School Admissions
Nursery Schools
From September, 2004, every child is statutorily entitled to receive six terms of part time nursery education prior to the start of compulsory education. This is offered in a mixture of approved settings, including Playgroups, Cylchmeithrin, Schools and Day Nurseries.
To determine your nearest approved setting please contact the Powys Children’s Information Service on 0845 1303839 (Cymraeg) or 0845 1303637 (English).
All approved settings have the direct involvement of a qualified teacher. If the setting of your choice cannot offer the maximum entitlement of 10 hours of early years education, you may choose to access the balance of your hours with an alternative provider. You do not have to access your full entitlement.
You may also like to look at our sections on:
If parents live outside Powys and wish to send their child to a school within this Authority before the child is five years old, they should first inform the Education Authority in whose area they live before applying for admission to the Powys primary school concerned.
If your child attends a nursery or pre-school class linked to an infant or primary school and you wish your child to attend that school, you will still have to apply for a place in the main school when your child is due for full time admission. Having a place at a nursery or pre-school class does not guarantee a place in the main school at age 4 and the Authority’s criteria for school admissions will apply if the demand for Reception Class places exceed the number of places available.
Primary Schools
Unless other acceptable arrangements are made a child is required to attend school full-time from the beginning of the term following the fifth birthday. In Powys a child may be admitted to school, at the parents' request, on either a full or part-time basis at the beginning of the term following the child’s fourth birthday provided that the school has sufficient resources of staff, accommodation and equipment. This means that:
If your child is 4 between They can start school in
1st January – 31st March The Summer Term
1st April – 31st August The Autumn Term
1st September – 31st December The Spring Term
Secondary Schools
Transfer to secondary school takes place at eleven plus years of age.
All Powys secondary schools are fully comprehensive and co-educational with an 11 - 18 age range.
Welsh Medium
For information about Welsh Medium Education please see our section here:
Criteria for Admission to a School
Children normally attend the Primary school that has traditionally taken children from the area where their parents are now living but parents can obtain information about alternative schools, and places at such schools will be offered unless demand for admission at any particular school exceeds the number of places available.
Arrangements for admission to secondary schools are normally made between the primary school attended by the child, the secondary school and the Local Education Authority in the Autumn and Spring Terms preceding the date of transfer.
Where schools are over-subscribed it is a requirement of the School Standards & Framework Act, 1998 that criteria are published which are then used to determine admissions.
The Authority has adopted, in order of priority, the following criteria:
- Powys Pupils with a statement of special educational need which names a specific school
- looked after children in Powys
- the presence of an elder brother or sister in the school when the home remains in the allocation area of the school which applied in the year the elder child was first admitted and that the older sibling* will be on roll when the younger sibling is admitted
- the location of the home in relation to the school and alternative schools
- any special medical and social needs relating to the individual child where attendance at a particular school is essential
- the presence of a brother or sister at the school when the family home is not in the original or current allocation area for the school and that the older sibling will be on roll when the younger sibling is admitted
* Sibling includes half-siblings, step-siblings, and foster children living in the same household
Within each criterion, places will be allocated on the basis of the shortest walking distance to the school, in strict order of distance, up to the number of places available, the highest priority being given to the pupil living closest to the school.
The LEA and the Governing Bodies of Voluntary (Aided) Schools (as the admission authorities) support the principle of meeting parental preferences wherever and whenever possible. However, it must be recognised that it may not be possible to comply with parental preferences if a school, in admitting a child, will be in breach of the requirement to comply with the statutory duty in respect of infant class sizes.
Infant Class Sizes
The Government is committed to ensuring that no child aged 5, 6 or 7 years will be in a class where the teacher pupil ratio is more than 1:30. The infant class size initiative was a phased programme and from September, 1999, the limit applied to reception classes. For September, 2000, the limit applied to Reception and Year 1 classes and in September, 2001, the limit applied to Reception, year 1 and year 2 classes thus ensuring that all children up to the age of 7 will be taught in classes containing no more than 30 pupils.
In terms of appeals against the admitting authority refusing admission to a pupil under Infant Class Size legislation, please click here
Special Medical and Social Needs
Parents should note that any special medical and/or social factors must be made known at the time of their original application if they wish these to be considered in the event of over subscription and clearly, parents will need to obtain supporting evidence from a doctor, social worker or education welfare officer in appropriate cases.
Application for Admission to Primary Schools
Application for admission to a primary school should be made to the Headteacher of the school who will be able to advise concerning the availability of places, possible date of admission, transport provision, etc.
Click the link below to access the primary schools admission form which enables parents to express a preference for a primary school.
This is a tear off form and should be completed as soon as possible after your child’s third birthday and sent to the appropriate primary school. This will enable the primary school to match the preference forms with information already held about children seeking admission to the school and identify those children hitherto unknown to the school.
Click here to find Primary Schools in Powys
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Applications for Admission to Secondary Schools
Arrangements for admission to secondary schools are normally made between the primary school attended by the child, the secondary school and the Local Education Authority in the Autumn and Spring Terms preceding the date of transfer.
Click the link below to download the Secondary School Admissions Form which enables parents to express their preference for secondary school.
This is a tear-off form and should be returned to the primary school by the specified date. In addition, the form gives parents the opportunity to indicate why a particular preference has been expressed, together with any special educational needs your child may have.
It is vitally important that this form is completed and returned to the primary school since legislation indicates that those parents who have not expressed a preference for a secondary school (even if they live well within the allocation area of the school) will be placed in the lowest priority order when allocating secondary school places. In other words, if you do not complete and return a Secondary School Preference Form within the timetable, you may jeopardise the chances of your child gaining a place at the school of their choice.
Headteachers of primary schools will be able to indicate to parents the secondary school which children would normally attend, although parents may express a preference for any school of their choice.
Click here to find Secondary Schools in Powys
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Feeder Primary Schools
Parents should note that admission to a particular primary school does not guarantee a place at the secondary school which has traditionally received pupils from that primary school. In the event of over subscription of the secondary school, the Authority's published criteria in respect of admission to a school is applied.
Attendance at Schools not Maintained by the Powys Authority
Parents by law have freedom to apply to another L.E.A. (Local Education Authority) for a child to attend a school maintained by that Authority. If a place is allocated, the Powys L.E.A. will not normally provide or meet the costs of transport or residence.
The Authority does not have any arrangements whereby children may attend schools not maintained by a Local Education Authority except for special education. If, therefore, it is your wish that your child attends a school outside Powys, you should approach that school directly.
Download the full Admissions Booklets
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Service Contact
School Modernisation Team
E-mail: school.modernisation@powys.gov.uk
Telephone: 01597 826434
Address:
School Modernisation Team
Powys County Hall
Spa Road East
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 5LG
Useful Links:
Admission Forms :
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