Prospective Parents

Bluecoat Primary Church of England Academy

The Archway Learning Trust (herby referred to as the Trust) in liaison with The Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham, the Department for Education and Nottingham City Local Authority supports Bluecoat Primary Academy.  Bluecoat Primary Academy offers primary education from age 3 – 11.  The Academy is both distinctively Christian and inclusive.  It is clear about its Christian ethos whilst welcoming children of other faiths or no faith.

How to apply:

Admission to Bluecoat Primary Academy is carried out as part of the home authority co-ordinated admission arrangements. The deadline for applications for those children applying for a Reception place starting September 2027 is 15^th January 2027.   In addition to completing the Local Authority School Common Application Form (Online Preference Form), parents / carers should complete a Bluecoat Primary supplementary form available online on the academy website www.bluecoatprimaryacademy.co.uk under the Prospective Parents > How to Apply > Reception Intake September 2027 tab or from the academy office. Failure to complete both may result in your application not being considered under all possible criteria.  Notification of school allocation will be made by the home local authority on National Offer Day. For September 2027 entry, the National Offer day is 16^th April 2027.

For In-year admissions, please contact the Academy on 0115 900 7200 or complete the relevant online In-Year application form available on the academy website www.bluecoatprimaryacademy.co.uk under the Prospective Parents > How To Apply > In-Year Admissions 2026-2027 (Reception – Year 6) tab.

Admission to schools outside the normal year group:

Bluecoat Primary Academy will normally admit children to primary education at the beginning of the school year in which they reach the age of 5. Parents have the right to defer admission until the term in which their children become 5 years of age or start school on a part-time basis for a selected period of time or until the point of reaching statutory school age (statutory school age is the term after the child’s fifth birthday), if you are considering deferring admission or wish to discuss your child starting on a part-time basis for a selected period of time please contact the Academy to discuss the reasons why with the Head teacher.

Bluecoat Primary Academy will consider requests for admission outside the normal year group and take account of the circumstances of each case.  Requests must be made in writing as a supplement to the application and sent to the Archway Learning Trust. All requests to educate a child outside their normal year group must include 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. Parents must consider the impact of a child being educated with children of a different age both within primary school and at transition to secondary school where admissions outside the cohort cannot be guaranteed.

Admission Arrangements:

Bluecoat Primary Academy has a planned admission number of 60 places in Year R (Reception Year).

Consideration of applications:

The Trust will consider all applications for places.  Where fewer applications are received than places available, for the relevant year group the Trust will offer places to all those who have applied.

Children, who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), naming Bluecoat Primary Academy, will be admitted first, followed by looked after and previously looked after children. This will reduce the number of reserved places available for other applicants on a pro rata basis.

Oversubscription criteria:

(see notes on page 4 for definitions)

Oversubscription occurs when the academy receives more applications than places. The academy will apply the following criteria in these circumstances.

After the admission of children with a statutory right to a place at the Academy through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), naming Bluecoat Primary Academy, the criteria will be applied in the order in which they are set out below.

a) ¹Looked after children or children who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including children who were previously in state care outside of England and who ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

b) ²Children of staff, specifically teaching or support staff, full or part-time on the payroll of the Archway Learning Trust working at Bluecoat Primary Academy at the time of admission where:

• the member of staff has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, and/or
• the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

c) Places will be offered to children with a ³sibling on roll at Bluecoat Primary Academy at the time of application and admission.

d) Places will then be offered to children who are involved in the ⁴work and worship of a Church of England Parish or another Christian Church that is a member of Churches Together in England or Evangelical Alliance. In the event of oversubscription within this category, the following criteria will apply:

• i) whether the child or the child’s immediate family is at the heart of a Church;
• ii) whether the child or the child’s immediate family is attached to a Church;

** Please refer to notes on measurement of attendance on page 4.

e) Places will then be offered to children who are involved, and committed to, the ⁴work and worship of one of the other world faiths other than Christianity, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism or Sikhism.  In the event of oversubscription within this category, the following criteria will apply:

• i) whether the child or the child’s immediate family is at the heart of the Faith Community;
• ii) whether the child or the child’s immediate family is attached to the Faith Community.

** Please refer to notes on measurement of attendance on page 4.

f) Remaining places will then be allocated to other children who live the shortest *distance from their home to the main entrance to Bluecoat Primary Academy, Harvey Road, Bilborough, Nottingham, NG8 3BB at the closing date for applications.

In the event of oversubscription within any criterion the following criteria will apply in this order:

• *the nearness of the child’s home to the main entrance of Bluecoat Primary Academy, Harvey Road, Nottingham, NG8 3BB;
• In the event that such a measure is identical to the nearest metre for two or more children and there are insufficient places available for both or all of them, the remaining place/s will be awarded by random allocation using lots drawn by a person independent of the Trust.

*Distance will be measured in a straight line from the centre of the child’s main home to the main entrance, of Bluecoat Primary Academy, Harvey Road, Bilborough, Nottingham, NG8 3BB using the LA’s computerised measuring system. For shared properties e.g. Flats, the centre will be taken from the centre of the building.

