Admissions Policy

September 2025

Policy details

• Date created - 01/07/2024
• Date approved - 13/06/2024
• Next review date - 01/09/2025
• Policy owner - Shirley Carrigan and Paul Atkins

Co-op Academy Grove Admission Policy

(For Implementation from 1st September 2025)

Co-op Academy Grove welcomes children from all backgrounds, faiths and those of no faith. The governors of the academy are committed to developing an inclusive school that reflects the diversity of the local community.

As well as being an inclusive academy, Co-op Academy Grove has a distinctive ethos and character. All parents applying for a place at our academy are asked to respect this ethos and its importance to the school community. It is expected that all children who attend our academy will actively participate in the life of the school.

Normal Round Admissions Process

Parents wishing to apply for a place at Co-op Academy Grove can apply online at www.stoke.gov.uk/admissions. The most efficient way of applying for a school place is to apply on-line. When you apply on-line, you will receive an email confirmation that your application has been successfully submitted. You will also receive an email from the Local Authority on offer day informing you of the outcome of your application.

If you do not apply on-line, you will need to complete a paper application form which is available from the academy. This should then be returned directly to the academy or to the Local Authority by the published closing date. The Local Authority will write to you to let you know the outcome of your application.

The admission of pupils with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) are dealt with by a separate procedure. These children will be admitted to the academy if our school is named on the EHCP and will be placed first. This is a statutory entitlement under S.324 of the Education Act 1996.

Nursery Provision

Here at Co-op Academy Grove, we do not have nursery provision, however, Co-op Academy Northwood Broom (our feeder school) has a nursery attached. Further information can be found by visiting https://northwoodbroom@coopacademies.co.uk/

Infant Provision

Here at Co-op Academy Grove, we do not have infant provision, however, Co-op Academy Northwood Broom (our feeder school) has a nursery attached. Further information can be found by visiting https://northwoodbroom@coopacademies.co.uk/

Junior Provision

Admission to junior school is provided for all children in the September following their seventh birthday. Where a child is offered a place at a school, that child is entitled to a full time place in the September following their seventh birthday.

All applications for admission to our junior academy at age 7+ are managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Preferences made by parents living in Stoke-on-Trent for schools in other local authority areas should also be made through the Council. To help this process applicants are required to fill out a common application form. This can be done on-line.

Parents may apply for a place by visiting Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s website: https://www.stoke.gov.uk/info/20033/school_admissions/132/primary_school_admissions

Published Admissions Number(s) – PAN 

From September 2025, our academy has agreed an admissions number of 60 for year group 3 and 120 for year group 4 to 6 inclusive.

In any specific year we will not admit higher that the agreed admission number unless exceptional circumstances apply such as admission appeal outcomes, the decision of the Local Authority Fair Access Protocol, where the school is named on an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) and admitting looked after children where appropriate. All relevant stakeholders will have been consulted.

It is the academy’s policy to try and meet parents’ wishes where possible, however in some cases there may be more applications than there are places available.

Oversubscription Criteria 

The maximum number of children we can accept into each cohort each year is 60 for year group 3 and 120 for year group 4 to 6. If there are more applicants than places available, the governors, who are the admissions authority for the academy, will operate the following oversubscription criteria:

1. Children with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) where the Academy is the named school on the plan.

2. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangement order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

3. Children of UK Service Personnel.

4. Children who attend Co-op Academy Northwood Broom and apply for a place at Co-op Academy Grove.

5. Children living in the catchment area of the school who have a brother or sister attending at the time of admission (or a brother or sister attending Co-op Academy Northwood Broom).

6. Other children living within the catchment area of the academy.

7. Children living outside the catchment area of the academy who have a brother or sister at the academy at the time of admission (or a brother or sister attending Co-op Academy Northwood Broom).

8. Children who live nearest to the academy as determined by a straight-line measurement from the child’s home address point to the main entrance of the academy. Distance is measured by straight line measurement from the home address point to the main gate of the school (Turner Street) as measured by the Local Authority geographical information system.

All applications will be ranked against the oversubscription criteria. Where there are two or more applications and fewer places available within any oversubscription criteria, priority will be agreed through an internal admission panel process on a case-by-case basis.

If priorities have to be decided within any of these categories, children will be placed in order of priority using distance from their home to the main entrance of the academy (Turner Street) as measured by straight line. Where distance is equal for two or more applications, a tie-breaker will be applied whereby places will be determined by random allocation. The Council will also consider any reasons put forward by parents in support of their preference. These reasons should be supported with evidence wherever possible. If the reasons concern the child’s health or social wellbeing, the evidence should be provided by a medical practitioner or other social care professional. If the Council considers that the reasons for a place at a particular academy are sufficiently strong, it will place the child on the academy list at the top of the criterion of which they have been ranked.

For admission purposes, a brother or sister is defined as: a child who lives at the same address and who is the brother/sister, half-brother/sister (i.e. share one common parent), or step brother/sister (i.e. related by parent’s marriage) of the child for whom the place is being requested or unrelated children who live at the same home address, whose parents live as partners in a civil partnership. It also includes any other child living at the same residence under the terms of a Residence Order.

