Admissions

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Allocating Places

Barton School serves the villages of Barton and Grantchester. Provided there are spaces, the school is pleased to take any children whose parents choose to send them to Barton, irrespective of where they live. The school particularly welcomes parents who wish to send their children to a Church school.

As a Voluntary Aided school the governing body is the admissions authority, and sets and applies the admissions policy for the school.

Admission for Reception Age Children

Legally a parent must ensure that a child begins to receive full time education from the beginning of the term after his or her fifth birthday.

However Barton School subscribes to the county policy that all children should have an equal chance of starting school at the beginning of the academic year in which they have their fifth birthday. This means a child can start at Barton in the September after his or her fourth birthday.

Most children find starting school very tiring, particularly those admitted to school before their fifth birthday. In recognition of this, all children start part-time to begin with, for the first few weeks of term, normally about 3 weeks. After this the children will attend full time subject to discussion between parents and the Reception class teaching team.

How to Apply

The application process for admissions into the Reception Year is co-ordinated by Cambridgeshire Local Authority (LA), which acts on behalf of the governing body to offer places at the School. Parents should apply online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions or submit a Cambridgeshire Application Form, available from their child's local primary school or from the LA Admissions Team, no later than 4 December 2009. Offer letters will be issued by the LA on 26 April 2010. Late applications (those submitted between 4 December 2009 and the end of the co-ordination period) will be handled by the Admissions Team.

To apply for a place after the start of term or in any other year group, please contact Cambridgeshire LA for an application form. The Governing Body aims to respond in writing to all applications within 10 school days.

School Office Contact: Mrs S Adderley, 01223 262474 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

LA Admissions Team Contact: South Team, 01223 699200/01223 699201 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The school welcomes visits from the parents of prospective pupils with their children. They should contact the School Administrative Manager (Mrs S Adderley, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to arrange a convenient time. Visits are not interviews and do not affect any decision regarding the availability of a place.

All parents are advised to read the LA booklet for parents on primary admissions and the School's policy for admissions available from the school office, or for download at the bottom of this page.

Cambridgeshire's Nursery Education Funding Scheme

Under the Government's Early Years programme, all four year olds are entitled to three terms of free part-time education from the term following their fourth birthday. This is funded by a grant for each child. The Local Authority funds places in reception classes in state schools in addition to the grant, to permit children to attend for a full school day. To ensure that your child receives their allocation of five sessions of grant-funded education, you will be required to complete a form confirming that you have registered your child at Barton School. A leaflet containing further information is available from the school office.

Admission Arrangements for Disabled Pupils

Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We hope to make all our children welcome and feel happy to look forward to their school day. Every child is different and we view differences as an opportunity for adults and children alike to learn more about ourselves.

If your child has a disability he or she will be treated equally to other applicants for admission. Prior to admission there will normally be a discussion with the parents, the Head Teacher and advisers to determine what needs there may be and we make reasonable adjustments to ensure that pupils with disabilities are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. We have completed measures to increase access to the school by pupils with disabilities; our school is all on one ground-floor level and the main entrances and the Early Years classroom and hall have ramp access. There are toilet facilities for disabled children.

The school has a policy for supporting children with special educational needs which is revised every year. This policy is available from the school office. Our aim is for all children to have access to all aspects of school life, as far as is reasonable and practicable.

Admissions Policy

The complete Admissions Policies are available for download in pdf format: