission date, if parents so wish, through a single intake in September of children who will become 5 between 1 September and 31 August in the admission year. 

Parents can defer their child’s entry until later in the school year.  In this instance, the place will be held for the child and is not available to be offered to another child. However, parents cannot defer the child’s entry beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made. Where the parents wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age. 

In addition, the parents of a summer born child may submit a request for their child’s entry to be delayed until the September following the child’s fifth birthday, so that the child is admitted out of their normal age group – to reception rather than year 1.  Alternatively, parents can choose to provide efficient full-time education otherwise than at school. 

Applications for children born between 1st September 2019 and 31st August 2020 can be submitted from the beginning of the 2023 autumn term.  The closing date for applications is 15 January 2024.

Decisions regarding the allocation of places will be posted to parents on 16 April 2024. Applications received after the closing deadline, 15 January 2024, will only be considered after all other applications received on time have been processed.

Over subscription criteria

Quite often, there are not enough places at a school to satisfy every parent who wants to send their child there. This is what is meant when a school is oversubscribed. When schools are oversubscribed the admissions authority has to adopt criteria for deciding which children are to be offered the available places.

All children whose Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan names a school, must be admitted to that school.

Trafford is the Admission Authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools in Trafford

Where the number of applications for a Trafford community or voluntary controlled school exceeds the number of places available at the relevant school, the following over-subscription criteria will apply:

1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after.
   A looked after child is a child who is in the care of a local authority in England, or is being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England in the exercise of their social services functions. 
   Previously Looked After Children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order)*  This includes children who have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.  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.
   *Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
   
   
2. Children who live in the catchment area of the requested school, who will have a sibling attending the requested primary, infant or partner junior school at the time of the applicant's proposed admission (This includes half/step/adopted/foster brothers or sisters, and any other children, who are living at the same address as part of the same family unit).
3. Children who live in the catchment area of the requested school.
4. Children, who live outside the catchment area of the requested school, with a sibling attending the requested primary, infant or partner junior school at the time of the applicant's proposed admission (This includes half/step/adopted/foster brothers or sisters, and any other children, who are living at the same address as part of the same family unit).
5. Children who live nearest to the requested school, calculated in a direct straight line from the child's permanent place of residence to the school.

The distance from the home address will be calculated from the seed point of the property, which is defined by co-ordinates held in Trafford’s Local Land and Property Gazetteer (BS7666), and are available for each individual property on request from Trafford’s School Admission Team. For applicants resident outside Trafford, the seed point data will be provided by the Home Authority. Royal Mail Postal Address Information may be used in some instances. The co-ordinates used for each school are held in Trafford’s School Admissions and Transfer system and are listed in the Directory of Primary Schools.

In the case of a child living in a block of flats, co-ordinates will be obtained in the same way.

If there are more applicants than can be accommodated at a school in criteria 1 to 5, places will be offered to those children in each criterion, whose place of residence is nearest to the school, as defined in criterion 5.

Where two or more applications cannot be otherwise separated, the final place will be determined through a random draw, conducted and scrutinised by persons independent from the School, and from the Children's Services Directorate.

Further Admission Information:

The admissions policies for Trafford primary schools can be found on this link.  More information about Trafford primary schools is also included in the Trafford schools directory.

We try to make sure that as many pupils as possible are offered places at one of their preferred schools, but in some instances this will not be possible. Trafford schools are extremely popular and most are oversubscribed.

To maximise the likelihood of achieving a place at a local school, parents are advised to list their catchment area school(s) amongst their preferences. A place cannot be automatically reserved for your child at a catchment area school(s) as all the available places may be allocated to children who apply for a place at the school.

 A catchment area school is one that gives priority to applicants living in a defined catchment area. Find your catchment area school.

 Parents should note that places are not allocated on a “first come, first served” basis and that early application does not guarantee a place in a preferred school. Admission depends on meeting the criteria for each school.

 Please read the information carefully before making your application, even if you have already decided which schools you prefer, as the arrangements for admission to different primary schools in Trafford vary considerably.

At all stages of the process the Admissions Team will do everything they can to provide you with further information and support.

PLEASE NOTE: The information on these pages is for the 2024/2025 school year and is correct at the time of writing but policies are constantly kept under review and there may well be further changes within the education system which affect this policy statement arising from national legislation. In cases of doubt, contact should be made with the Trafford School Admissions Team.

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s school admissions service privacy notice

Some helpful Advice when applying.

Applications must be submitted by 15 January 2024

1. Visit the Admissions login page to create an account. Once you have entered your details, you will be emailed a verification code which you must enter before you can make your application.
2. Choose your preferred schools from the drop down list, in your order of preference. (Trafford’s schools are listed first, in alphabetical order) If you want to apply for schools in other local authorities, scroll down to that authority where its schools are also listed in alphabetical order.
3. You can apply for schools in any order but we strongly advise that you include your catchment area school, or schools, in your application. You will be advised about your catchment area school(s) when you enter your child’s home address. These are local schools which give your child priority over others living outside your area. If you are allocated a school outside your catchment area, you must understand that catchment area children will have priority over you in the future and there can be no guarantee that places will be available for any younger children in your family.
4. Provide any information about any siblings that will be attending your preferred school(s).

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an email to confirm that it has been received. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact the School Admissions Team. (school.admissions@trafford.gov.uk)

• You can change your application at any time until the closing date. Applications received or changes made after the closing date will only be considered after all on time applications are processed.

You will be able to view the outcome of your application via your online account on 16th April 2024

An allocation letter will also be sent to your home address with a reply slip for you to return.