If you are considering moving your child to Isleham from another school, have just moved to Isleham village or surrounding area, or even if you have been posted to one of the military personnel bases nearby, you are really welcome to come and look around our lovely school to help you decide if you would like your child to join us.
You don't have to be living in the village to apply, although obviously it makes sense to only look around this school or any other if you can easily transport your child to and from the school each week day from your home (and obviously. In cases where a particular year group is oversubscribed, priority would be given to those living nearest to the school, and those with siblings already in the school.)
Each year, the majority of new starters join the school for a September start, but if you would like your children to start at some other point in the year, this is also fine.
Simply submit your application online via the following link or in paper form (naming Isleham C of E Primary School as your first choice of school).
As long as we have space for your child in the appropriate year group, a place will be allocated to your child. You will find a link on the admissions website indicating the current number of spaces at Isleham School in each year group.
Please note however that the admissions team can take up to 20 days to process each application, so it is worth applying as soon as you can (e.g. as soon as you sign a lease on a rental property or exchange contracts on a local house) to avoid your child missing any days of school.
Placements are made by the Local Education Authority, not by the school. Parents have a right to appeal against the decision of the LA and the details of this procedure are set out in the Admissions Booklet.
http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions
We follow the Cambridgeshire County Council guidance for school admissions, and all admissions to the school are overseen by the admissions team. In the event of the school being oversubscribed in any particular year group, an appeal can be made to the Admissions team for a place in the preferred school. In the event that a placement is not possible, the Council reserve the right to offer a school place in the nearest geographical school with spaces available.
Reception class places
Children join our school Reception class the September after their fourth birthday. If you have a child who is due to start Reception class in September 2025, your child will be born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021. You will need to apply for a school place as transfer from local Nurseries & Pre-schools is not automatic.
Applications for a September 2025 start should have been made by January 2025. However, if you are not yet resident in the area, you may need to make a late admission for Reception class for your child... As long as we are not oversubscribed for that year group with children who have already applied for places by the January deadline, your child may still be allocated a place.
Please contact the Admissions team or the school office if you have any queries.
Parents who applied for a Reception place by January will hear back from the Admissions team about whether their child has been allocated a place by the middle of April by email or letter (according to your stated preferred method of communication when applying).
What if my child is new to the UK school system?
At Isleham, we have a good number of pupils whose parents are military personnel in either the American or British Forces. Obviously, this means that some children may be returning to the UK education system from abroad or have never been to school in the UK.
Once your child starts at school, your child's new teacher will quickly assess where your child is working in comparison to age-related expectations in the UK.
It is worth sharing with the class teacher any work or reports from your child's previous school so that he/she has a full picture of your child's talents and areas for development. If your child has previously needed additional support in school or has any additional mobility or medical needs, it is worth sharing any information or prior individual education plans with the new school so that staff can quickly ascertain how the curriculum may best be adapted for your child.
If your child initially finds the work very different- too easy or too hard- please ensure you meet regularly with the teachers to let them know this, and support can be offered with additional practice or extension work at home.
At Isleham, we assign each new child with a buddy to help them settle into our school- someone to show them where everything is and to help your child quickly settle into school life with us.
We look forward to meeting you soon and showing you our school.
Oversubscription criteria
When a school receives more applications than there are places available (published admissions number, or PAN), the oversubscription criteria is used.
Every school has an oversubscription criteria and it dictates the order in which places are allocated.
At Isleham C of E Primary School, our oversubscription criteria is listed below:-
No changes have been proposed to our admission criteria or PAN for 2022 or 2023. The PAN is suggested to remain at 30, and places are allocated according to the following criteria:-
1. Children in Care, also known as Looked After Children and children who were looked after but ceased to be so by reason of adoption, a resident order or special guardianship order
2. Children living in the catchment area with a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
3. Children living in the catchment area.
4. Children living outside the catchment area who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
5. Children living outside the catchment area who have been unable to gain a place at their catchment area school because of oversubscription.
6. Children who live outside the catchment area, but nearest the school as measured by a straight line.
In cases of equal merit in each set of criteria, priority will go to children living nearest the school as measured by a straight line.