Admissions
St Joseph's is an academy and, as such, the Academy Committee is responsible for admitting children to the school. We welcome applications from all parents and carers, regardless of faith or background.
Click here to see our Admissions Policies for
We hold open events in November each year. Details will be posted on here of specific dates and times when they available. If you would like to visit the school at any other time of year, please contact the school office who will be happy to help you. Please also explore our school website; visit the class pages for a flavour of the exciting, broad and balanced curriculum we offer all of our pupils.
The admissions process works slightly differently for children joining school for the first time to our Reception class in the year that they turn 5 years old and for admissions to year groups 1 to 6. Please see the sections below for more details about each process.
Admissions Timetable
Admissions to Reception Class
The school admits children to the Reception Class through the Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme.
Children are admitted to Reception in the September following their fourth birthday. If you wish to apply for a place for your child you will need to complete your home Local Authority's Admission Application Form. For Oxfordshire County Council this can be found on their website at http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. You can apply for a place from November each year and the deadline for applications is the following January. On the Oxfordshire County Council website you will also find further information about the admissions process including all key dates and deadlines. Please note that these may vary from county to county, so if you do not live in Oxfordshire, you should refer to your own Local Authority's admissions page.
The school's Supplementary Information Form may be also be completed. This form is used to give the Academy Committee the additional information they require in order to rank applicants according to the school's published admissions criteria. The form may be submitted at any time up to the Local Authority closing date for applications. Places are allocated strictly according to the school's Admissions Policy, and early application confers no advantage.
A certificate of Catholic Baptism/Reception should be provided with the Supplementary Information Form in order for the application to be considered in a Catholic category. Failure to provide evidence of Catholic Baptism/Reception may affect the criterion in which the child is placed.
Click below to download a copy of our current Supplementary Information Form.
'Catchment' Area
Our Admissions policies linked above contain more detail about our 'catchment' area. Children living within the parish of St Joseph's take priority in some cases, please see the policy for details of our over-subscription criteria and parish boundary map.
Deferred Admissions
The School Admissions Code allows parents of summer born children (ie those born between 1 April and 31 August) to apply to defer entry to Reception to the September following the academic year in which they would normally enter reception (ie the academic year in which they turn 5 years old).
There is some statistical evidence that summer born children tend to perform less well in school tests, but it is important to remember that teachers are skilled at differentiating the curriculum to meet a diverse range of needs, including those of summer born children. It would not be accurate to assume that all children born in the summer term will struggle at school. For this reason, if you are considering making an application for deferral, we suggest that you speak to us first of all.
While there is no cut-off date for deferral requests, the process will be easier for parents, and for the school, if applications to defer are made and considered before the deadline for admission applications - the date for which is in January each year and can be seen on the Oxfordshire County Council admissions pages - http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. If you are planning on applying to defer your child's admission to the school we would therefore strongly encourage you to make your application early. You can find information about how to apply for Deferred Admission on your Local Authority website. For Oxfordshire County Council you can find this information here
In-Year Admissions - Years 1 - 6 (and Reception once the academic year has started)
In-Year applications to St Joseph's are dealt with by the school and not by the Local Authority.
An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the child will be admitted where there are available places. An application should be made to the school by completing the in-year admissions application form which is available below. A hard copy of the application form can be obtained by contacting the school office at 01844 214278 or office@st-josephs.oxon.sch.uk.
Completed application forms must be and returned to office@st-josephs.oxon.sch.uk.
Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription criteria, as set out in the admission arrangements in the policies above, will be applied. The full admission arrangements can be accessed at the linked documents at the top of this page or by contacting the school office to request a hard copy. Parents are advised to read the admission arrangements carefully before making their application.
If there are no places available, the child will be added to the Continued Interest List (waiting list) and further information relating to this will be included in the letter sent from the school advising you of the outcome of your application. Please see the admission arrangements for more details.
You will be advised of the outcome of your application in writing as soon as possible. Applicants must be informed of the outcome of their application within 15 school days of its receipt, but the aim is to notify applicants of the outcome of their application within 10 school days of its receipt.
You have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel if your application is unsuccessful.
If you have any questions in relation to in-year admissions please contact the school office. You may also wish to discuss in-year applications with the local authority.
In-Year Application Form to complete electronically
In-Year Application Form to complete by hand
You may make an in-year application at any time. However, applications will be considered no more than six school weeks in advance of the required start date. Applications for school places received more than six weeks in advance of the required start date will be held until the six-week date is reached. Holidays are not included in the six-week period.
Please read the In-Year Application Notes carefully before you complete the Application Form. You can either print a copy of the Application Form, fill it in by hand and return it to the school, or you can complete it electronically, save the completed version as a new Word document and email it to us as an attachment.
Admission Appeals
If your child is not offered a place at your preferred school you can appeal to an independent panel against the decision.
