Admissions
We look forward to welcoming your child to our school.
Thank you for considering our school for your child.
To find out more about the admissions process, our criteria for admission and how to apply for a place at our school, please follow the link below.
You will also find copies of our nursery application, in-year application and the school’s supplementary forms.
Admissions and Enrolment
Dear Parent/Carer,
We are delighted that you are considering to enroll your child here at Eltham Church of England Primary School. You can download our school prospectus by clicking here
Admissions for Reception class are made through Royal Borough of Greenwich. Applications can be made via this LINK. In-Year applications are made directly with the school via the school office.
In order that your application is processed in accordance with our admission criteria, please note carefully the criteria by which you are planning to apply, and ensure that you have completed the necessary forms to ensure that your application can be considered under that criteria. Supplementary Information Forms for those families who are wishing to apply under faith must be returned to the school office.
We have published below the admission criteria and you are able to download a copy of the Admissions Policy, a Supplementary Information Form (to be completed if you are wishing to apply under the faith criteria) and In-year Admission Form for your convenience.
Appeal Dates & Information
If you have not been offered a place at Eltham Church School, the law entitles you to appeal against that decision to an Independent Appeal Panel. The panel is completely independent of the school and the Local Authority. All appeals will be heard online, which has the advantage that your appeal can be heard from your home or place of work.
If you wish to appeal for a place in Reception, year 1 or year 2, please use this link to complete your appeal online.
If you wish to appeal for a place in years 3 – 6 please use this link to complete your appeal online
Please do NOT use ANY other appeal form or send your form to your local authority. It is suggested that you download the explanatory booklet about appeals which you should read before you complete the appeal form. Those applying for a place in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are advised to read the section in the appeal’s booklet which refer to Reception, years 1 and 2.
If you are appealing for a place in years RECEPTION, year 1 or year 2, you are advised to read the section in the booklet which refers to appeals for these years.
You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form and you MUST give the grounds for your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal form. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you state the grounds for your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school.
Please note that the online form will ask you to download two utility bills dated in the last THREE months. If you do not have access to a scanner, please take two photographs with a mobile phone and upload the photographic files.
Full details about the hearing will be sent to you with your invitation to the hearing.
If you wish to contact the clerk – email : clerk@educationappeals.com
The timetable for appeals is as follows: –
| Last day for lodging appeal forms for a place in RECEPTION to start in September 2026 | 12 noon on Wednesday 20th May 2026 to guarantee that your appeal will be heard in the first tranche of appeals. Appeals lodged later may not be heard until the second tranche which could be in September 2026. You MUST state the reasons for your appeal and supply any documentary evidence at this stage. |
| The stage 1 part of the hearing (with other parents present) will take place on | Friday 26th of June 2026, time to be advised on letter of invitation. |
| Part 2, the individual private hearings will take place on | Friday 26th of June 2026, time to be advised on letter of invitation. |
| Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel | At least 10 school days before the stage 1 hearing. |
| Any additional supporting evidence | Friday 19th June 2026 @12PM You are advised that additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account. Please e mail any ADDITIONAL paperwork to clerk@educationappeals.com before the deadline. |
| Letter from the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel | Due to the high number of appeals held at this time, this may not be sent until up to 15 school days after the last hearing for the school. |
Timetable for appeals for mid-term applications is as follows:
| Last day for lodging appeal forms following a refusal for a place an ‘in year’ or ‘mid-term’ | You must lodge the appeal form within 20 school days upon receipt of your letter of refusal. You MUST state the reasons for your appeal and supply documentary evidence at this stage. Appeals are held within 30 school days of receipt of the appeal form. |
In Year Admission Appeals
You will receive the outcome of your application via email or letter within 10 school days of receipt of your application. If it is not possible to offer your child a place at the time of your application, your child will be added to the waiting list. We will then contact you should a place become available at the school. Places are given in accordance with the oversubscription criteria for the current year as set out below. Waiting lists are held for one academic year. We will contact you at the end of any academic year to confirm if you would like to remain on the waiting list for the next academic year. You can find more information about our in-year admissions process here.
Admissions policies, Application Forms as well as Supplementary Information Forms are available in paper form from the school. Please visit the school between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday to collect these.
Please note that the school will also ask to see your child’s birth certificate and a proof of address before your child can be offered a place.
In Year Admissions
Eltham Church of England Primary School is a two form entry school which means that it admits 60 children into Reception each year. For in-year admissions the Governing Body is required to abide by the maximum limits for infant classes [5, 6 and 7 year olds], ie, 30 pupils per class.
To apply for a place for your child from Years 1-6 or in-year for reception, please complete an admission Form that can be downloaded via the link below, or collected in paper form from the school office. Please email your application form to sao1@elthamce.greenwich.sch.uk or post to Admissions, Eltham CE School, Roper Street, London SE9 1TR or hand deliver to the school.
Eltham Church of England Primary School also operates a 26 place Full Time Equivalent nursery. The criteria for admission is below.
Admission to Nursery: September 2026
- Looked after children or previously looked after children (see note 1).
- Children with an exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at this school (see note 2).
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers at St John the Baptist Church, Eltham.
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers at another Anglican church and reside within the Deanery of Eltham and Mottingham (see note 2).
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers of another Christian denomination as recognised by the Churches Together in England or Evangelical Alliance and reside within the Deanery of Eltham and Mottingham (see note 4).
- Any remaining places will be given in order of nearness to the school (see note 5).
