Information about joining our Nursery

We offer nursery provision to pre-school children.  Children are welcome to join us from the term after they turn 3 years old  -  there are three intakes during the year, in the Autumn, Spring and Summer Terms.  For more details regarding our nursery provision, please take a look here. 

If you would like to enquire about our nursery provision, please contact our administrative team on 01743 343812 or email admin@woodfield.shropshire.sch.uk and we will be happy to help.

Information about Joining our School 

Applications to start school at the beginning of the Reception year need to be made to the Local Authority. Please see further information below.

For applications to school midway through the Reception year or into a Y1 or Y2 class, please contact our admin team by emailing admin@woodfield.shropshire.sch.uk or by telephoning 01743 343812.

Information for children joining us in September 2024 

If your child is joining us in September 2024, please take a look here

Applying for a Place at Woodfield Infant School                                                   

This is a brief guide on how to apply for a place at Woodfield. Should you have any questions, or if you would like help making an application, please contact us in school and we will be only too happy to help you. We understand that choosing the right school is an important job and can feel rather daunting. However, we are keen to help you with this in whatever way we can. We recommend that you come and visit us here at Woodfield so that you can get a feel for the school and discover everything we have to offer. During your visit, you will be able to have a look round all areas of the school, speak to the headteacher or the deputy headteacher, visit classes, ask any questions and talk through any concerns about starting or moving school that you may have. We can also give you more information about the application process. If you would like to come and visit us at Woodfield, please get in touch with us on 01743 343812 or email admin@woodfield.shropshire.sch.uk - we look forward to meeting you!

Admission Procedures

Woodfield Infant School can take 90 children in each year before parents need to go to appeal through the Local Authority. As an academy Woodfield is its own admissions authority. However, the criteria set out in Shropshire Council’s admissions policy are followed when places are allocated in our school. 

Applying for Places at the Start of Reception

Applications for children to start school at the beginning of Reception are dealt with by Shropshire Council. Applications can be made online through Shropshire Council's website: 

https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/school-admissions/starting-or-transferring-school/starting-infant-or-primary-school/ 

When places have been allocated, you will be able to log on to Shropshire Council's website to find out about your child's school place. 

Induction Sessions in Reception

When places at Woodfield have been allocated, we contact parents to explain what happens next.   

One of the first thing that happens is that Miss Smith, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Leader, will make contact with nurseries and preschools. This early contact is important as it provides us with as much information as possible about all of the children that will be joining us and it also helps us to allocate the children in their new classes.

Once the children have been allocated to their classes, we contact parents again to introduce them to their child’s new class teacher and their teaching assistant.

Before starting school full time in September, we have various induction activities for parents and children to take part in. These include an information session for parents to provide key information about your child starting school, a half day session with your child in school and a half day session for your child on their own. 

The information session generally takes place on in late June. This meeting is for parents only.

The half day sessions in school take place over 2 days in September. Once we have allocated your child to a class, we will split the class in half so that they will attend either a morning or an afternoon session on the first day with parents/carers and also a morning or an afternoon session on the second day on their own.

Your child will then begin school full time.

When your child has started at Woodfield, in the first few weeks we host another information evening to tell you about teaching and learning in the EYFS in more detail. This session is led by our EYFS teachers and gives you chance to find out more about what children learn in this crucial first year in school. 

Changing School

Applications for children to start at Woodfield Infant School at any other time than the beginning of Reception are dealt with by us here in school. If your child is currently at another school and you would like to apply for a place at Woodfield Infant School, you will need to complete a ‘Mid Term/In Year Application Form’ and send it directly to us here at Woodfield (you can find this form below). We will then inform you of whether we have a place in your chosen year group, and talk to you about what happens next.

We understand that changing school is an important time for both children and parents and we do our utmost to ensure a smooth transition to Woodfield Infant School. We are experienced at helping children to settle in to our school and find that children make new friends very quickly when they join us and soon find themselves valued members of our school community. 

How are Places Allocated?

