Applications - Reception year

In line with the Local Authority policy, the school has one main intake in September at the beginning of the academic year.

All admissions for Croydon residents are processed by the London Borough of Croydon and all applications will need to be made in accordance with their admission arrangements.

Croydon Council have a step by step guide to making an application which you can find here

Non Croydon residents wishing to apply to The Robert Fitzroy Academy will need to refer to their Local Authority for guidance as to how to make an application.

School admissions policies are published one year in advance. REAch2’s Trust Board (or delegated sub-committee) will adopt the relevant Policy by 28th February each year.

Admissions Policies will be published on the REAch2 website by the 15th March.

https://www.reach2.org/policies/

You can download a copy of our latest Admissions Policy below:

The-Robert-Fitzroy-Academy-Admissions-policy-25-26-.pdf (reach2.org)

School Induction Process – Reception only

Summer Term

Once places have been offered and accepted we will plan an evening meeting for parents only, to meet the teachers and to find out about our school.

Stay and Play

We have ‘stay and play’ sessions that we advise all children to attend with one parent/carer where they will be introduced to the class teachers and have an opportunity to build friendships with other children who will be starting in September.

Home Visits

We offer home visits for approximately 20 minutes. The class teacher will visit you and your child at home. This gives you and your child an opportunity to ask any questions before they actually start.

September

On their first day, the children will either be allocated a morning or an afternoon session.

On the second day all children stay for the morning and one parent/carer is invited to lunchtime.

On the third day children stay for the morning and lunch independently.

Finally on the fourth and fifth days of their first week in school, children attend full time.

Parent workshops are arranged and delivered to introduce the teaching of phonics, maths and the RFA way.

In Year Admissions

Applications for places are processed by London Borough of Croydon Admissions Department. Please refer to the guide to applying for a school place on the Croydon Web Site.

Summer- born children

Is it possible for my child to start reception outside their normal age group?
The school admissions code states that a parent can choose to defer the start date of their child into primary school until the child is of compulsory school age.

Depending on the month the child is born they can legally defer to the start of the spring term or summer term, or for summer born children the autumn term of the following academic year.

The parents of some children born in the summer term request to start their children once they reach compulsory school age but request an admission outside of the normal year group, so start in a reception class rather than year 1, in the September following their 5th birthday.

Applications for admission outside the normal age group are considered on a case by case basis.

What should I do?
If you want to request that your summer born child enters the reception class in the September after their fifth birthday, you should request this as soon as possible with the school and the local authority. You should also submit an application for a reception school place via the e-admissions website by the deadline.

The admission authority of The Robert Fitzroy Academy will decide whether or not your child’s individual circumstances make this appropriate on educational grounds. Our academy trust (REAch2) is the admission authority for our academy.

All requests to educate a child outside their normal year group should be made at the time of application (or before) and include written explanation of why this is necessary and where applicable, evidence of the child’s circumstances from a relevant professional detailing the child’s educational need which makes education outside the normal age group necessary.

If you are applying to the Robert Fitzroy Academy as a preference you will need to write to the Chair of Governors outlining your request – they are the school’s admissions authority. If they support it they will send you a letter which you need to upload as part of your admissions application form.

You can also email your request to:

Chair of Governors via the  [email protected] email address. 

Please ensure the subject line is 'Application for education out of year group'.

Decisions are made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interest of the child.

This includes taking account of the following:

• Parents views
• Information relating to the child’s academic, social and emotional development, where relevant
• Medical history and the views of a medical professional
• Any previous history of being educated outside of their normal age group
• If a child may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
• Views of the head teacher of the school(s) concerned

Parents do not have a right of appeal if they have been offered a place and it is not in the year group they would like. However, they may make a complaint.

Parents can make a complaint under the school’s complaints procedure – because the governing body or academy trust is the admission authority. 

Government guidance on Summer-born children admissions can be found here

National Offer Day

If you have applied for admission outside of the normal year group and you have not received a decision by National offer Day you will receive an offer, and you should still accept this as you can decline at a later date.

What happens next?

If your request is upheld you will need to reapply for admission to primary school through the normal Croydon Admissions procedure attaching a copy of the letter agreeing your request to the application form. Please be advised that this agreement does not mean that your child will receive any priority over other children in the admissions round for the next academic year. All applications will be considered and if needed the Academy’s over-subscription criteria will be used. If you do not achieve a place for your child at The Robert Fitzroy Academy in the 2023 Reception cohort, our agreement to the request will not be valid at any other school.