Admissions Statement/Appeals Process

Starting School for the First Time (4+ yrs)

East Sussex County Council co-ordinates Academy admissions for the new intake for reception and they decide how pupils are admitted.

The admissions criteria is used to determine how places are allocated for new Reception children is listed in the East Sussex admissions booklet.  For admissions, you can apply online, please visit East Sussex County Council – Admissions Select admissions. Register and then apply. 

If you have applied and have been refused a place, you may add your child to our waiting lists. Please note that we recommend that your child is sent to another school whilst you are waiting for a place as we cannot give any indication of timescales for the availability of places.

In-Year Admissions

Our Admissions Officer, Helen Wallbank manages any admissions for pupils wishing to join during the academic year, please see our Admissions Policy for details or contact her directly.  Priority will be given in accordance with our Admissions Criteria.  Applications should still be made to School Admissions, you can apply online, please visit East Sussex County Council – Admissions Select admissions. Register and then apply. 

These are the preferred and quickest methods to apply but if you experience difficulties please contact Mrs Wallbank in the Academy office, 01424 424530.

Admissions Policy

Appeals

Where St Paul’s is unable to offer a place because of over subscription, parents have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel.  

East Sussex County Council still handle and process appeals. Please contact them directly on 0345 6080190 quoting Admissions - East Sussex Area. Please refer to the County Council appeals process by clicking here.

Key dates for a school appeal hearing

Deadline for submitting your appeal - these deadlines are particularly important for appeals relating to the September intake.

Appeals Timetable

 East Sussex County Council aim to have all appeals, which are received within the deadline, heard by the following dates:

Primary appeals - within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals

In-Year appeals - Within 30 school days of receiving the appeal

You may also find the following information useful:

• For In-Year Appeals, appellants are to be allowed up to 25 days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge their written appeal.

• Appellants will receive at least ten school days’ notice of their appeal hearing.

• Appellants are allowed up to seven working days before the hearing to submit additional evidence, for admission authorities to submit their evidence, and for the clerk to send appeal papers to the panel and parties.

• Appellants are to be sent decision letters within five school days of the hearing wherever possible. Please note that sometimes a Panel may need to hear a large number of appeals for one school across several days. In these cases, the decisions will not be sent until after the last day of hearings for that school. ·

• For applications made in the normal admissions round, appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals

• For late applications, appeals should be heard within 40 school days from the deadline for lodging appeals where possible, or within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

• Appeals submitted after the deadline must still be heard, but this can be done to a timescale set by the admission authority

For detailed guidance on school admission appeals please follow this link.

Academy visits

The best way to learn about our Academy is to visit us. We encourage you and your child to see for yourself what we’re really like, to ask questions and to discuss any matters with the headteacher.

Please contact Mrs Wallbank to arrange an appointment to tour the Academy, meet the staff and see the children at work.

Please see our Nursery section on our website for nursery admissions information.  If your child is in our Nursery, a separate application must be made for transfer from the nursery to the main academy in accordance with East Sussex Admissions procedures.