Reception Admissions

Welcome to St John’s

Applying for a place for your child to start school is an exciting time – but it can also be a daunting one. You will be looking ahead to the next seven years of your child’s life, considering which school you think would suit them best, and perhaps feeling uncertain about the application process.

At St John’s, we are keen to do everything we can to help. We have put together some resources on this page to give you more information about the school and to explain the application process. If you have any questions, no matter how small, we are always happy to answer them. Please contact our Admissions Manager, Miss Gabrielle Corcoran, on 01892 678980 ext. 206 or by email at admissions@st-johns.kent.sch.uk. 

Reception intake

Each year, we admit 90 children into our three Reception classes. As a Voluntary Controlled Church School, our admissions arrangements are determined by Kent County Council (KCC). All applications to the school are ranked in order of our admissions criteria, which can be summarised as follows:

1. Children in Local Authority Care (or previously in Care).

2. Current Family Association (having a brother or sister at the school at the time of entry).

3. Health and Special Access Reasons (where a child has a demonstrable and significant need to attend a particular school).

4. Nearness of the child's home to the school, measured as a straight line distance.

St John's does not have a fixed 'catchment area'. The distance of the last place offered varies from year to year, depending on the number of siblings and on the number of other applicants and their distance from the school. The school is generally oversubscribed, and in recent years the distance of the last place offered has been approximately 0.3 to 0.6 of a mile. We do not know in advance what the distance for the next year's intake will be.  

Full details of our admissions criteria can be found in our Admissions Policy below.

When can I visit the school?

Each year, we really look forward to welcoming new parents to St John’s. We hold a series of Open Day visits for prospective Reception parents between September and January. Please note that spaces are strictly limited and MUST be pre-booked.

The visits start at 9:30 with a presentation from either the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher, followed by a tour of the school with our Year 6 pupils. The whole visit lasts about an hour. Please note that visits are for parents only - we kindly request that you do not bring children with you (although we understand that young babies may need to accompany their parents). There are opportunities for the Reception children to visit the school later in the process.

If you would like to book a place on one of our Open Days, please email our Admissions Manager on admissions@st-johns.kent.sch.uk letting us know your name(s), a contact telephone number, and whether you would like to book one or two parent places. We would also be grateful if you could send us a completed Expression of Interest form at the same time (see bottom of page) so that we can stay in touch and support you throughout the process.  

The dates for the 2025-26 intake Open Days are as follows:

• Tuesday 17 September 2024
• Wednesday 9 October 2024
• Tuesday 22 October 2024
• Tuesday 12 November 2024
• Tuesday 26 November 2024
• Wednesday 8 January 2025

We look forward to meeting you soon. In the meantime, we hope you find our online resources helpful in giving you a flavour of the school. If you would like to find out more about St John's or have questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Admissions Manager by phone or email.

All about St John's

On our website you can find lots of information about all aspects of the school, so please do take some time to explore. In particular, we have put together the following resources to help give prospective parents a really good flavour of what St John's is all about.

• ‘First Year at St John's’ video: this is a short film we put together in 2020, which gives a really good insight into what life in Reception is like for children at St John’s. The video was created by Ginger Cat Studios  Facebook @gingercatstudios.
• Photo Slideshow: this has lots of lovely pictures to give you an in-depth feel for our school site and community. 

How to apply for a place

If your child was born between 1st September 2020 and 31st August 2021, they are due to start school in September 2025. All applications for Reception places need to be made through Kent County Council using this link. Applications for September 2025 will open on Tuesday 5th November 2024 and will close on Wednesday 15th January 2025. Reception offers will be sent to parents on Wednesday 16th April 2025.

We have put together a list of Reception Application FAQs to help guide you through the application process. This includes information about distances and admissions criteria, plus some tips on how to complete your application form:

For full details of the application process, please find below the most recent KCC Leaflet and Guide to Primary Admissions:

How can I find out more?

Now you’ve had a chance to learn a bit more about St John’s, we do hope that you will consider applying for a place for your child to join us. If you have any queries about the school or the application process, please get in touch with our Admissions Manager, Miss Gabrielle Corcoran, in the first instance. You can also contact the Kent County Council Admissions Team for further advice.

Miss Gabrielle Corcoran, St John's Admissions Manager 

01892 678980 - extension 206

admissions@st-johns.kent.sch.uk

KCC Primary Admissions Team

03000 412121

primaryadmissions@kent.gov.uk

Expression of Interest

We keep a contact list of parents who have expressed an interest in a Reception place at St John's. From time to time we write to parents on this list with information about open events and the admissions process. If you would like to join this contact list, then please complete an Expression of Interest form and return it to our Admissions Manager. Forms can be returned to the school office in hard copy, or scanned and emailed to admissions@st-johns.kent.sch.uk. Alternatively, please just email Miss Corcoran with your details. Please note that this form is NOT an application and will have no impact on your chances of a place - you will still need to apply as usual via the KCC process.