The following information is taken from the ‘Parents’ Guide to Education in Shropshire’ and gives further information about how places at Woodfield are allocated.

Oversubscription Criteria

If more than 90 applications are received in a given year group, the following criteria are used by Shropshire Council to allocate places in the school:

Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or EHCP, which names a particular school, will be allocated places, after which places are allocated according to an agreed set of criteria, in strict order of priority.

Priority 1: Looked After Children

Children in Public Care, usually referred to as “Looked After Children” and children who were "Looked After" but ceased to be so because they were adopted.

Priority 2: Children living within the defined Catchment Area*

Children living inside the catchment area will have second priority. If there are not enough places for all the children living in the catchment area, we will look at the following two criteria:

1. Priority will be given to children living within the catchment area who will have an older sibling** at the school on the day they are due to start there.
2. After that, priority will be given to those who live inside the catchment area.

Priority 3: Children living outside the defined Catchment Area

After that, any places that are left will be offered to children who live outside the catchment area. If there are not enough places for all of them, we will look at the following two criteria:

1. Priority will be given to children outside the catchment area who will have an older sibling** at the school on the day they are due to start there.
2. B After that, priority will be given to any other children who live outside the catchment area.

If, in any of the above categories, there are more applications than places available, priority will be given on the basis of distance from home to school measured as a straight line on a computerised mapping system, the shortest distance being given priority.

* In the oversubscription criteria we talk about “living in a school’s catchment area”. We define this as follows: A child will be treated as living in the catchment area if he/she resides with his/her parent(s)/or carer(s) at his/her normal and genuine place of residence for the majority of the time and that address lies within the area designated by the Local Authority for that particular school.

** We define a sibling connection as follows: A sibling connection is defined as a brother or sister, step-brother or stepsister, half-brother or half-sister, living at the same address as part of the same family unit of compulsory school age (i.e. 5-16 years). Adopted siblings are also included. However, cousins or other relatives who take up residence in a home in order to establish an “in catchment area” address will not be given priority under the sibling criteria. Older siblings must be attending the school on the date that the younger sibling is due to start there.

In the event that two applications are exactly the same after all other criteria have been taken into account a tie breaker will be used.  This will be by random allocation and overseen by an independent party not connected with the admissions process.

If unsuccessful on allocation day, Shropshire Council will offer a review when the waiting list will be formed from those parents who advise the Admissions Team that they wish to pursue a place at the school.  At the end of the review period, parents who have still not been successful in securing a place have the right to appeal against the decision.  Parents may remain on the waiting list from the review period onwards.

For the first term of Reception year, Shropshire Council will continue to maintain a waiting list for unsuccessful applicants.  If any vacancies arise, places will be offered to applicants on the waiting list in strict accordance with normal published oversubscription criteria. 

Mid-term or In-Year applications

Mid-term applications will be dealt with using the same admissions criteria given above.  If there is a space in the relevant year group a place will be granted.  If a place cannot be offered, parents will receive a formal letter and information on how to appeal against the decision from Shropshire Council Admissions Team. 

Other than the first term of Reception year, the school will maintain a waiting list for unsuccessful applicants.  If any vacancies arise, places will be offered to applicants included on the waiting list in strict accordance with normal published oversubscription criteria.  If a place can be offered the applicant will be expected to take up the place within 6 school weeks or by the start of the next half term, whichever is the earliest date, with the exception of Reception children who have deferred entry until later in the same academic year.  If an offer of a place is refused, the name will be removed from the waiting list.  At the end of the first term of the academic year of admission, the waiting list will transfer from Shropshire Council to the school. 

Allocation of places for children moving into Shropshire Council’s designated catchment area can only be considered when formal confirmation (signed tenancy agreement when no property is owned, or exchange of contracts ) of the address has been received.

All applicants are required to give correct information about the genuine residential address of the child.  Where any information regarding a home address is found to be fraudulent or misleading a school place may be withdrawn even if the child has been admitted to the school.