All children start school (Year Reception) in the September before their fifth birthday. 

In the June or July, prior to your child starting, a meeting will be held for parents. At this meeting parents will have an opportunity to meet the Early Years staff and learn more about what to expect for their child starting school. Home visits will also be arranged.

We are always happy to meet parents who may be thinking about joining The Downs Primary School. Please contact the school office to arrange an appointment to meet the Headteacher, Mr Calderwood (or a Senior Leader) and have a chance to look around the school. 

(Children starting at the beginning of the new school year in Reception class.)

Parents must complete an Application Form online via the Planning and Admissions at Essex County Council website by the published closing date, which varies from year to year. The Trust will rank places and Planning and Admissions will allocate places. The The Downs we can admit 60 children in each academic year.

Young children can find a full day very tiring at first. For this reason, we believe that it can be of great benefit that new reception children, starting school for the first time, have a gradual introduction for the first two or three days before attending school for a full day.

No child is guaranteed a place at the school. In the event of the school being over subscribed, places are allocated using our Admissions Policy. Please see the policy for the criteria.

The following criteria are used in the order shown:

1. Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children
2. Children with a sibling attending the school at the time of application
3. Children who attend the nursery at The Downs Primary School and Nursery;
4. Children of a permanent member of staff who has been employed to work at The Downs Primary School for two years or more at the time of application
5. Children living in the priority admission area
6. Remaining applications.

Looked After Children

 A ‘looked after child’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements or special guardianship order will be given first priority in over subscription criteria ahead of all other applicants in accordance with the School Admissions Code 2021. This also includes those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (as defined in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). 

Siblings

For mid-year applications a sibling is a child who has a brother, sister, adopted brother or sister or stepbrother or stepsister living in the same family unit in the same family household and address as a child who attends or has been offered a place at the preferred school or partner school at the time of application and determination and with a reasonable expectation that the sibling will be attending at the time of admission

You can view a copy of our full Admissions Policy in the Policies section of this website.

If your child is already at primary school and you wish to transfer him/her to The Downs Primary School and Nursery, you should complete our Mid-Year Primary School Application Form and additional information form, these can be found on our website. Parents requesting admission to The Downs Primary School and Nursery are encouraged to visit the school and meet the Headteacher prior to application. 

Once you have completed the forms and sent it to admissions@downs.essex.sch.uk, we will email you and Essex County Council within 10 - 15 school days to notify you of the outcome. As we can only admit 60 pupils per year group, if your application is successful, we ask that you notify us within 10 working days of receiving the emailed letter if you wish to accept the place. This will allow us to offer places to other families applying or to those on our waiting list.

After you have accepted the place, the school will contact you to organise a visit and a meeting with a relevant member of school staff. At this meeting a start date is organised, further information will be collected by the school and induction arrangements will be clarified.

Children with specific educational needs may have a delayed start to ensure that the right support is in place.

New Arrivals: Parents of children who have just arrived in England and are requesting admission to our school are expected to visit the school and meet the Headteacher. If necessary the family are encouraged to bring a friend or relative, able to act as an interpreter at this meeting.

All EAL pupils: If English is not the first language spoken at home children may need some extra support settling into our school. Although it is very important for EAL pupils to work alongside native English speakers to help their growing knowledge and understanding of the language, EAL pupils may also have time and intervention with a relevant staff member.