Dates & Downloads
Key dates:
Admissions arrangements and School Information Form for 2026/2027
Holy-Trinity-Determined Admission Arrangements 26 27
Proposed arrangements for 2027/2028:
Holy-Trinity-Determined Admission Arrangements 27 28
Admissions Policy
Determined Admission Arrangements for 2026/27
Introduction
Holy Trinity CE Primary School (“the school”) is a voluntary-aided, one-form entry school. The school has a Christian ethos, and hopes that all applicants will respect that ethos, however the school welcomes applications from those of all faiths, and none. All applicants will be admitted if there are sufficient places available. The school’s Published Admission Number (PAN) is 30.
Policy
The school does not have any specific units or facilities for pupils with particular special needs and there are no specific facilities for pupils with physical disabilities. The school is however on a level site, and all the accommodation is on one floor; there are also ramps at the main entrance and at the entrance to the playground. All classrooms may be entered without steps. As far as possible, the school will ensure that pupils with disabilities have access to the same opportunities as other pupils.
The Governing Body is responsible for the admission of pupils to Holy Trinity Church of England School and admits 30 pupils to Reception each September. This admission number has been agreed between the Governing Body and the Local Authority and applies to the year 2026/27.
The Governing Body is required by law to abide by the maximum limits for infant classes (5, 6 and 7 year olds), ie 30 pupils per class.
Please note that the information in this policy is correct for the year shown. Policies for future academic years may well be different.
How places are offered.
The Governors are required to admit a pupil with an Education Health & Care Plan (EHC) which names the school. These children will be admitted before any oversubscription criteria are applied.
In the event of there being more applications than places available, the Governors will allocate places in the following priority order:
Rule 1: Children looked after and children who were previously looked after, 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. Previously looked after children are those who were looked after but ceased to be so because of being adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order* or a special guardianship order*. Children who were not looked after immediately before being adopted or made the subject of a child arrangements order or special guardianship order, will not be prioritised under this rule.
Places are allocated to children in public care according to Chapter 2, Section 7 of the School Admissions (Admission Arrangements and Co-ordination of Admission Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012.
A “child looked after” is a child who is: a) in the care of a local authority, or b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (section 22(1) of The Children Act 1989)
All children adopted from care who are of compulsory school age are eligible for admission under rule 1.
Children in the process of being placed for adoption are classified by law as children looked after providing there is a Placement Order and the application would be prioritised under Rule 1.
Children who were not “looked after” immediately before being adopted or made the subject of a child arrangement order or special guardianship order, will not be prioritised under rule 1. Applications made for these children, with suitable supporting professional evidence, can be considered under rule 2.
¹ Child arrangements order Under the provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014, which amended section 8 of the Children Act 1989, residence orders have now been replaced by child arrangements orders which settle the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live.
² Special guardianship order Under 14A of The Children Act 1989, an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian or guardians.
Children previously looked after outside England and subsequently adopted will be prioritised under Rule 1 if the child’s previously looked status and adoption is confirmed by Hertfordshire’s “Virtual School”.
The child’s previously looked status will be decided in accordance with the definition outlined in The Children & Social Work Act 2017:
- to have been in state care in a place…because he or she would not otherwise have been cared for adequately, and
- to have ceased to be in that state care as a result of being adopted.
A child is in “state care” if he or she is in the care of, or accommodated by –
(a) a public authority,
(b) a religious organisation, or
(c) any other organisation the sole or main purpose of which is to benefit society.
Rule 2: Medical or Social
Children who have a particular medical or social need to go to the school. A panel of Governors will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficiently compelling to meet the requirements for this rule. The evidence must relate specifically to the school and must clearly demonstrate why it is the only school that can meet the child’s needs.
Applications under this rule will only be considered at the time of initial application unless there has been a significant and exceptional change of circumstances within the family since the initial application was submitted.
All applications are considered individually but a successful application should include the following:
- Specific recent professional evidence that justifies why only the school can meet the child’s individual needs; and/or
- Professional evidence that outlines exceptional family circumstances making clear why only one school can meet the child’s needs
- If the requested school is not the nearest school to the child’s home address, clear reasons why the nearest school is not appropriate
- For medical cases, a clear explanation of why the child’s severity of illness or disability makes attendance at the school, and no other school, essential
Applications must be supported by a recent letter from a professional involved with the child or child’s family, for example a doctor, psychologist or police officer. The supporting evidence must demonstrate why only the school can meet the child’s social or medical needs. Applications for children who were not “looked after” immediately before being adopted or made the subject of a child arrangements order or special guardianship order may be made under this rule.