Please note: A place in the nursery class does not guarantee a place in the Reception class. All parents must follow primary admission procedures for admission to the Reception class.
Admission to Reception: September 2026
Special educational needs
Parent(s)/carer(s) of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs, or Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan are required to apply for school places separately through the local authority from whom advice is available. If a child with a statement, or EHC Plan, is placed in the school by the local authority before the normal admission round, the number of places available to other applicants will be reduced. The Governors will admit all those pupils whose statement, or EHC Plan, names the School.
Oversubscription Criteria
- Looked after children or previously looked after children (see note 1)
- Children with an exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at this school (see note 2).
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers at St John the Baptist Church, Eltham.
- Children with a sibling (brother/s or sister/s, step siblings and half siblings, fostered or adopted siblings living at the same address) attending the main school at the time of the child’s admission. (Sibling priority will not be granted where the child in attendance at the school is in the Nursery class).
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers at another Anglican church and reside within the Deanery of Eltham and Mottingham (see note 4).
- Children who, with a parent/carer, are faithful and regular (see note 3) worshippers of another Christian denomination as recognised by the Churches Together in England or Evangelical Alliance and reside within the Deanery of Eltham and Mottingham (see note 4).
- Any remaining places will be given in order of nearness to the school (see note 5).
Notes:
Note 1: Looked after children or previously looked after children: 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 (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to the school. A previously looked after child is a child who immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order including those 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. An adoption order is an order under the Adoption Act 1976 (see Section 12 adoption orders ) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (see Section 46 adoption orders). A ‘child arrangements order’ is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 as amended by Section 14 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians). The Governors will require written confirmation that the child is looked after, or previously looked after, and will be so at the time of making an application to the school.
Note 2: Medical/social needs: Children with an exceptional and professionally supported medical or social need for a place at this school. This must be supported by written evidence at the time of application, e.g., from a specialist health professional, social worker or other care professional. The evidence must set out the reasons why this school is the most suitable school and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school.
Note 3: ‘Regular’ is where parent(s)/carer(s) and children attend the place of worship at least twice a month for the two years prior to the date of application. In the case of those who have moved to Eltham within that period, the criterion is extended to include a place of worship at the previous neighbourhood. Written confirmation of the applicant’s and child’s attendance at worship will be sought from the priest or minister of the Church.
In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these [admissions] arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
Note 4: The Deanery of Eltham & Mottingham’s parishes are St Barnabas, Holy Trinity, St John the Baptist, St Saviour (Eltham) St Luke (Eltham Park), All Saints (New Eltham), St Andrew, St Edward (Mottingham). Please see below for the map of the Deanery.
Note 5: Measured in a straight line from centre of the child’s home address to the centre of the school
Tie breaker
In the event that two or more applicants have equal rights to a place under any of the above criteria and there are insufficient places, the Governing Body will use distance, in the first instance, to decide between applicants; if applicants live equidistant from the school the Governing Body will draw lots to decide between applicants.
Procedures for late applications and in-year admissions will be in accordance with the LA’s scheme for the co-ordination of primary school admissions.
The school operates a waiting list which is drawn up in accordance with the admission criteria on which names will be held for 12 months after which you will be asked if you wish to remain on the list.
Parents who are not offered a place for their child have the right to appeal against the decision to an independent appeal panel in accordance with the School Standards & Framework Act (1998). Parent(s)/carer(s) wishing to appeal should obtain an appeal form from the school. The form should be sent to reach the Clerk of the Appeal Panel, care of the school, within 20 days of the date of the letter confirming the governors’ decision not to offer place. Should an appeal be unsuccessful, the Governing Body will not consider further applications from those parent(s)/carer(s) within the same academic year unless there have been significant and material changes in their circumstances.
Deferred entry
The School admits children to the Reception class in the September of the school year in which a child attains the age of 5 years. (The school year runs from 1 September to the 31st August.) All parents/carers are entitled to a full-time place for their child in the reception class from September, but may defer entry until the beginning of the term after their child is five years old (ie, when the child reaches compulsory school age) or until the beginning of the summer term whichever is earlier.
Children may attend part-time until their child reaches compulsory school age. Parents/carers who have been offered a place at the School and wish to defer entry for their child and/or attend part-time must put this in writing to the headteacher at the earliest opportunity and before the start of the autumn term.
Fair Access
The School is committed to taking its fair share of pupils who are hard to place in accordance with the locally agreed fair access protocol. Pupils admitted under the protocol will take priority over any children on the waiting list and this may include, on occasion, admitting above the planned admission number.
Education out of normal (chronological) age group
Children are educated in school with others of their age group. However, in exceptional circumstances parents/carers may choose to seek places outside of their child’s chronological year group. Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case. Parents/carers must state clearly why they feel admission to a different year group is in the child’s best interest. They may wish to provide recent professional evidence to support this. Further details of how to make such a request are available from the school.
Please note that in order for any application to be considered under criteria 3, 5 or 6 a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) must be completed and returned to the school office. All SIFs are then sent to the relevant Parish Priest or Faith Leader to be validated.
Applications without a completed SIF or one that cannot be validated by the Parish Priest or Faith Leader, will be considered under criteria 7 ‘distance’.
Downloadable documents
Admission to Reception-September 2026_Supplementary Form
Deanery of Eltham & Mottingham map
In-Year Admission_Application Form
In-Year Admission_Supplementary Form
Nursery Application Form - Academic Year 2026-2027