Parents have a right to express a preference for a primary school for their child, although they do not have a right to choose.  Their wishes and preferences are important and are regarded as important by the City Council.  In addition to the wishes of parents, the local authority also has to take into account:

•    the provision of efficient education for all pupils; and

•    the efficient use of resources

The City Council’s Policy on Admissions to Primary Schools

The Authority has a duty to all parents and children within the City, currently totalling some 51,951 youngsters.  

The Authority has an admissions policy, which complies with the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and the School Admissions Code 2013.  The Coventry School Admissions Forum and the office of the Schools Adjudicator accepted this policy

Where there are more requests for a particular school than places available, the Authority must decide which requests to meet.  The Authority’s policy is to do so on the basis of the priorities and criteria described below:

1. to children who at the time of admission, are in the care of a Local Authority or are provided with accommodation by the authority (looked after children); Also children who were previously looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted, or became subject to a residence order or a special guardianship order.

2. to children who live in the catchment area served by the school, who have a brother or sister at the school, or in the case of separate infant and junior schools, the corresponding junior school, provided that the brother or sister will continue to attend that school the following year.

3. to other children who live in the catchment area served by the school.

4. to children living outside the catchment area with a brother or sister who currently attends the school, or in the case of separate infant and junior schools, the corresponding junior school, provided that the brother or sister will continue to attend that school the following year.

5. to children by reference to the distance to the preferred school.

If it is not possible to meet all of the requests in any one of the categories described above, the City Council will prioritise the requests within that category by reference to distance.  A straight-line measurement will be made from the centre of the child's home address to the centre of the preferred school site.   The shortest measurement will have the highest priority.  The address used must be the child's permanent home address.  Where the final place in a year group can be taken by two or more children living an equal distance from the school, the Local Authority will select by drawing lots.

Special Educational Needs

If a child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs, which names a school, must be admitted to the school.

The aim of the City Council's policy is to meet as many parental preferences as possible whilst acknowledging that it may not be possible to meet the wishes of all parents because all schools have a limit to the number of pupils they can admit and educate efficiently.

The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 as amended by the Education Act 2002 requires the Authority to establish the Published Admission Number (PAN) which relates to the assessed capacity of the school and to sensible organisation of children and classes within the school. The physical capacity of the school is assessed through the Net Capacity Assessment (NCA) methodology as defined by the DFE, which identifies all available teaching space in a school. The NCA produces a total capacity from which the admission number is derived.

Stoke Primary School

The current capacity of Stoke Primary School is as follows:

The three age groups in the Infant Section have: