St. Stephens CE Primary is a two-form entry Voluntary Aided School. This means governors are responsible for admissions in to the school. Children are admitted into the Reception class in the September of the academic year in which they reach the age of five.
The planned admission number (PAN) for admission in to the reception class in September 2026 is 60.
We welcome equally, applications from parents of the Christian faith, of other faiths and of no faith. We ask for all parents/guardians applying for a place at our school to respect our distinctive Christian ethos and its importance to our school community.
The arrangements in this policy are for the admission to the main school (Reception – Year 6) and do not apply to those being admitted to our Nursery. Attendance at the nursery does not guarantee a place in reception.
Purpose
- To provide a clear statement of admission criteria, notes and guidance which will be used to allocate places and which comply with local, statutory and diocesan advice and regulations.
- To avoid favouritism or discrimination.
Making an application
Parents/guardians wishing to apply for a place at St Stephen’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School must complete the Local Authority Common Application Form for entry in to Reception by the national closing date of 15January 2026. This can be found online by logging onto www.bradford.gov.uk and selecting ‘Online School Admissions’.
If you are applying for a place for your child on faith grounds, a Supplementary Form which is available from the school (Appendix A) must be completed and returned to the school before 15 January each year.
All applications received by the published deadline will be considered first. Applications made after this date will be considered after all on-time applications have been processed unless exceptional circumstances merit consideration alongside on-time applications.
If a Supplementary Form is not received within the allotted timescales, the application will still be considered, but not under the faith grounds criterion.
Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
The admission of pupils with an Education and Health Care Plan is dealt with by completely separate procedure. Such children will be admitted to St Stephen’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School if this school is named on the statement. This is a statutory entitlement under S.324 of the Education Act 1996. This is not an oversubscription criterion and relates only to children who have undergone statutory assessment and for whom an EHCP has been issued.
Oversubscription Criteria
The LA is responsible for determining admissions arrangements for the school. The oversubscription criteria is reasonable, clear, objective, procedurally fair, and compliant with all relevant legislation, including equalities legislation. This means that the oversubscription criteria will not unfairly disadvantage, whether directly or indirectly, any child based on a protected characteristic or economic disadvantage. When the number of applications exceeds the number of places available, then the following criteria will be applied, in priority order as listed, to determine who will be offered a place in school.
- Looked after children or children who were previously looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a residence or special guardianship order.
- Children who have an exceptional social need.
- Children whose parents/guardians are practicing members of the Church of England or other Christian churches and have a brother or a sister attending the school at the time of admission.
- Children whose parents/guardians are practicing members of the Church of England or other Christian churches.
- Children whose parents/guardians want them to attend the school for genuine religious reasons and support the Christian ethos of the school (commitment to a major faith group).
- Children with siblings currently in school, living at the same home address who are present on roll at the school and will still be attending the school at the time of admission. (For the purpose of this policy, “sibling” is defined as any brother or sister related by blood or marriage and any fostered or adopted siblings and children living with the same family who are step-sisters or step-brothers.)
- Children whose parents/guardians want them to attend the school for genuine religious reasons and support the Christian ethos of the school (commitment to a major faith group).
- Proximity of the child’s home to the school, measured by a straight-line distance from the Ordnance Survey address point of the home to the main entrance to the school building.
Multiple Births
Where parents/guardians of multiple births (twins, triplets etc.) request admission and only one of the siblings can be offered a place, the remaining siblings will also be offered places above the admission number.
Offer of places
National Offer Day is on 16 April 2026. On this day, the Local Authority will inform all parents/guardians of their child’s allocated school.
Waiting Lists
Where the application has been unsuccessful parents/guardians may request that the child’s name is added to the waiting list. Any places that become available will be allocated according to the published oversubscription criteria. Placing a child’s name on a waiting list does not affect a parent’s/guardian’s right of appeal against an unsuccessful application.
The Local Authority will hold a waiting list, manage all In-Year Applications and allocate places as and when a place becomes available.
It should be noted that children who are subject of direction by the Local Authority to admit or who are allocated in accordance with an In-Year Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those on a waiting list.
Appeals Process
In circumstances where the offer of a school place cannot be made, parents/guardians will have the right to appeal against the refusal.
Where this is the case, the LA will establish an independent appeals panel to hear the appeal. The appeal panel will perform its judicial function in a transparent, accessible, independent and impartial manner, and operate according to principles of natural justice.
The LA and appeal panel will ensure that it acts in accordance with the School Admissions Code.
Appeal forms can be obtained from the Local Authority Admissions Team.