Rule 3: Sibling
Children who reside in the same family grouping and will have a sibling at the school at the time of their proposed admission. A sibling means the sister, brother, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, child of the parent/carer or partner or a child looked after or previously looked after and in every case living permanently* in a placement within the home as part of the family household from Monday to Friday at the time of application.
*A sibling link will not be recognised for children living temporarily in the same house, for example a child who usually lives with one parent but has temporarily moved or a looked after child in a respite placement or very short term or bridging foster placement. If an applicant lives at more than one address, the sibling must also reside at the same address for the majority of the school week. The sibling’s address will be verified by the school.
A sibling must be on the roll of the named school at the time the younger child starts.
Rule 4. Children of parents or guardians who regularly attend Christ Church, Waltham Cross or any other Christian church and live within the following geographical area: East of the A10 Great Cambridge Road, the south side of College Road, the south side of Windmill Lane, west of the Lea Valley railway and north of the M25 motorway.
Regular attendance means that at least one of the child’s parents or guardians must have attended a public act of worship at Christ Church or any other Christian church at least six times during the year immediately prior to the date of application. This attendance must be verified by the relevant priest or minister countersigning the school’s SIF.
“Any other Christian church” means any church which is a member of the Anglican communion or is a member of Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, The Evangelical Alliance or Affinity.
Note: In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these admission arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
Rule 5: Any other children who live within the geographical area described in Rule 4.
Rule 6. Any other children
Priority will be given to those children whose home address is nearest to the school.
Distance and tie-break
If more children qualify under any Rule than there are places available, the available place(s) under that Rule will be allocated to those children whose home address is nearest to the school.
The Governing Body uses Hertfordshire County Council’s ‘straight line’ distance measurement for all home to school distance measurements. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system to two decimal places. The measurement is taken from the AddressBase Premium address point of your child’s house to the address point of the school. AddressBase Premium data is a nationally recognised method of identifying the location of schools and individual residences.
In the event where two different addresses are the same distance from the school, in the case of a block of flats for example, the lower door number will be deemed nearest as logically this will be closest to the ground and therefore closer. If there are two identical addresses of separate applicants, the tiebreak will be random allocation. Every child entered onto the HCC admissions database has an individual random number assigned between 1 and 1 million, against each preference school. When there is a need for a final tie break the random number is used to allocate the place, with the lowest number given priority.
Home address
The address provided must be the child’s current permanent address at the time of application.
- “At the time of application” means the closing date for applications.
- “Permanent” means that the child has lived at that address for at least a year.
Where a family has not lived at an address for a year, they must be able to demonstrate that they own the property or have a tenancy agreement for a minimum of 12 months and the child must be resident in the property at the time of application. If, because of the nature of the agreement, it is not possible to provide a 12-month tenancy agreement, alternative proof of address will be requested.
It is for the Governing Body (as the admission authority) to determine the address to be used for admission purposes.
The application can only be processed using one address. If a child lives at more than one address (for example due to a separation) the address used will be the one where the child lives for the majority of the school week. If a child lives at two addresses equally, parents/carers should make a single joint application naming one address.
If the child’s living arrangements change after you apply and they now spend the majority of the school week living at a different address, you must provide evidence of the new permanent address.
Addresses may be verified as necessary with Hertfordshire County Council’s Shared Anti-Fraud Service.
Applications made as part of the main Reception admissions round and in-year admission applications are processed by Hertfordshire County Council (“HCC”) on behalf of the Governing Body, in accordance with HCC’s published coordinated admission schemes.
If a child’s permanent address is disputed, parents/carers should provide court documentation to evidence the address that should be used for admission allocation purposes. If two applications are received, with different addresses, neither will be processed until the address issue is reconciled.
If HCC receives two different applications received for the same child from the same address e.g. containing different preferences, parents/carers will be invited to submit a joint application or provide court documentation to evidence the preferences that should be used for the admission process. Until the preference issue is reconciled neither application will be processed.
For the main Reception admission rounds, if the initial differing applications (one or both) were received by HCC “on-time”, an amended joint application will also be considered “on-time” if received before 2nd February 2026 (the “late deadline”). If the amended joint application is received after 2nd February, it will be treated as “late”.
Application process (main Reception admission round)
All applicants must apply to their home local authority by completing their home local authority’s Common Application Form (which can be done on line) and submitting this before the closing date for applications (15th January 2026). Parents who wish their application to be considered under Rule 4 must also complete a school information form (SIF) and return this directly to the school by the closing date for applications. If a SIF is not completed the Governing Body will apply their admission arrangements using the information submitted on the Common Application Form only, which may result in your application being given a lower priority. SIFs may be obtained from the school office during school hours or from the school’s website. The Common Application Form for Hertfordshire residents, and further information about the admission process, can be accessed via the Hertfordshire Admissions website www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions or by calling the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043.
