Admissions
School Admissions
All of our school admissions for children starting school, or those transferring to school, are handled centrally by Cheshire East Council. Our Published Admission Number (PAN) is 30 places per year group.
However, we love showing people around Buglawton and we think it is really important that you come and see us at work to get a flavour of our school. If you would like to book an appointment, please contact the school office on 01260 633080 or email [email protected].
To apply for a school place for your child, please contact Cheshire East Admissions on 0300 123 5012 - if your child is due to start in Reception in the next academic year, you should automatically receive information about how to apply for your child's school place from Cheshire East. If you haven't, please contact them on the number above.
As a maintained school, we follow the Cheshire East Local Authority Admissions Guidance. Further information can be found by following this link: Application process for starting school in September (cheshireeast.gov.uk) or by contacting [email protected]
If your child has an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) please refer to the Children with EHCPs moving to a new phase of education webpage.
Important Dates
For deadlines and other important dates, see school applications timetable.
Admission Criteria
East Cheshire Admissions apply criteria for applications. The criteria applied (in order) for entry in September 2027 is as follows:
- Children who are in local authority care or have previously been in care.
- Brothers and sisters living in the same household as children already in the school (up to and including year 5) who expect to stay at the school for the next school year. This includes foster and adopted brothers and sisters, step-brothers and sisters, and half-brothers and sisters.
- Children living within the school's catchment area.
- For high schools, children who are currently pupils at one of the primary schools the high school works with as a feeder school.
- Children living nearest to the school as measured in a straight line by the National Property Gazetteer.
Where there are not enough spaces for children who live the same distance away (for example, in the same block of flats), the decision is made by a random allocation tie-breaker.
Note about catchment area:
Schools have a set 'catchment area'. This is usually the area that surrounds the school and where most children who go to the school live.
But the law doesn't allow schools to keep places just for children who live in the catchment area. This means that:
- living in a school's catchment area does not guarantee a place at the school
- children who don't live in the catchment area may get a place
If a school is not oversubscribed, you will get a place whether or not you live in the catchment area.
But if a school is oversubscribed, you may get a higher priority for a place if you live in the catchment area. This is because most schools include catchment area as one of the criteria in their admissions policy.
The situation varies from year to year at each school. If your preferred school's admissions policy includes catchment area as a criteria, you can check last year's school place allocation reports to see whether all children in the schools' catchment areas got places.
Delaying Admission to the Reception Class
You may have reservations about your child starting school at such a young age. There are options for delaying entry to your child’s reception start.
• You can arrange to attend school part time until your child reaches compulsory age.
• You can arrange to delay starting until the term after their fifth birthday (this can be no later than the start of the summer term).
• If your child is born between 1st April and 31st August, they will not reach statutory school age for almost a full school year after the point at which they could first be admitted to school. In this case you have the option to defer your child to start the following September, out of cohort.
It is recommended that you discuss the options above with the headteachers of your preferred schools. Please note that even if deferred entry is agreed this does not guarantee a place at your preferred school.
Delayed Entry for Summer Born Children
If you are considering delaying admission until the following academic year rather than applying for admission to your child’s chronological peer group, please refer to the Department of Education’s guidance for parents who wish to delay entry. Summer born children starting school: advice for parents
You will need to advise your home local authority of your intention to defer for arrangements to be made to include your child in the relevant school admission application round if this is agreed. This is to ensure that you do not miss out on important inf ormation about applying for school places. Your child’s application would be processed in line with the school’s admissions policy and an application would need to be made for the required year of entry. Parents are advised to consider the full implications of a child being taught out of their chronological age group including key stages such as moving up to secondary school at a different age to their peers. Your views will be fully considered, and you can get advice to help you decide on the best course of action before a decision is taken by the relevant admission authority.
For non-statutory guidance published by the Department for Education (DfE) about summer born children, please visit the DfE website at Making a request for admission out of the normal age group
Appeals
Appeals for admission in September 2027 will be heard by 19 July 2027 for primary schools. This applies to applications for which decisions have been sent out on the published offer day. For late applications these will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged. Appeals for admission in September will be heard together where possible. Late appeal applications will not be held before scheduled appeals even where this exceeds the 30 school day limit.
In-year Admissions
All in-year applications (those wishing to move schools) are handled through Cheshire East Admissions. Apply for an in-year school place
Preschool Admissions
We currently offer 15 and 30 hour funded places and top-up places for 3 and 4-year-olds in our fantastic Preschool facility.
If you would like your child to attend our Preschool, please contact the school office on 01260 633080 to discuss your requirements.
Please see our Preschool page for further details and to see the wonderful things taking place!
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