Criteria for Admission to School 2006 / 2007

The admissions process is part of the Walsall LEA co-ordinated scheme, administered by Education Walsall who will offer places on behalf of all Walsall Schools. This admissions policy reflects the policies contained in the Education Walsall published scheme for co-ordinated admissions. The governors of St Joseph’s intend to match the timetable as issued by Walsall LEA.

The Admission Policy of the Governors of St Joseph’s School is as follows:

The 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.

The School’s Admission Number for the school year beginning in Sept 2006 is 30.

A copy of the child’s birth certificate must accompany all applications. Applications for children who are baptized Catholic should be accompanied by a copy of their Baptismal Certificate. This certificate is used for the purpose of determining that correct priority is given to applications from children who have been baptised into the Catholic Church.

If the number of applications exceeds the admission number, governors will consider applications according to the following order of priority. (See note 1 below.)

1. Baptised Catholic children who are in the care of the local authority (looked-after children) or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents) (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989)

2. Baptised Catholic children (see Note 2 below) living within the Parishes of St Joseph’s Darlaston and St Mary’s, Willenhall.who have a brother or sister (see Note 3 below) in the school at the time of admission.

3. Baptised Catholic children living within the Parishes of St Joseph’s Darlaston and St Mary’s, Willenhall.

4. Baptised Catholic children living outside the Parishes of St Joseph’s Darlaston and St Mary’s, Willenhall who have a brother or sister in the school at the time of admission

5. Baptised Catholic children living outside the Parishes of St Joseph’s Darlaston and St Mary’s, Willenhall.

6. Non-Catholic children who are in the care of the local authority (looked-after children) or provided with accommodation by them (e.g. children with foster parents) (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989)

7. Non-Catholic children who have a brother or sister in the school at the time of admission.

8. Non-Catholic children.

OVER-SUBSCRIPTION
If there is over-subscription within a category, priority will be given to children whose home address is closest to the school in a straight line from the front door of the school, as measured by the LEA.

Note 1
Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs that names the school must be admitted. This will reduce the number of places available to applicants.

Note 2
Evidence of Catholic Baptism or Reception into the Church will be required. For definition of Baptised see the Appendix. Those who face difficulties in producing written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest.

Note 3
The definition of a brother or sister is:
• A brother or sister sharing the same parents;
• Half-brother or half-sister, where two children share one common parent;
• Step-brother or step-sister, where two children are related by a parent’s marriage;
• Adopted or fostered children

A brother or sister must be living at the same address at the time of admission

Note 4
The home address of a pupil is considered to be the permanent residence of a child. The address must be the child’s only or main residence. Documentary evidence may be required.

SCHOOL ENTRY
Children must, by law, start school by the beginning of the term after their fifth birthday. A parent may defer a child’s entry to the school. Parents may discuss this with the Headteacher. St Joseph’s does not automatically transfer children from Nursery class to Reception. Separate applications are required at the appropriate times and the admissions Criteria will be applied fairly in all cases.

APPEALS
Parents who wish to appeal against the decision of the Governors to refuse their child a place in the school may apply in writing to Chair of Governors.

REPEAT APPLICATIONS
Unless there are significant and material changes in the circumstances of a parent’s application for their child or the school, the governors will not consider a repeat application in the same academic year.

LATE APPLICATIONS
A late application is an Application Form received after the published Closing Date.  Late applications will normally be considered for places after applications that were received by the Closing Date.  Late applicants may be less likely to be offered a place.
When places are offered, applications received by the Closing Date and Valid Late Applications (see below) will be considered first.

Explanation of Valid Late Applications
There are limited circumstances when a late application may be categorised as a Valid Late Application and considered together with those applications that were received by the Closing Date. 
Subject to verification by the governors, a late application may be considered as a Valid Late Application where: 
• the family were unable to complete an Application Form before the Closing Date because they moved into the Borough of Walsall after the issue of Application Forms
OR
• the family were unable to comply with the admissions timetable because of exceptional circumstances which prevented the application arriving on time – the circumstances must be given in writing and attached to the Application Form.

Late Applications received before the Notification Date
Applications received by the Closing Date and Valid Late Applications will take priority when places are offered.

Applications Received After the Notification Date
Any application for a place at an oversubscribed school which is received after places have been offered will be added to the school’s Waiting List in admission criteria order. 

WAITING LISTS
A Waiting List is kept for any oversubscribed year group. The Waiting List will be kept in admission criteria order.  Any vacancies will be offered on the basis of the published admission criteria for the school.
A Waiting List is kept for one academic year only.  At the end of each year parents of children on the waiting list will be contacted to ascertain whether they wish to remain on the list.
Parents may enquire about their child’s position on the Waiting List by contacting the school.

APPENDIX
DEFINITION OF A “BAPTISED CATHOLIC”
(For use in the Criteria of Admission to Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham)
To establish clarity, consistency and fairness in the application of Criteria of Admission in Catholic Schools in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, it is necessary to define the description of a “Baptised Catholic” for the benefit of parents who are making applications and for governors who formulate and apply the criteria for admissions.

A “Baptised Catholic” is one who:

• Has been baptised into full communion (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 837) with the Catholic Church by the Rites of Baptism of one
of the various ritual Churches in communion with the See of Rome (i.e.
Latin Rite, Byzantine Rite, Coptic, Syriac, etc, Cf. Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 1203). Written evidence* of this baptism can be
      obtained by recourse to the Baptismal Registers of the church in which
the baptism took place (Cf. Code of Canon Law, 877 & 878).
Or
• Has been validly baptised in a separated ecclesial community and subsequently received into full communion with the Catholic Church by the Right of Reception of Baptised Christians into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church. Written evidence of their baptism and reception into full communion with the Catholic Church can be obtained by
recourse to the Register of Receptions, or in some cases, a sub-
section of the Baptismal Registers of the church in which the Rite of
Reception took place (Cf. Rite of Christian Initiation, 399).

WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF BAPTISM
The Governing bodies of Catholic schools will require written evidence in the form of a Certificate of Baptism or Certificate of Reception before applications for school places can be considered for categories of “Baptised Catholics”. A Certificate of Baptism or Reception is to include: the full name, date of birth, date of baptism or reception, and parent(s) name(s). The certificate must also show that it is copied from the records kept by the place of baptism or reception.
Those who would have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism for a good reason, may still be considered as baptised Catholics but only after they have been referred to their parish priest who, after consulting the Vicar General, will decide how the question of baptism is to be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the law of
the Church.
Those who would be considered to have good reason for not obtaining written evidence would include those who cannot contact the place of baptism due to persecution or fear, the destruction of the church and the original records, or where baptism was administered validly but not in the Parish church where records are kept.
Governors may request extra supporting evidence when the written documents that are produced do not clarify the fact that a person was baptised or received into the Catholic Church, (i.e. where the name and address of the Church is not on the certificate or where the name of the Church does not state whether it is a Catholic Church or not.)
Admission Policies should state the requirement of written evidence of Baptism or Reception for the category of “Baptised Catholic”. The policy should also state that those who face difficulties in producing written evidence of baptism should contact their Parish Priest>