Prospective Parents
We hold school tours on Tuesday mornings. Should you wish to have this tour, please call the school office on 01344 425246 or email secretary@stjosephsbracknell.co.uk to book a date and time in the school diary.
During this personalised tour of the school in action, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to a member of the school’s leadership team – Mrs. Dunlop, Mrs. Philpott or Mrs. Broadbridge.
Admission Arrangements
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Primary School in the trusteeship of the Diocese of Portsmouth, maintained by Bracknell Forest Borough Council, and serves the parish of Bracknell (St Joseph’s, Bracknell and St Margaret Clitherow).
The Governing Body of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is responsible for the admission of children to the school. We ask all parents applying for a place to respect the ethos of the school and its importance to the school community. This does not affect the right of parents who are not of the faith of the school, to apply for and be considered for a place.
In order to apply for a place at St. Joseph’s you must register with your home local authority. Our school is part of Bracknell Forest Local Authority. As we are a Catholic School, you may wish to complete a supplementary information form (SIF) which is available in the admissions’ forms section below (if applicable). This would ensure your child is place in the appropriate category.
The SIF can be handed into the school directly or returned with Bracknell Forest’s Common Application Form.
The Governing Body of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School will admit up to 30 children in the school who will become 5 years of age on or between 1st September and 31st August of the following year. Children are normally admitted in September of the admission year, however, parents have the right to defer entry for their child until his/her statutory start date, the start of the term following his/her 5th birthday. However they cannot defer entry to the next school year. If a parent wishes to defer to the next academic year, a new application for entry into year R or Year 1 for the relevant school year would be necessary. Parents have a right to request that their child takes up their place on a part-time basis until the child reaches compulsory school age. Should you be considering deferring entry for your child, please discuss this further with the Head Teacher.
Reception Year – starting September 2023
If your child was born between 1st September 2018 and 31st August 2019 it is important that you apply for a school place by midnight on 15th January 2023.
If you are a Bracknell Forest Resident, please visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/applyforprimary for further information on how to apply (online applications opens 5th November 2022). If you are not a Bracknell Forest resident then you can still apply for a school place at the school however, you must apply for this school place through your home local authority.
The admissions process closes on 15 January 2023. Please ensure you apply on-time. National Offer Day is Monday 17th April 2023.
To apply to St Joseph’s School, we advise you to complete a Supplementary Information Form as this will enable the Governors to categorise your application in line with our admissions policy. You can collect a St Joseph’s Supplementary Information Form (SIF) from the School Office or download a copy from our website: Admissions – St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School (stjosephsbracknell.co.uk)
We would like to invite you to visit our school to observe for yourself our friendly, happy and hard-working children and how every child feels valued and supported to be the very best person they can be. Please phone the school office (01344 425246) to arrange a school tour.
You may also find the Bracknell Forest Booklet on Starting School helpful.
In Year Applications
An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the child will be admitted where there are available places. Bracknell-Forest School Admissions manages in year applications in accordance with the agreed co-ordinated admissions scheme. Parents moving into the area and wishing to apply for a place at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School will need to complete the Bracknell Forest CAF (Common Admissions’ Form). Parents wishing to transfer from a Bracknell Forest Primary School should complete the Primary School Transfer Application Form, obtainable from the Headteacher of the child’s current school or Bracknell-Forest School Admissions. All applicants that wish to complete a SIF should obtain a form from the school website or school office.
All applications will be passed to the governors of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and will be considered by the governing body in accordance with the governors’ admissions arrangements. Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out in the Admission Arrangements 2021-22, will be applied. Parents are advised to read the admission arrangements carefully before making their application.
If there are no places available, the child will be added to the waiting list. Please see the admission arrangements for more details.
You will be advised of the outcome of your application in writing as soon as possible. Applicants must be informed of the outcome of their application within 15 school days of receipt, but the aim is to notify applicants of the outcome of their application within 10 school days of receipt.
You have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel if your application is unsuccessful.
If you have any questions in relation to in-year admissions please contact the school secretary, s.baumgart@stjosephsbracknell.co.uk. You may also wish to discuss in-year applications with the local authority Admissions Team
Bracknell-Forest Admissions Team – In Year Applications – Make an Enquiry
Waiting List
The purpose of a waiting list is to fill places that may become available during the school year. The Admissions Committee of St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School’s has agreed that Bracknell-Forest School Admission Team will retain the school’s waiting list. St. Joseph’s Admissions Committee will rank all applications prior to a place being offered by Bracknell Forest School Admissions Team.
Positions on waiting lists may go up or down due to pupil withdrawals or new or revised applications received; therefore waiting lists will be reviewed and revised:
- Each time a child is added to, or removed from, the waiting list
- When a child’s changed circumstances will affect their priority i.e. Baptism
- When parents respond to periodic requests to see if they wish to remain on the waiting list.
Children who are the subject of a direction by a local authority to admit or who are allocated to a school in accordance with a Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on a waiting list.
All requests placed on the school’s waiting list will be honoured until the end of the academic year. Parents will be able to apply online to Bracknell Forest Admissions Team at the end of each academic year (July) if they wish to be placed on the waiting list for the next academic year. Please note that no account is taken of the length of time spent on a waiting list.
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that Bracknell Forest Admission’s Team is informed in writing if they want their child’s name to be removed from the waiting list or if their circumstances have changed from the original application.
Appeals Procedure
If your child’s application for a place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is unsuccessful, then you may appeal to an independent panel.
Appeals should be made in writing on the appropriate form, which can be obtained from the school office or the school web site, within twenty school days of the letter of refusal being received.
Admission Appeal Timetable for Reception Year: In the case of an application for a place in Reception, September 2023, the appeal should be submitted by May 2023. Please note that if you are offered a higher preference school, you are not eligible to appeal for a lower preference school.
Appeals should be made to:
The Clerk to Governors
St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Gipsy Lane
Bracknell
Berks
RG12
Admission Appeal Timetable for Reception Year:
- Parents / carers will be notified by the Local Authority (LA) of the result of their application on April 2023.
- The deadline date for parents lodging an appeal will be May 2023.
- Appeals will be heard within 40 days of the deadline for lodging appeals.
- Appellants will be given at least 10 days’ notice of the date and location of the appeal hearing.
- Appellants and admission authority will be able to submit additional evidence to support their appeal up to 6 school days before the hearing. This will enable photocopying and circulation to all parties in advance of the hearing.
- Decision letters will be sent to parents / carers within five school days of the hearing.
- Appeals lodged after May 2023 will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged whichever is the latest date.
Admission Appeal Timetable for other year groups: Appeals lodged with the clerk of the Governors will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.