If you are seeking an immediate school place for your child you must apply online via the Hampshire County Council website.

If the Year Group that you would like to apply for is full, your child will be added to Hampshire County Council’s waiting list that is held at Winchester. As soon as a place becomes available we will write to you offering a place. The published admission number (PAN) for Woodcroft Primary School for 2023-2024 is 30.

Please note that the waiting lists are cleared at the end of every academic year, and if you are still requiring a place you will have to re-apply online in the September.

In-year applications will not be processed more than 4 weeks in advance of the place being needed. Exceptionally, in-year applications requesting a September 2024 start will not be processed until June 2024. Please refer to the guidance on in-year admissions for further information

Hampshire County Council is the admission authority for Woodcroft Primary School. The admission arrangements are determined by the County Council, after statutory consultations.

Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan
Any child with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming Woodcroft Primary School will be admitted. Where possible such children will be admitted within the PAN. When the school is oversubscribed, after the admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan naming the school, priority for admission will be given to children in the following priority order:
1. Looked after children or children who were previously looked after.
2. Children or families with an exceptional medical and/or social need.
3. Children of staff
4. Children living in the catchment area  of Woodcroft Primary School who at the time of application have a sibling on the roll of Woodcroft Primary School who will still be on roll at the time of admission.
5. Other children living in the catchment area of Woodcroft Primary School.
6. Children living out of the catchment area who at the time of application have a sibling on the roll of Woodcroft Primary School who will still be on roll at the time of admission.
7. Other children.

A map of Woodcroft Primary School’s catchment area is available on the school’s details page of the Hampshire County Council website www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/findaschool.

Tie-breaker
If the school is oversubscribed from within any of the above categories, straight line distance will be used to prioritise applications; applicants living nearer the school have priority. Distances will be measured from the Ordnance Survey home address point to the school address point using Hampshire County Council’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Additional Information
Multiple births
Where a twin or child from a multiple birth is admitted to a school under this policy then any further twin or child of the same multiple birth will be admitted, if the parents so wish, even though this may raise the number in the year group above the school’s PAN.

Fair Access placements by the local authority
Outside the normal admission round, it may sometimes be necessary for a pupil to be placed by the local authority, or a local placement panel acting on behalf of the authority, in a particular school even if there is a waiting list for admission. Such placements will be made in accordance with Hampshire County Council’s Fair Access Protocol. The Protocol is based on legislation and government guidance.

Waiting lists
When all available places have been allocated, waiting lists will be operated by schools on behalf of the local authority. Any places that become available will be offered to the child at the top of the list at that time. The waiting list is ordered according to the criteria of the admission policy with no account being taken of the length of time on the waiting list or any priority order expressed as part of the main admission round. Fair Access admissions and school closure arrangements will take priority over the waiting list.

The waiting list will be reviewed and revised –
* each time a child is added to, or removed from, the waiting list;
* when a child’s changed circumstances affect their priority;

At the time of receiving an application decision from the County Council or a school, parents will be advised of the process for adding their child’s name to a school’s waiting list. Parents may keep their child’s name on the waiting list of as many schools as they wish.
The waiting list will be maintained until 31 August 2024, at which point all names will be removed. Should parents wish their child to be considered for a place at the school in the following school year, they should complete and submit a fresh in-year application in the August preceding the new school year. Schools will send a decision letter within the first 10 days of the new term.

Admission of children outside their normal age group
Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. To do so, parents should include a request with their application, specifying why admission outside the normal age group is being requested and which year group they wish their child to be admitted. Decisions will be made based on the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child.

School Closures
In the event of a school closure, pupils from the closing school may be given priority for any school nominated as the receiving school. Specific arrangements will be determined by the Local Authority in accordance with the School Admissions Code and will be published at the time for the specific schools affected.

Legislation
This policy takes account of all Equalities legislation, together with all relevant regulations and the School Admissions Code (published by the DfE in 2021.