In-Year admissions:

Applications for places after the usual entry point (e.g., after Reception Year) should be made directly to the academy. If places are available and there is no waiting list, unless there is prejudice determined an offer will be made to the applicant. If there are more applicants than available places in the relevant year group, the oversubscription criteria will apply. In the event of oversubscription, parents/carers whose application is unsuccessful have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel, and their child’s name will be placed on a waiting list.

Applications can be submitted via the Bluecoat Primary Academy website or by contacting the academy directly. Parents/carers will be notified of the application outcome within 15 school days of submission.

 Waiting list:

In accordance with the Nottingham City Secondary Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme, when the number of applications received during the normal admissions round exceeds the number of available places in Reception year, the Nottingham City Local Authority will maintain a waiting list in conjunction with the Trust from the offer day until the start of the academic year. After that, the Trust will manage the waiting list until 31st December 2027.

Children will automatically be added to the waiting list for a place if they were refused entry and their application was ranked above the primary where they were offered a place. Where the academy was ranked lower than the primary where they were offered a place, Parents/Carers must make a written request to the LA for their child’s name to be added to the waiting list.

For in-year applications, if the Trust receives more applications than available places, a waiting list will be maintained until the end of the term in which the application was received. If places become available in any year, they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

Arrangements for appeals panels:

Where a parent/carer has been refused a place for their child at Bluecoat Primary Academy, they have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. The appeal process will be in accordance with the School Admission Appeals Code published by the Department for Education. The decision of the appeal panel will be made in line with the School Admission Appeals Code and is binding on all parties.

Appeals should be submitted to the Independent Appeals Clerk, c/o Archway Learning Trust, Aspley Lane, Nottingham, NG8 5GY, within 20 school days of the refusal. Information on the timetable for the appeals process is on our website www.bluecoatprimaryacademy.co.uk under Prospective Parents > Appeals.

Notwithstanding these arrangements, the Secretary of State may direct the Trust to admit a named student to the Academy upon application from any Local Authority. Before doing so, the Secretary of State will consult with the Trust.

Late applications:

Late applications received after the closing date of 15^th January 2027 will be dealt with after those made on time. Under exceptional circumstances the local authority may be willing to accept applications which are received late and consider them as on time however, this will be on a case-by-case basis. All other late applications that are received after the Nottingham City Council deadline date will be dealt with after the national offer day.

Infant class size (England) regulations 2012:

Infant classes (those where majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year) must not contain more than 30 students with a single teacher. Additional children can only be admitted under limited exceptional circumstances.  These children will remain an ‘excepted student’ for the time they are in an infant class or until class numbers fall back to the current infant class size limit.

Fair access protocol:

The School Admissions Code requires all local authorities to establish in-year fair access protocols to ensure that access to education is secured quickly for children who have no education place, and to ensure that all schools and academies in an area admit their fair share of vulnerable and challenging children and young people. The code requires that all educational settings and academies must participate in their local authority’s protocol in order to ensure that unplaced children are offered a place at a suitable educational setting as quickly as possible. This includes admitting children above the published admission number to schools and academies that are already full. Bluecoat Primary Academy and the Trust will participate fully in the Nottingham City Council’s fair access protocol.

Notes:

1) Children in Public Care – A looked after or previously looked after child is:
(a) in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions in accordance with section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, at the time of making an application to a school.
(b) or a child who has been *adopted, placed under a **special guardianship order, or subject to a ***child arrangements order after being in care. This also extends to children who are considered to have been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of, or accommodated by, a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other care provider whose primary purpose is to benefit society.
*an adoption order refers to an order under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12, adoption orders), as well as children adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (see section 46, adoption orders).
**Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
***child arrangements orders are defined in Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by Section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.

2) Children of Staff – The term staff child includes:

• • a biological child of staff members;
  • an adopted child of staff members;
  • a stepchild living in the same household as the member of staff, where the staff member’s spouse or civil partner is the child’s parent / legal guardian.

3) Sibling – The term sibling includes:

• • a brother or sister who share the same parents;
  • a half-brother or half-sister, where two children share one common parent, living at the same address;
  • a stepbrother or stepsister, who are related by a parent’s marriage or civil partnership, living at the same address,
  • adopted or fostered children or children living at the same address under the terms of a child arrangements or special guardianship order.

Where applications are received for twins, triplets, or other children of multiple births, if one child from the multiple birth is allocated a place, all children from the same multiple birth will be offered a place. This may result in the Academy admitting above the published admission number.

4) Faith Criteria – All applicants seeking places under criteria c) or f) must provide the name and address of their parish priest, minister, or equivalent religious leader. This person will be contacted to confirm the level of commitment to the church or religious group of the child and/or the child’s *immediate family. The reference will need a signature of a parish priest/religious leader of the Church/Religious Group.

