Admissions policy for community primary schools

Admissions criteria

We will offer school places using the following criteria. For the exact legal wording of the criteria, read our determined admissions policy.

1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children

Children who are looked after or were previously looked after by a local authority, receive the highest priority for a school place. If a child meets one of the following definitions, parents should indicate this on the application and include supporting evidence. A looked after or previously looked after child is:

a. A child who is in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application for a school is made, for example, children who are fostered or living in a children's home.

b. A child who have previously been in the care of a local authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and who have left that care through adoption, a child arrangement order (in accordance with section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014) or special guardianship order (in accordance with section 14A of the Children Act 1989).

c. A child who appears (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. A child will be regarded as having been in state care outside England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. The parent/carer will need to provide evidence to demonstrate that the child was in state care outside England and left that care as a result of being adopted.

Parents applying under this criterion must provide appropriate evidence of the child's status. This may include written confirmation from the relevant local authority, an adoption order, child arrangements order, special guardianship order, or, in the case of a child who appears to have been in state care outside England and ceased to be in state care as a result of adoption, evidence that the child was in state care and subsequently adopted. The Council may request further information where necessary to determine whether this criterion is met.

2. Medical or social need

In exceptional circumstances, we can admit a child to a school where they would not normally qualify for a place on the grounds of their, or their family’s, severe medical or social need.

When you apply, you must include a letter from a hospital consultant, social worker or similar professional, saying why the school is the only one to meet your child's needs. You must submit this evidence along with your application before the closing date.

We will make a decision about admission in consultation with a panel of teaching and medical professionals. The medical professional gives advice about applications made for medical reasons, and teaching professionals advise on applications made for social or special reasons.

3. Siblings

We will offer places to children whose brother or sister attends the school on the closing date for applications, and will still be attending the school at the intended date of admission (or the junior school in the case of separate infant and junior schools, this applies to Stillness Infant and Junior Schools).

The younger child does not qualify for sibling priority if their older sibling will have transferred from Year 6 to secondary school by the time the younger child is admitted.

Who is a sibling

Siblings must all live at the same address as the child applying. You may need to provide proof of the sibling relationship. Siblings include:

• all blood and adoptive siblings
• half-siblings
• foster siblings of looked-after children
• step-siblings.

If schools are oversubscribed entirely with siblings

If schools are oversubscribed entirely with siblings, priority will be given to:

• those with exceptional social and medical need
• to those living nearest the school.

4. Children of staff

Priority will be given to children of staff where the member of staff is employed at the school and either:

a. has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time the application for admission is made; or

b. was recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

For the purposes of this criterion, “staff” means staff directly employed by the school or by the local authority to work at the school. This criterion does not apply to contractors, agency staff, volunteers or other staff who are not directly employed to work at the school.

Parents applying under this criterion must provide confirmation from the headteacher that the member of staff meets one of the requirements set out above. Where priority is claimed on the basis of recruitment to a post with a demonstrable skill shortage, the headteacher’s confirmation must explain that the post was identified as having a demonstrable skill shortage at the time of recruitment.

Where there are more applicants under this criterion than places available, priority will be determined by applying the distance criterion.

5. Distance to school

Remaining places will be allocated on the basis of home-to-school distance, with priority given to children who live nearest to the school. Distance will be measured in a straight line using the Local Authority’s computerised distance measuring system. Measurements will be taken from the address point for the child’s permanent home address to designated point within the school.

The Council uses geographical references, including eastings and northings, provided by the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG), to determine the address point for each property. The address point will usually fall within the footprint of the property.

Where two or more applicants have the same measured distance from the school and there are insufficient places for all of them, priority will be determined as follows:

a. where the applicants live in the same block of flats or other multi-occupancy building, priority will be given to the applicant whose home address has the lowest door number, ordered numerically and then alphabetically; and

where this does not resolve the tie, or where applicants live at different addresses but have the same measured distance, priority will be determined by drawing lots in accordance with the tie-break procedure.

Transferring from nursery

Although children attending a nursery class in a primary school often transfer to the main school, this is not automatic and these children are not given priority. If your child goes to the nursery of a primary school you want them to attend, you must still go through the application process.

Twins, triplets and other multiple births

Where twins, triplets or children from other multiple births qualify for the last school place to be allocated Lewisham will admit all of the qualifying siblings more than the published admissions number and they will be considered as ‘excepted pupils.

Tie break

On rare occasions where two or more identical applicants qualify for the last available place, we will draw lots to decide which child is offered the place.

Waiting lists

You cannot be added to the waiting list for a lower preference school than the one you were offered, unless we (or the home local authority) have agreed to your request to change the order of preferences. If we have agreed to change your preference order, we will withdraw your original application, including any offers we have made, and you will need to apply again.

Waiting lists for our community schools include children who have moved to the borough after the application closing date and were therefore unable to apply on time. Waiting lists will be held in criteria order, and children's names may go up, as well as down, a list as new applicants are added.

The admissions process continues until the end of the summer term 2026. If you apply for reception class after the end of the summer term 2026, your application will be considered as in-year applications.

Waiting lists will be held for the first term of the reception year only (until the end of December 2026). If you want to apply for a school place after this, you must make an in-year application.