At Bishop Chavasse we know how important it is for you to choose the right school for your child. For this reason, we invite you to join us for a tour of our school. We look forward to welcoming you during the normal school day as this will enable you to see lessons and learning in full swing and feel the atmosphere of the School on a normal day.

To book a tour please contact the school office on 01732 676040 and an appointment for a tour with Mrs Donna Weeks, our Headteacher, will be booked for you.

Waiting List

Contact the school office on 01732 676040 if you are looking for a place for your child as there are still a couple of spaces available.   Please contact the school office to arrange a tour and see what fantastic opportunities our school offers it's children. 

Bishop Chavasse Primary School is a 4 – 11 two form entry Church of England School in the Diocese of Rochester, and an academy within the Tenax Schools Trust.

Our Vision

Our vision, based on the Bible story of the wise and foolish builders, is that each wonderfully created child needs firm foundations in a loving Christian environment to acquire knowledge, to build and to practise skills. From their own unique starting points, they are inspired to fulfill their potential, achieving excellence together.

Our Values

Our values underpin our own building and give us skills for life.  Our values are:

Wisdom: Jesus teaches us to make good choices

Honesty: Jesus teaches us to tell the truth and do the right thing

Forgiveness: Jesus teaches us to forgive others as we wish to be forgiven

Compassion: Jesus teaches us to care lovingly about others and seek justice

Perseverance: Jesus teaches us to keep on building on firm foundations

The theology and context of our Vision and Values can be found here:

Admissions number

As a growing school, in its fourth year, we currently have 8 classes and a total school roll of 220 pupils aged 4-8 years old. Our main intake is into our Reception year in the school year in which a child turns 5 years of age.  The School has a published admissions number of 60. This means that up to 60 children will be admitted into Reception (Year R) in September of each year.

The Local Authority Application Form

In October in the year before a child starts school, parents will receive information from the Local Authority about admissions procedures. Our local authority is Kent County council (KCC).

To apply for a place at Bishop Chavasse Primary School, all applicants must complete the application form for admissions 2021. This can be done in paper form or online.

Parents may name three schools in order of preference on the online application form which is then returned to KCC.

The Supplementary Form

As a Church of England School, when we are oversubscribed, we will allocate up to 25% of our places (15 places annually) to children from families with a commitment to the Christian faith, after admitting children in public care. At least 75% (up to 45 places) will be open enrollment, available to those in the local community of all faiths and none.

Should you choose Category 2 (children from families with a commitment to the Christian Faith) you will need to complete the Category 2 Supplementary Form in addition to KCC’s Application Form. This is available from the School and should be returned to the school office.

In the event that there are more than 60 first preference applications for places in Reception, the applications will be ranked according to the over subscription criteria set out below, using the information given in the Supplementary Form.

For more information, including deadlines for applications, please visit https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/primary-school-places

Please ensure that you return your application and appropriate forms by the date given by KCC as all applications received after this date are considered late and ranked below other applications.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate our school office on 01732 676 040 or office@bishopchavasseschool.org.uk

If you would like us to help you complete your admissions form, we would be delighted to support you with this.

Oversubscription Criteria

These will be used to rank order applications if more than 60 are received, after the admission of pupils with an education, Health and Care plan naming the school.

1. Looked after children and all previously looked after children. (‘Looked after’ refers to children who have been provided with care and accommodation by a Local Authority.)
2. Children from families with a commitment to the Christian Faith. No more than 15 children will be admitted under this category. The definition of this is a child who has a parent worshiping regularly (at least twice monthly on average) in a Church of England Church and who has done so for at least two years up to the time of application. If fewer than 15 applications are received that meet this criterion, the remaining spaces will revert to categories 3 and 4. If more than 15 applications are received, applicants will be rank ordered by distance from the school; the nearest 15 will be offered places, and the remainder ranked under categories 3 an 4, as applicable. A Category 2 Supplementary Form must be completed and returned, and cannot be completed online.
3. Children who, when they start school, have siblings attending the school. A sibling is a full, half or step brother or sister living permanently in the same household, including an adoptive or foster brother or sister.
4. Children who need to attend for compelling medical or social reasons. Such applications should be accompanied by evidence from a doctor or social worker which demonstrate that the needs of the child can only be met by attendance at Bishop Chavasse Primary School.
5. Children will be rank ordered by distance from the school and the nearest will be offered places until all places are filled.

Tie break

Random allocation will be used as a tie-break to decide who has highest priority for admission if the distance between a child’s home and the academy is equidistant in any individual case. However, if children of multiple births (twins and triplets) are tied for the final place, those siblings will be admitted over OAN as permitted by infant class size rules.

Where only one parent/guardian satisfies a criterion, the application will be treated equally with one where the requirement is met by two parents.

Late applications are considered after all those applications received by the specified date.

Deferred entry for infants

Parents offered a place in reception for their child have a right to defer the date their child is admitted, or to take the place up part-time, until the child reaches compulsory school age. Places cannot be deferred beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year for which the offer was made.

Children reach compulsory school age on the prescribed day following their 5th birthday (or their fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day. The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. Requests for admission outside the child’s expected year group must be made to the Headteacher as far as possible before the autumn closing date for normal applications.

The process for requesting such an admission is as follows:

With the application, parents should request that the child is admitted to another year group (state which one), and the reasons for that request.

Parents will submit any evidence in support of their case with the application, for instance from a medical practitioner, headteacher etc. Some of the evidence a parent might submit could include:

• whether the child is ‘summer born’ and is seeking admission to a year group other than reception (or is seeking admission to reception rather than year 1);
• information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development;
• where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional;
• whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and
• whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely.

The school will consider each case on its merits, taking into account the individual circumstances of the request and the child’s best interests. We will also ensure the parent is aware of whether the request for admission out of age group has been agreed before final offers are made, and the reason for any refusal.

Requests for admission out of the normal year group will be considered alongside other applications made at the same time. An application from a child who would ‘normally’ be a year 1 child for a reception place will be considered alongside applications for reception. Parents should complete a normal application in addition, in case their request is declined.

If the request for admission outside expected year is agreed, a CAF must be submitted to the LA with copies of the written agreement from the school.

Waiting lists

Bishop Chavasse operates a waiting list for each year group. Where in any year the school receives more applications for places than there are places available, a waiting list will operate. Applications will be removed from the waiting list at the end of the academic year. The waiting list will be maintained by the Tenax Schools Trust and it will be open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Children’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the over subscription criteria. Where places become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the over subscription criteria. The waiting list will be reordered in accordance with the over subscription criteria whenever anyone is added to or leaves the waiting list.

Appeals

All applicants refused a place have a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel constituted and operated in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code. 

Guidance on school admission appeals can be found at:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/appeal-a-school-offer#