For Parents & Carers

Admissions

School Admission Policy 2025 to 2026

Admission arrangements at Reception

Children may start school during the year in which they become five. All children will be offered a full time place from September. Parents may defer their admission providing the child is in full time education by the term after their fifth birthday and by the beginning of the summer term at the latest. In the case of over-subscription, places will be offered in the following order of priority:

Published admission limit: 25

Children who are due to start school and:

Have an Education Health and Care Plan naming the school;
Children in public care and those previously in public care who have been adopted or are subject to a residence order or special guardianship order who are due to transfer;
Live in the area served by the school and who have a sibling attending the school at the time of their admission;
Have a disability and live in the area served by the school (appropriate professional evidence will be required to confirm the disability);
Live outside the area served by the school who have a brother or sister with an Education Health and Care Plan attending the school at the time of their admission;
Live outside the area served by the school who have a brother or sister attending the school at the time of their admission;
Children of staff in either or both of the following circumstances
a) Where a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made and/or
b) The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage;
Have a disability and live outside the area served by the school (appropriate professional evidence will be required to confirm the disability);
Children who are due to start school, living outside the area served by the school who have no brother or sister at the school.

If all children within any of the above rules cannot be offered a place, the highest priority will be given to children living nearest to the school within that rule. To determine who lives nearest, distance will be measured on a straight line "crow fly" basis, using Ordnance Survey data. The address will be measured from the post office address point on the property.

In the unlikely event that distance does not separate the final two or more pupils seeking the last remaining place, a random allocation will be used to determine who is offered the final place.

'In year' admission requests will be considered on an individual basis. If we are able to offer a place to an applicant, we will aim to start that pupil at Litcham School as soon as can reasonably be organised.

Admission at Year 7

Published admission limit: 87

Children already in Year 6 at Litcham School will automatically progress to the secondary phase at the start of Year 7. Parents of children in Year 6 (the last year of primary school) at other primary schools are invited to make an application to join the school and are provided with information by the Local Authority. Applications must be completed and returned by the specified date.

If there are more requests for places than places available, the Local Authority will admit children in the following order of priority:

Children with an Education Health and Care Plan naming the school;
Children in public care and those previously in public care who have been adopted or are subject to a residence order or special guardianship order;
Children who are due to transfer and live in the area served by the school;
Children who are due to transfer and live outside the area served by the school who have a brother or sister attending the school at the time of admission;
Children of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:
a) Where a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made and/or
b) The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage;
Children who are due to transfer and live outside the area served by the school but are attending a feeder primary school at the opening date of the admission round;
Children who are due to transfer and live outside the area served by the school.

If all children within any of the above rules cannot be offered a place, the highest priority will be given to children living nearest to the school within that rule. To determine who lives nearest, distance will be measured on a straight line 'crow fly' basis, using Ordnance Survey data. The address will be measured from the post office address point on the property.

If following the application of admission rules and distance, two applicants cannot be separated for a final place at a school, the Local Authority will use random allocation to determine the priority for the remaining place. Arrangements for admission in all other years are managed by the Local Authority (Telephone: 0344 800 8020).

Moving schools (in-year transfer)

A move to a different school at any time other than admission to reception, transfer to junior or transfer to secondary is known as an ‘in-year transfer’. This could be a move between Norfolk schools or a move to a Norfolk school from a school in a different area.

Further information and guidance regarding in-year transfers is available from https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/school-admissions/moving-schools

Admission Appeals

When the admission authority is unable to give you a place at your preferred school, we will be able to advise you about an alternative school. If your request for one of your preferred schools is refused you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. Appeals are heard by school admission appeals panels which are independent of the admission authority.

Further general information about the appeals process can be found here. https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/school-admissions/school-admission-appeals

If the school appealed for is a community or voluntary controlled school the council is the admission authority and therefore responsible for the appeal process and you can find detailed guidance on the appeal process here.

For all other types of school (foundation, voluntary aided, trust and free schools)and academies the governors are the admission authority and they are responsible for the appeal process and you can find detailed guidance on the appeal process here.

If you are seeking a place for a 5,6 or 7 year old, you may have a more limited right of appeal. This will happen when the year group is full and the class already has 30 children in it. This is because the law says that infants (5, 6 and 7 year olds) should not be taught in classes with more than 30 children in them.

In these cases appeal panels can only allow your appeals if they find one of the following grounds apply:

if the admission rules were not applied correctly and your child should have been offered a place and/or;
your child should have been offered a place if the admission arrangements had not been contrary to the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and/or;
the decision to refuse admission was not one which a reasonable admissions authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.

The secondary induction programme

The move from primary to secondary school is a major step in a child’s education. The induction programme organised for Year 6 pupils is designed to help them to become more familiar with the secondary school and its work. The programme includes two weeks in the term before entry, when pupils join us and share in the experience of working in subject areas, meeting their future tutors and generally familiarising themselves with secondary education. Parents and carers are also invited to a family interview with a member of staff.

All children in their final term at primary school complete a personal profile about work, interests and leisure activities. These profiles are the starting point for discussion at the family interview and provide useful information to help smooth the transition to high school.