A popular and heavily oversubscribed Roman Catholic primary school in Putney is consulting parents and other interested parties over a proposed change to its admission arrangements for the 2018/9 academic year.
The governing body at Our Lady of Victories primary school have been considering how to make the school’s admissions criteria fairer, and in particular to achieve the fairest way to allocate places when the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places.
The overall aim is to ensure that places are offered to children in practising Catholic families wherever they live within the parish of Our Lady of Pity and St Simon Stock.
Now the school is proposing to insert a new clause into its oversubscription criteria to give greater preference to three children from disadvantaged families in the parish.
The new clause states: “Up to three places will be offered to Baptised Catholic children with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, living within the Parish of Our Lady of Pity and St Simon Stock, who are eligible for Free School Meals on the basis of family income at the closing date of applications.”
In full the proposed new admissions code and its ranking order of importance would be as follows:
• Looked after Catholic children
• Catholic children where there are special circumstances which can be met by this school rather than any other.
• Catholic children, with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, having a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
• Catholic children with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, having a parent who is a member of the teaching staff.
• Up to three places will be offered to Baptised Catholic children with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, living within the Parish of Our Lady of Pity and St Simon Stock, who are eligible for Free School Meals on the basis of family income at the closing date of applications.
• Other Catholic children with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, living within the Parish of Our Lady of Pity and St Simon Stock.
• Catholic children with at least one Catholic parent who is a regular worshipper, living outside the Parish of Our Lady of Pity and St Simon Stock.
• Other Catholic children.
According to the school the rationale behind the change is as follows: “Catholic schools were founded primarily to ensure a good education would be made available to the most vulnerable members of Catholic communities. The governors believe that it is within the spirit of this original intent to make some provision available specifically for some of the most disadvantaged families in our community.”
The governors say that the impact of the change on other families is minimised because of the recent increase in the statutory admission number from 28 to 30 pupils.
The consultation is now underway and will continue until January 31, 2017, with a formal decision announced by the governors a month later. The proposed change would then apply from the start of the September 2018 academic year.
This consultation is aimed primarily at:
• Parents of children between the ages of two and eleven-years-old.
• Other persons in the area who have an interest in the proposed arrangements.
• All other admissions authorities within the local area.
• The local authority.
• The adjoining local authorities of Richmond, Merton, Lambeth and Hammersmith & Fulham.
• The RC Diocese of Southwark
A copy of the proposed admissions criteria is available on the school’s website at http://www.ourladyofvictories.wandsworth.sch.uk
Comments should be submitted in writing to Mrs Sue Lorenzo, Clerk to the Governors, Our Lady of Victories RC Primary School, 1 Clarendon Drive London SW15 1AW. Alternatively comments can be emailed to clerk@ourladyofvictories.wandsworth.sch.uk.
Menu
