If you are thinking of moving your child from their current school  ,we currently have limited space for some year groups, including for Reception.  Please complete an in year admission form (click here) and send to Mrs Cox at office@ladyj.kent.sch.uk or telephone 01233 812781  or use the contact form below to book a tour.

The information contained on this page should be read in conjuction with the KCC Admissions policy.

Online applications for a reception school place for September 2024 open in November 2023 and close in January 2024.  Alternatively you can submit a paper application by visiting the KCC primary admissions website and downloading a form. 

If you miss the deadline, you can submit a late application up until 1st May 2024,  although you will only receive a school place offer in the second round of offers.

If you applied online KCC will email you on Tuesday 16th April 2024, after 4pm, to tell you which school you have been offered. They cannot guarantee the exact time you will receive your email, this will depend on your email service provider. 

You can also log in after 5pm on offers day to view your offer online.  

If you receive an offer of a place at our school, please be aware that you must send back your form to us to accept or refuse the place by no later than 1st May 2024.  If you are accepting your place, we will also require you to bring in the ID required on the acceptance form and also your child's birth certificate.

If you have applied to our school but have not received a place in the first round of offers you can apply to be placed on the waiting list for the second reallocation round of offers.  The deadline for applications for the waiting list is Tuesday 30th April 2024.

The second round offers will be sent out on Thursday 23rd May 2024, after which time we, as a school, will be responsible for our waiting list.  Any applications after this date must be made by completing a Primary In Year Admission Form (IYAF) and returning it to the school as soon as possible. 

If you applied by post KCC will send your offer by first class post on Tuesday 16th April 2024.

Click on the links below to be redirected to the kent.gov.uk website.

• KCC Primary Admissions Website
• KCC In Year Information
• KCC online admissions form.

Deferred Entry Admissions for Summer Born Children

Starting School

Children reach compulsory school age at the beginning of term after their fifth birthday. The children due to be admitted in any academic year are those born between 1st September and the following 31st August. Each school decides as a matter of policy when to admit four year old. In coming to a decision the Headteacher has to take account of the number of teachers, class sizes and the accommodation at the school.

Admissions Policy

In line with Kent County Council’s commitment to open enrollment, Lady Joanna Thornhill will do its best to provide a place for a child at the school, but this may not always be possible. The capacity of the accommodation or other constraints at our school may mean that parental preference cannot be met.

Admission may have to be refused, for example, if it would lead to oversized classes now or later, or it would prevent resources from being used efficiently. In some years we have not been able to accept all applicants to the school.

The LEA has to plan the number of children admitted to each school very carefully to make sure that no school is overcrowded. For this reason Lady Joanna Thornhill intends to admit a maximum of 60 children into Reception for the new academic year. (There is no set allocation of places for admissions of children entering school other than in Reception).

If the number of preferences for our school is less than this figure, there is usually no problem in meeting parents’ wishes. However, there may be occasions where so many parents want places that difficult decisions have to be made.

When this happens, places at County schools are allocated by the LEA (or Headteacher acting on its behalf) taking account of the following priority order:

• Children in care of the Kent County Council;
• Current Family association (a brother or sister in the same school at the time of entry where the family continue to live at the same address as when the sibling was admitted – if they have moved – live within 2 miles of the school – or have moved to a new property that is nearer to the school than the previous property);
• Health reasons (children who for reasons of health or physical impairment need to attend a particular school);
• Nearness of children’s homes to school

Changing Schools in Year

If you want to transfer your child from one primary school to another, other than at the normal transfer age (for example because you are moving home), you should contact the school, it would also be helpful if you could inform the Headteacher of your child’s present school. The transfer of a child to another school on educational grounds can be considered at any time.  If you wish to apply for a place at our school for your child in year, you would need to complete the IYAF (In Year Admission Form) and return to the school.  We will then write to you and advise if we have a space available, and if not we will offer you the opportunity to join our waiting list.  Applications will be dealt with upon receipt and in any event, by 31st August at the latest each year.

Appeals Against Admission Decisions

Parents who are unhappy with an admission decision at a particular County school can appeal in writing to the Education Office at (Appeal a school offer - Kent County Council). If you are not satisfied with this decision, the case can be referred to members of the Education & Libraries committee. There is a final stage of appeal to an Independent Statutory Appeal Committee, although if the admission of the child would breach Infant class Size Limit, this appeal can only be upheld where parents demonstrated the Authority has acted unreasonably or erroneously in refusing their child a place.

How to apply…

Applications for Reception places are completed online through the Kent County Council Website – KCC Admissions. Please note that there are set deadlines and special forms for children entering Reception. Information is usually available in the December before your child is due to start school, with deadlines for application usually in January before your child is due to start school.

In Year Applications need to complete the IYAF form – IYAF FORM – and return it to the school either by post or email.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan do not apply to schools for a place through the main round admissions process.
Any application received for a child with an EHCP will be referred directly to Kent County Council’s Special Educational Needs Services (SEN), who must have regard to Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996 " the LA must name the maintained school that is preferred by parents providing that:
• the school is suitable for the child's age, ability and aptitude and the special educational needs
• the child's attendance is not incompatible with the efficient education of other children in the school, and
• the placement is an efficient use of the LA's resources"
Where a pupil is resident in another Local Authority, the home Authority must again comply with Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996 which states:
"A local education authority shall, before specifying the name of any maintained school in a statement, consult the governing body of the school, and if the school is maintained by another local education authority, that authority."
Other Authorities looking for Kent school places for EHCP pupils will need to contact Kent County Council’s SEN team in addition to the relevant school.

Children in Local Authority Care (CiC) and Children Adopted from Care
When applications are made for young people in the care of other Local Authorities or who ceased to be so because they were adopted, Kent County Council - as receiving authority - will confirm an offer of a school place with the placing authority. Where an in-year application is received from the corporate parent of a child in Local Authority Care or who ceased to be so because they were adopted, Kent Admissions team will expect that in line with Statutory Guidance *, arrangements for appropriate education will have been made as part of the overall care planning, unless the placement has been made in an emergency. Where the placement has been made in an emergency, and this is not the case, Kent, as the receiving authority, will refer the matter to a school identified by the placing authority, to establish if an offer of a place can be provided. If the school is at capacity or the school provision is not considered appropriate, Kent County Council will advise the home authority

of the schools position and where possible identify alternative education provision that may be more suitable to meet the child’s needs. It will be for the corporate parent to determine whether it wishes to challenge the school’s or the LA’s position or identify an alternative education setting more suited to meeting the child’s needs.
Where Kent County Council is the corporate parent of the child in question, an appropriately appointed social worker will liaise in the first instance with Admission Placement
Officers and other professionals as necessary, in order to agree the school or setting that would best meet the individual needs of the child (most appropriate provision for the child). Kent County Council will then allocate a place (where it is the admission authority for the school) or contact the school directly and seek a place where it is not. Where a school refuses to admit the child Kent County Council as corporate parent will decide whether to initiate proceedings required to either direct or instruct the school in question or consider if other education provision may be in the best interest of the child.