The Trust will only contact the named referee once. Parents/carers should inform the referee to expect the reference, ensuring that the referee receives, completes, and returns the form to the Trust within the specified timeline for consideration under the above criteria.

• • i) An applicant ‘at the heart of the church / religious group’ Refers to a frequent worshipper (e.g., someone who attends worship twice a month or more).
  • ii) An applicant ‘attached to the church / religious group’ This refers to a regular but less frequent worshipper, such as someone attending services monthly or participating in weekday activities with an element of worship.

While the examples given maybe typical of a worshiper of the Church of England or other Christian denominations, it also acknowledges that the worship patterns may differ for members of other faiths. In these cases, guidance from the Religious Leader of the specific faith should be considered to determine what qualifies as frequent and regular worship for that faith. To accommodate challenging work and family schedules, week-day worship should also be considered.
* Immediate Family – refers to the worshipper as one or both parent(s), carer(s) or legal guardian(s).

Supplement Application Form for entry into Reception Bluecoat Primary Academy

Closing date for receipt of supplementary application form – 15^th January 2027

Guidance Information

1. Only complete this form if you are applying for a place at Bluecoat Primary Academy;
2. You MUST complete the school common application (SCAF) form as well as this form;
3. Please complete the form in block capitals in blue or black ink;
4. Notes of guidance to help you complete this form are in italics. They should be read together with the Bluecoat Primary Academy Admission Arrangements 2027/28 and the supplementary privacy notice. Both documents are available on the academy website bluecoatprimaryacademy.co.uk, alternatively paper copies can be collected from the academy.
5. Please return this form to Bluecoat Primary Academy F.A.O Admissions by the closing date of 15^th January 2027.
6. You should expect to receive an acknowledgment email confirming receipt of the supplementary form within 10 school days, if you do not receive this you are advised to contact the academy.

SECTION A – CHILD’S DETAILS

SECTION B – PARENT/CARER DETAILS
Please provided details of a person with parental responsibility who can be contacted regarding the application.

SECTION C – FAITH COMMITMENT
Complete this section if you are applying on the basis of your religious commitment. If the academy is oversubscribed in this category, then evidence of Christian / Other World Faith commitment and practices will be used to determine the allocation of places. If a further tie-breaker criterion is required, we will use the additional criteria outlined in the academy admissions arrangements 2027/28.

Please give the full name and address of the Church/Religious Group to which you/your child belongs.

Please give the name and contact details of your parish priest, minister or equivalent religious leader who will be contacted to confirm the level of your child’s/your commitment to your church or religious group. The reference will need a signature of a parish priest/religious leader of the Church/Religious Group.

What is the level of your/your child’s commitment to your Church/Religious Group?
Please see guidance set out below the statements

Applicants for a faith place are asked to identify themselves as being; at the heart of the church / religious group or attached to the church / religious group. The period in question should be the past two years. Applicants new to the area should provide evidence from a previous church / place of worship. Please see the notes on Page 4 of the Admission Arrangements
2027/28 for a fuller description of the descriptors below.

• An applicant ‘at the heart of the church / religious group’ would be a regular worshipper. This means one who worships usually at least twice a month.
•  An applicant ‘attached to the church / religious group’ may be a regular, but not frequent worshipper, for example one who usually attends a monthly family or religious occasion service or is regularly involved in a weekday religious activity including an element of worship.

Please note: The academy will only send a reference request to the named referee once. It is advised that parents communicate with the named referee to ensure they have received and returned the reference to the academy, as this will affect the outcome of your application.

SECTION D – STAFF CHILD
If you or your spouse/civil partner are a member of staff at Bluecoat Primary Academy and a parent/carer of the applicant (as defined in the admission arrangements) please provide the name of the child’s parent/carer who is a member of staff at Bluecoat Primary Academy and their employment start date:

SECTION E – PARENT/CARER DECLARATION
To be completed by those with legal parental responsibility.

I/We apply for a place at Bluecoat Primary Academy for the child named overleaf in accordance with the information and conditions of admission published by the Archway Learning Trust.

Privacy Notice:
Archway Learning Trust will process the information on this form using Applicaa, a secure third-party admissions management system, to manage your application and faith references. We process general data under Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR (public interest). Special category data, such as religious belief, is processed under Article 9(2)(g) (substantial public interest) and Article 9(2)(a) (explicit consent given by your signature). Your data will only be shared with those involved in the admissions process and handled securely. For more details, please see our Privacy Notice at: https://bluecoatprimaryacademy.co.uk/prospective-parents/admissions-2/ 

How to Respond

Comments can be submitted in the following ways:

Online Consultation Form: Archway Learning Trust – Admission Arrangements Consultation 2027/28 – Online form

Email: admissions@archwaytrust.co.uk

Post: Admissions Services Lead, Archway Learning Trust, Aspley Lane, Nottingham, NG8 5GY

Please clearly state on your response that it relates to Bluecoat Primary Academy. All responses must be received by 5:00pm on 20 January 2026.