The applicant’s home address is the child’s, along with their parent’s, main and genuine place of residence at the time of the allocation of places. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibilities, each for part of the week, the home address will be the one at which the pupil is resident for the greatest part of the week.

Special arrangements will apply if there is space for only one of a set of twins or triplets or other multiple birth. In this circumstance the academies will usually admit above the published admission number (PAN) unless it is impossible to accommodate siblings in such a way.

We will treat applications for children coming from overseas in accordance with European Union law or Home Office rules for non - European Economic Area nationals. Non–statutory guidance on this is available on the website of the Department for Education.

Admission outside the normal age-group

Parents may request that places be made available outside the normal age group (eg, if a child is summer-born, gifted and talented, or has experienced problems such as ill-health, etc). A decision will be taken by the academy on the basis of the circumstances of the case.

Fair Access Criteria

The Fair Access criteria is set out by the Local Authority within Government advice and guidance. Our academy actively participates in the Fair Access Protocol, any application that falls into this criterion will be given careful consideration, taking into account any implication the admission of the child may have on the academy and if the school has already taken a disproportionate number of places under this criterion. Our academy has the right to refuse an application under this criterion. Where an application has been rejected under the Fair Access Criteria parents will be notified, by letter, as of the reason and informed of their right to appeal.

Appeals

Where applicants are unsuccessful in securing a place, an appeal against the decision can be made to an independent appeals panel set up by the City Council. Where it is not possible to accommodate all children applying for places within a particular category then we will allocate the available places in accordance with the remaining criteria. If for instance, all the catchment area children cannot be accommodated, children who are resident within the catchment area will be arranged in order of priority according to the remaining criteria.

Additional Notes 

In accordance with legislation, children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the academy as being the most appropriate to meet the child’s needs must be admitted. This will reduce the number of places available to other applicants.

Only those holding parental responsibility for the named child are able to make an application and they will be required to make a declaration to this effect as part of the application process. Ordinarily it is expected that this person resides at the same address as the child and is referred to as the parent for admission purposes. Where parental responsibility is equally shared, the child’s parents should determine which parent should submit the application.

Only one application can be made for each child. It is expected that parents will agree on school preferences for a child before an application is made. The Council is not in a position to intervene in disputes between parents over school applications and will request that these are resolved privately. If parents cannot agree and neither has obtained a court order stating who should be making the application/what the preference(s) should be, the Council will accept an application from the parent in receipt of Child Benefit for the child. If Child Benefit is not claimed, the address at which the child is registered at the GP will be used.

Late Applications Any application submitted after the closing date is deemed to be late and must be submitted using a paper application form. It is not possible to make an on-line application after the closing date.

Late applications will be considered alongside those received by the closing date only in the event of one of the following:

1. The family moved into the area after the deadline for the receipt of applications;

2. Exceptional circumstances, stated in writing with evidence, prevented the form from arriving on time;

3. An error on our part;

4. The application is received before the applications have been ranked. Such considerations will be the exception rather than the rule. Otherwise, late applications will be considered at the end of the allocation process. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their application is submitted on time.

When applying there may be a need to provide supporting evidence. The Council cannot accept responsibility for any application or evidence that is not submitted correctly via the on-line system or is lost in the postal system. Correctly submitted on-line applications generate an electronic receipt, which must be retained by the applicant. If posting an application, it is recommended that the form is sent by recorded delivery.

Withdrawal of places

Once parents have been notified of an offer of an academy place our academy, in support of the Council, will only withdraw the offer in exceptional circumstances, such as:

1. Failure to respond to the offer within the specified time following a reminder.

2. If the offer was made based on fraudulent or misleading information on the application form e.g. a false claim to residence within a catchment area.

3. Where a place was offered in error at an academy where the Council is not the admissions authority.

In Year Admissions

Admissions into year groups other than at the normal point of entry will be on an in year transfer application form, directly to the Academy. All applications will be reviewed at an internal admissions panel, which takes place weekly. Parents will be informed of the outcome of the admission panel.

During the school year only limited places are available. There is no guarantee of a place at our academy, even if we are the catchment school.

If the academy is already full in the relevant year group, the application will be refused.

We will make appropriate arrangements with the Council for data sharing and pupil tracking.

The Council uses a Geographical Information system to calculate home to school distances. This determines coordinates of the applicant’s home address using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and OS Address Point data.

By local agreement, waiting lists will be maintained until the end of the relevant academic year. A position on a waiting list is not fixed and applicants may move up and down the list. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee the ultimate provision of a place at this academy.

The applicant’s home address is the child’s along with their parent’s main and genuine place of residence at the time of the allocation of places. Where a pupil lives with separated parents, with shared responsibilities, each for part of the school week, the home address will be the one at which the pupil is resident for the greatest part of the week. Where this is equally shared, the home address used will be that used in relation to Child Benefit at the time of the allocation of places.

The Council will notify all applicants of the outcome of their application for a school place on the specified offer date (refer to the admissions timetable available on their website: https://admissions.stoke.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en). All decision letters will be issued by second class post. However, applicants who choose to make an online application will receive an email confirming their decision on the offer date.

Revision History