Letter of Admissions Consultation

Whitehill Primary School Admission

Arrangements Consultation for Admission Year 2025-26

The above-mentioned school is a school in the DECUS Trust.

As our own admissions authority, we are required under the School Admissions Code 2021 to review our admissions policies annually and to consult on our arrangements from time to time.

The School Admissions Code states the consultation should happen in the following circumstances:

When changes are proposed to admission arrangements, all admission authorities must consult on their admission arrangements (including any supplementary information form) that will apply for admission applications the following school year.
Where the admission arrangements have not changed from the previous year there is no requirement to consult, subject to the requirement that admission authorities must consult on their admission arrangements at least once every 7 years, even if there have been no changes during that period.

We, at Whitehill Primary School are consulting as it has been 7 years since our last consultation.

In addition, the Admissions Authority for Whitehill Primary School is consulting upon a reduction to the PAN admission arrangements for 2025/26. Whitehill Primary School is located in the Gravesham area in the borough of Kent.

Whitehill Primary School is consulting on a proposal to decrease the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the 2025/26 academic year, from the current PAN of 90 pupils to a new PAN of 60 pupils for 2025/26.

The proposed reduction will not affect any child currently on roll at the school.

Whitehill Primary School is currently three form entry, however, for the last five years reception has been undersubscribed on National Offer Day. Subsequently, it is financially not viable for the school to continue to arrange the reception cohort into three classes.

Looking at historic and current admissions data for the school and considering the decline in birth rate seen across Kent and Nationally, it is not financially feasible for the school to have three reception classes moving forward as it is very unlikely that the school will fill to 90. As such, we are seeking a reduction to PAN that will mean that the reception numbers for Whitehill Primary School will reduce from 90 to 60 for September 2025. This change will prevent the additional and building financial burdens being placed on Whitehill that are unsustainable.

Please find a copy of the proposed admission arrangements by clicking HERE.

We would like the views of everyone who feels that they may be affected by this proposed reduction to the Published Admission Number. We are therefore consulting with:

parents of children between the ages of two and eighteen
other persons in the relevant area who in the opinion of the admission authority have an interest in the proposed admissions
all other admission authorities within the relevant area (except that primary schools need not consult secondary schools)
whichever of the governing body and the local authority who are not the admission authority
any adjoining neighbouring local authorities where the admission authority is the local authority

If you wish to comment on the proposed admission changes, please email admin@whitehillprimary.com (FAO Mrs A Carpenter)

The consultation will open on October 23rd 2023 and any comments relating to the proposed changes need to be received by December 1st 2023.

The Local Governing Body will meet soon after the closure of the admissions consultation to consider any comments. If no comments are received, the policy will be considered at the next available meeting of the Local Governing Body and recommended for approval by the DECUS Trust board.

Yours sincerely.

Angela Carpenter

Headteacher