Admission to Coltishall Primary

As a Local Authority Maintained School, we follow the Norfolk County Council admissions policy, whose website links are at the bottom of this page.

Admission Arrangement Documents for 2023/2024

• Admission round coordination scheme 2023/24 - Appendix A (pdf - 105kb)
• Admission round timetables 2023/24 - Appendix B (pdf - 115kb)
• In-year coordination scheme 2023/24 - Appendix C (pdf - 111kb)
• Oversubscription rules for community and voluntary controlled schools 2023/24 - Appendix D (pdf - 129kb)

September 2021 Reception Cohort and oversubscription

Since the 1^st Jan 2022 Coltishall School maintained a list of families who had not gained a place for their child in the September 2021 Reception intake, this was the same list kept by the Local Authority from September 1^st 2021 to the 31^st December 2021.  The aim of keeping this list was to maintain a fair and consistent application of the original admissions criteria.  The intention was to then inform families, in the order on that list, if a place became available in the 2021 cohort.  The list kept parents in the original order and any parents moving into the catchment area were added to the list, in line with the original criteria.  This is also consistent with the Norfolk In-Year Coordination Scheme 2022/23  and specifically point 10 in the In-Year Coordination Scheme; ‘The County Council applies the published admission rules in the event of oversubscription at Community or Voluntary Controlled schools to prioritise all applications’.

Coltishall Primary’s legal status is that of a Community School and as a Community School the admission authority is, and always has been, the local authority Norfolk County Council.  By holding a list of parents, and keeping in line with the Norfolk Admission Rules, the school was hoping to provide a service to make the process easier for parents whenever a place became available.  The process of holding a list caused undue pressure on the school administrators and school governors.  It also led to the assumption that the school holds responsibility as the admission authority.

From the 1^st January 2023 the school will no longer keep a waiting list or aim to maintain a list in line with the Norfolk Admission Rules.  If a place becomes available the school will update class numbers and vacancies on the website, as is our normal procedure.  A place only becomes formally available when it is confirmed a pupil has left Coltishall Primary School and the receiving school verifies that they are on their register.  All enquiries regarding admissions for this cohort should be directed to the admissions authority Norfolk County Council.  If the admissions team receive more applications than available places, they will apply the Norfolk Admission Rules to allocate a place.

In September 2024 the 2021 Reception cohort will start Key Stage 2, in Key Stage 2 class sizes can increase to 32 pupils.  The same In-Year admissions process as above will be in place for any applications for September 2024.  The only difference being that applications can be made in advance in Summer term 2024 the term before pupils would start in Key Stage 2.  This is because the school will know how many places will be available for September 2024.

Useful Links

Links to Norfolk County Council’s Children’s Services regarding admissions: