Foundation places, commonly called a ‘church place,’ are part of the admission arrangements for All Saints Church of England Academy and St Francis of Assisi Church of England Primary, and the two schools have different admissions policies in place which can be read in full on their websites.
For St Francis Primary, our policy has been recently updated. A Foundation place for Reception is only available to those who have attended Holy Communion (Eucharist) services at St Francis Church for a minimum period of two years at least once a month at the time of application, not the time of entry in the school. In addition to this, the policy states that at least one of the parents will have been baptized prior to the 2-year attendance period for Reception. Also, Foundation Places are limited to 25% of total cohort. For All Saints, the attendance period is one year, attending any service at least once per month. Foundation places at All Saints are limited to 30 per cohort. Since 2012, the Parish Church Council has had a register for those families seeking a Foundation place in the schools. St Francis Primary will seek evidence of attendance and this seems to be the fairest way of keeping track in the event of an appeal. The register is kept at church in a secure location and is private and confidential. It is the parents responsibility to inform the Churchwardens of their attendance at worship.
The PCC wish to ensure the whole process is fair and accurate, and we would stress that coming to church should be an expression of your desire to grow in faith and fellowship with other Christians and not simply a mechanism for gaining entry into the schools. For St Francis Church to thrive, all our members should be as active in service as they possibly can for the good of the church and our surrounding community. It is expected that all those who receive a Foundation place will uphold the Christian mission and ethos of the schools and will fully support our Christian values and Anglican identity.
If you would like to know more about the admission policies of our church schools, please visit their respective websites.
