School admissions information

 The entry of children into schools is controlled and administered by an ‘Admissions Authority’. For all Community Schools in Merthyr Tydfil, including Welsh Medium, the Admissions Authority is the School Admissions Team located within Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

For Faith Based or Voluntary Aided schools, the Admissions Authority is the governing body of the individual school.

In Merthyr Tydfil, these schools are:

• Blessed Carlo Acutis St Aloysius Campus
• Blessed Carlo Acutis St Illtyd's Campus
• Blessed Carlo Acutis St Mary's Campus
• Blessed Carlos Acutis 3-16 Catholic School

Admission Rounds

There are three stages of a child’s school life where parents are required to make an application, should they wish for their child to attend a school.

Pre-Nursery and Nursery

A child is eligible to start at a school the term that follows their third birthday.

We accept applications for Pre-Nursery and Nursery places throughout the year, and so you are eligible to apply for a place from the day your child is born, though it would be appropriate to apply for a school place when your child is two years old.

The table below shows when your child could start school depending on when they were born, and the deadline for applications for each start date.

Pre-Nursery placements are only available as part time, and Nursery placements starting from September will be full time.

Reception

A child is due to start a Reception place at school the September that follows their fourth birthday.

Please note that a pupil will not automatically transfer to Reception from Nursery within the same school, and an application will need to be made whether your child attended the Nursery at the same school or not. There is also no guarantee that your child will be offered a Reception place at a school because they attended the Nursery provision at that school.

Applications for a Reception place are required to be made during the Autumn term (September to December) that your child is in Nursery. The deadline for applications is typically the last day of school term prior to the Christmas Holidays, though an exact date will be noted on the relevant application page.

Secondary

A child is due to start a Secondary place at school the September that follows their 11^th birthday.

Please note that a pupil will not automatically transfer to the Secondary school that is in the same cluster as their Primary school, and an application will need to be made.

Applications for a Secondary place are required to be made during the Autumn term (September to December) that your child is in Year 6. The deadline for applications is typically the last day of school term prior to the Christmas Holidays, though an exact date will be noted on the relevant application page.

Oversubscription

Admissions to Secondary schools will normally be granted provided a schools admission number is not exceeded. Where the number of applications for admission to a school exceeds the number of places available, i.e. where an admission number has been reached, places will be allocated by applying the following oversubscription criteria;

Priority Category 1: ‘Children Looked After’ (children in public care) and previous ‘Children Looked After’.

Priority Category 2: Children whose home is inside the school’s catchment area and have an older sibling attending the school from the same address, at the date of application, who will continue to attend that school in September 2024.

Priority Category 3: Children whose home is inside the school’s catchment area who do not have an older sibling attending the school.

Priority Category 4: Children whose home is outside the school’s catchment area but have an older sibling attending from the same address, at the date of application, who will continue to attend that school in September 2024.

Priority Category 5: Children whose home is outside the school’s catchment area who do not have an older sibling attending the school.

Mid Term / In Year School Transfers

This applies to any requests made by parents to transfer their child from one school to another outside of the above admission rounds.

Most commonly, this will happen where the family moves home and it is no longer practical for the child or children to travel to their current school daily. The house move may be in-county (moving from one Merthyr Tydfil address to another, and one Merthyr Tydfil school to another) or the family might be moving from elsewhere into Merthyr Tydfil

It is important to consider the following points carefully before making the decision to change your child's school.

• If your child is experiencing difficulties at their current school and you are considering moving them, it is important you contact your child's Headteacher for a meeting to try to resolve these issues before moving your child which should always be a last resort.
• The attainment of pupils who make a transfer is markedly lower than their peers, and lower still among pupils who make multiple school transfers.
• If your child is at a critical stage of their education (in year 10 or 11) it is likely that the school you wish to transfer your child to will not have the same choice of subjects as your child's current school and could be at different stages of teaching the curriculum. If this is the case, any work your child has already done towards their GCSEs may not be able to be used. This could have a seriously damaging effect on your child's exam results. If your child needs to move to another school within the same year, you must apply for a ‘mid-term / in-year admission’. You can do so at any time during the academic year.

Places cannot be reserved in advance. If you are moving house, you can apply in advance of your move but your child must be able to take up the place within 10 days of the offer.

Before applying, please view the school catchment areas.  

All areas of the application form MUST be completed before the School Admissions Team can start to process it. If the application is incomplete, this will delay the admission process.  The school has 15 school days to make a decision.

Please note that you will be responsible for transporting your child to any school you name as a preference.

If it is the school holidays and you are waiting for the result of an in year application you will need to wait until there is somebody available within the School Admissions Team who will be able to advise you of the outcome.

To transfer schools, please visit our Mid Term Admission or Transfers page and complete our online application form, or contact the Customer Contact Centre on 01685 725000 and ask for the School Admissions Team.

There is no guarantee that a place will be available at your preferred school, and your child should continue to attend their current school until a transfer has been confirmed.

If you believe that your child has significant learning needs, and feel that they may meet the entry criteria for Greenfield Special School,  please contact the Customer Contact Centre on 01685 725000, and request to speak with the Additional Learning Needs department for further advice.