Fishburn Primary School

Fishburn Primary School
Small But Mighty!

School Admissions

Admissions Policies

Admissions 2025-26

Pre – school and Nursery Admissions:

 We have recently made provision available on our site to enable us to take children from 2 years old. Our 2 year old provision is known as ‘Pre-school’. Our Pre-school and Nursery form part of our EYFS unit along with our Reception children. For admission to our Pre-school or Nursery please call the school office who will be happy to help.

Reception Admissions:
To ensure that children receive the offer of a school place, parents must complete an application form, known as the Common Application Form and return it to the School Admission Section at County Hall. These forms are available from the School Office. Any child attending our Nursery will automatically receive a form at the correct time of year.

Joining the school at non-routine times:
Sometimes children join the school when the term has started or later on in their school life. We make every effort to ensure they are welcomed, looked after and monitored so they quickly make friends and can find their way around school. Teachers give children time to settle in before making assessments of their academic abilities. This assessment, together with records from the previous school, will enable your child to have the best possible start.

Moving on-transfer to secondary school:
At the end of their primary school career children transfer to a local secondary school. A large majority of our children transfer to Sedgefield Community College, a mixed comprehensive (11-16). Our school has particularly close links with Sedgefield Community College: each Year 6 pupil has the opportunity to visit the school and work with the teachers while meeting new friends and becoming accustomed to their new surroundings. This is a very positive process in ensuring a smooth transfer.

The admissions policy is that of Durham County Council.

If more children want a place than there are places available, we will offer places according to the following criteria, strictly in order of priority:

i. Children who are ‘looked after’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, residence or special guardianship order.

A looked after child is a child who is, at the time of making an application to a school, (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 (see the definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989).

ii. Medical Reasons

Pupils with very exceptional medical factors directly related to school placement.

iii. Sibling Links

Pupils who have a sibling already attending the school and who is expected to be on roll at the school at the time of admission.

iv. Distance

Pupils who live nearest the preferred school measured by the shortest walking route. This will be based on the parents’ address. Where the last place to be allocated would mean that a multiple birth sibling group i.e. twins, triplets or other multiple birth sibling groups, would be split, the sibling group will be given priority over other children.

Visit the Durham County Council website for information regarding the school admission process and primary school admissions. To appeal against an admission decision visit: School admissions-appeals.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Children with an EHCP.

At Fishburn Primary School we are aware that some pupils will experience special needs at some stage of their school life. In co-operation with the Head Teacher, the Governing Body determines the school’s policy and approach for special needs provision. Within special educational needs, attention is given to the more able children as well as those experiencing difficulties.

A member of the governing body has been appointed governor with special responsibility for SEND. The day-to-day management is delegated to the SENCO, Miss Ferguson, who is the main point of contact and always willing to meet the parents of those pupils with special needs. She can be contacted through the School Office.

We welcome all children in the community. We ensure that all children have the same opportunity to fulfil their potential and to participate in all areas of school life including access to the National Curriculum. The school continues to take its duties to children with SEND and disabilities very seriously and will take all reasonable steps to admit children with SEND and give them the fullest possible access to premises and the curriculum.

 Our school supports children with SEND including those with an EHCP in a number of ways by:

  • employing additional support staff to help children with SEND;

  • screening each class to identify children with SEND and reviewing their needs and programmes of learning .

  • setting targets and discussing them with the SENCO so that individual progress is monitored;

  • providing specialist resources where possible and appropriate;

  • bringing in specialist support from the Local Authority and from Special Schools for individual children as appropriate;

  • involving other agencies such as health services and voluntary organisations as appropriate;

  • the use of the Speech and Language Service;

  • involving parents of children identified as having SEND as much as possible including inviting them to attend regular reviews;

  • providing in-service training for school staff to ensure good support for pupils with SEND;

  • using the Behaviour Improvement Policy to support and encourage good behaviour in school;

  • ensuring the designated governor for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has regular contact with the teacher responsible for co-ordinating SEND provision at the school and thereby ensuring the monitoring and evaluation processes that are undertaken take place on an annual basis.

We are committed to meeting the needs of all children including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We would ask parents to discuss the identified needs with the school prior to starting so that appropriate intervention and support can be planned and implemented. Advice from the LA or other agencies may be requested to ensure any the school can meet any needs appropriately.