Admission decisions are made by the school’s Governing Body. The local authority will notify parents on behalf of the Governing Body if a place can be offered to a child.
Late applications can only be considered after all on-time applications have been dealt with.
Multiple births
The Governing Body will admit over the school’s published admission number when a single twin/multiple birth child is allocated a place at the school and the other twin/multiple birth child has applied but not been allocated. To maximise the chances of both/all children being allocated places at the same school, Hertfordshire County Council recommends that parents list the same schools in the same order across all applications. However please note that the order of parental preferences will not be shared with the school itself.
Deferred Entry.
Parents/carers can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which it was made. Where parents/carers wish, children may attend part-time until later in the school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.
Admissions out of normal age group
Children are normally educated in their normal age group, with the curriculum differentiated as necessary to meet their individual needs. If however parents believe that their child should be educated in a different age group they may make a written request to the Governing Body (by letter, addressed to the Governing Body c/o the school office) for their child to be admitted out of year group. Parents should include with their request any evidence which they wish the Governing Body to consider. The Governing Body will consider each case on an individual basis and in the best interests of the child, which will include taking account of the views of the headteacher; the views of the child’s parents; the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, the child’s medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether or not the child has previously been educated out of year group; and whether the child might naturally have fallen into a lower age group if the child had not been born prematurely.
If the request is accepted, there is no guarantee that a place will be available in the parents’ preferred age group. There no right of appeal where a child is offered a place at the school but not in the parents’ preferred age group. Reasons will be given for the Governing Body’s decision.
Parents of a summer-born (1 April-31 August) child who wish to delay their child’s admission to school until the September following their fifth birthday must normally make an in-year application for a place in year 1, however they may instead request that their child is admitted out of their normal age group, to Reception rather than Year 1. Parents are advised to make an on-time application for a Reception place for their child in the child’s chronological age group and to submit a written request to the Governors (as described above) for admission out of year group at the same time. However all applications will be considered.
If the recommended process is followed then the Governing Body will respond to the parents’ request for admission out of age group, before any places are offered as part of the main Reception admissions round.
If the parent’s request for the child to be admitted out of their normal age group is accepted, then any application that has been made for a place in the child’s chronological year group can be withdrawn and a new application must be made for a Reception place at the school as part of the following year’s main admissions round. There is no guarantee that a place will be available in the preferred year group.
If the request for admission out of year group is refused then the child’s parents must decide whether to accept any offer of a place in the child’s chronological year group or to refuse it and make an in-year application for a place in year 1. The statutory right to appeal does not apply if the child is offered a place at the school but not in their parents’ preferred age group.
In year application process
Hertfordshire County Council co-ordinates In Year Admissions on behalf of the Governing Body. Information about how to apply and the online application form can be found at Hertfordshire Admissions In-Year website www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/inyear or by calling the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043. The oversubscription criteria set out above are used to prioritise all In Year applications. Parents who wish their application to be considered under Rule 4 must also complete the school’s SIF and return this direct to the school.
Appeals
Parents wishing to appeal who applied through Hertfordshire’s online system should log in to their online application and click on the link “register an appeal”. Out of county residents and paper applicants should call the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043 to request their registration details and log into www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals and click on the link “log into the appeals system”.
For In-Year Admission Appeals, Hertfordshire CC will write to you with the outcome of your application and if you have been unsuccessful, will include registration details to enable you to login and appeal online www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolappeals
Continuing interest (waiting) list
After places have been offered, Hertfordshire County Council will maintain a continuing interest (waiting) list on behalf of the Governing Body. A child’s position on a CI list will be determined by the oversubscription criteria outlined above and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it; the list will be re-ranked each time a new name is added to the list. The county council will contact parents/carers if a vacancy becomes available and it can be offered to a child. Continuing interest lists will be maintained for every year group until the summer term (date to be specified and confirmed to parents at the time of application). To retain a continuing interest application after this time, parents must confirm they are still interested in a place by completing an In Year application form.
Fair Access Protocol.
The school cooperates with the LA’s Fair Access protocol for children who are hard to place and children admitted under this protocol will be prioiritised above those on the Continuing interest (waiting) list and admitted even if the school is full (and over PAN if necessary). Parents of children who are entitled to be considered under the fair access protocol may also make an in year application to the school.
Success criteria
The Admissions policy may be considered to show success if parents and governors have a clear understanding of the procedures for admission to the School and how applications will be prioritised if the school is oversubscribed.
