Admissions

Willand School is a Community school. Devon County Council is the admissions authority, responsible for the admissions policies and decisions on applications for admission. We have an admissions policy for each academic year. They are written to comply with the School Admissions Code and School Admissions Appeals Code. We take part in the co-ordinated admissions schemes of Devon County Council.

Admission to our school is co-ordinated by Devon County Council and your application can easily be completed online through the Devon Citizens Portal.

In October each year we hold an Open Afternoon when parents, whose children are due to start in the following September in the Reception class, are invited to look around the school. This gives you an opportunity to see the various classes being taught.  If you are unable to attend the Open Afternoon, you are welcome to come in and visit us. You can arrange a visit by telephone on 01884 820367 or by emailing admin@willand.devon.sch.uk.

If you are moving to the area and wish to apply for a place at Willand School, please contact us and we would be delighted to arrange a visit to show you and your child around the school. Your application for a place will again be administered by the Admissions Team at Devon County Council.

Once you decide you would like a place in Reception or at any other time after this, you must make a formal application. You can do this by applying to the Local Authority and not directly to the school.

For the Normal Round intake into school, children are offered places to start in Reception at the beginning of the September term after their fourth birthday. Children who are admitted to a vacancy at any time after this point are called ‘In-Year’ Admissions.

The Local Authority

Devon County Council publishes information about admissions and its own policies to support the admissions application and appeals process. This can be found at www.devon.gov.uk/admissions

Applications can be made online at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline by using the forms available at http://devon.cc/applicationforms

The appeals process is shown below and also detailed at www.devon.gov.uk/school-appeals.

For questions about your child joining the school or just about the admissions process in general, please do not hesitate to contact the school direct on (telephone 01884 820367) or contact Devon School Admissions Service on 0345 155 1019 or by email to admissions@devon.gov.uk.

The Admissions Appeals Timetable 2020

The School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 apply to appeals that are submitted by parents on or before 31 January 2021. They amend the timescales and processes referred to in our admissions arrangements.

Appeals will not be heard at a face to face meeting. They will be heard by remote access – by video or telephone conference. Where it is not possible for a parent to take part by remote access, the appeal panel may make its decision based on the written information that is submitted.

A new deadline for appeals will be at least 28 calendar days from the date of the refusal to admit. Appeals will be heard as soon as possible after they are submitted with parents given at least 14 days’ written notice of an appeal hearing. Parents may not submit additional evidence on the day of the appeal.

The Admissions Appeals Timetable 2021

Appeals at the normal round of admissions to Foundation will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 14 May 2021. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 16 April 2021, they will be heard within that 40-day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.

When your child is ready to transfer to secondary school, their application can also be made online on the Devon County Council Admissions website.