Primary schools are for pupils aged 4 to 11. This is reception through to year 6.
Community schools are maintained and run by the local authority and have to follow the national curriculum.
The local authority is the admission authority for these schools. This means they set the criteria that determines how school places are allocated.
Voluntary controlled schools are maintained by the local authority. They also employ the staff.
The school land and buildings are owned by a charity, often a church. They will appoint some members of the governing body.
The local authority is the admission authority for these schools. This means they set the criteria that determines how school places are allocated.
Voluntary aided schools are maintained by the local authority.
However, the school buildings and land are usually owned by a charity, often a church.
The governing body employs the staff and they are the admission authority for these schools. This means they set the criteria that determines how school places are allocated.
Academies are schools that receive funding directly from the government.
They are run by an academy trust who is also the admission authority. This means they sets the criteria that determines how school places are allocated.
Primary education is also provided at the borough’s special school, Kennel Lane School. Applications for this school are processed separately through the special educational needs team.
Bracknell Forest is the admission authority for community schools and voluntary controlled schools and sets the admissions arrangements (or oversubscription criteria) for these schools.
The following criteria apply to these community schools:
The following criteria also applies to these voluntary controlled primary schools:
Children with an Education Health and Care Plan that names a specific school must, by law, be admitted to that school. After this requirement has been satisfied the following rules will apply:
(A) Looked After Children1 and all previously looked after children. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted2 (or became subject to a child arrangements order3 or special guardianship order4) immediately following having been looked after. This also includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted5.
(B) Children who have either medical or social grounds for admission to a particular school. This evidence must set out the particular reason why the school in question is the only suitable school and the difficulties caused if the child had to attend another school. The LA’s decision in these matters is final.
(C) Children of staff at a particular school.
(D) Children who live in the designated area of the school and who have a sibling who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission.
(E) Children who live in the designated area of the school.
(F) Children who do not live in the designated area of the school but who have a sibling at the school, and who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission.
(G) All other children.
If there are still insufficient places, and no distinction can be made between the applicants within each of the criterion or if they do not fulfil any of the above criteria, applications will be ranked on the radial distance (straight line distance on a map) between the home and the school. Those living nearer to the school will be placed higher than those living further away. Radial distance will be based on the co-ordinates for the property and the school as defined in the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and based on the Ordnance Survey’s national system. For new build properties these co-ordinates may not yet be finalised by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and therefore the co-ordinates available at the time of application will be used.
Distances are measured using direct distance calculations within a computer system. The measurement of each distance has been calculated using Pythagoras’ Theorem. The way in which this is done is to calculate the distance in metres between the Easting and Northing co-ordinates for each location. The measurement in metres is then multiplied by 0.000621317 to convert this measurement to miles. The same method of calculation is used for each direct distance measured. This can be to 3, 4 or 5 decimal places where necessary.
Distances for split site schools will be measured as above to both sites and the shortest distance will then be used for the application.
If in the event that 2 or more children live at the same distance from school and there are fewer places available, then random allocation will be used to decide which child will be allocated the remaining place(s). The process will be drawn and scrutinised by people who are independent of the council. Random allocation will not be used for multiple birth siblings (for example, twins and triplets) from the same family tied for the final place.
Where demand exists, schools admit up to their admission number and no places are reserved for pupils moving into their designated area.
If a child has a social and medical need that would cause significant physical and/or mental hardship, an applicant can indicate that they wish their application to be considered under social and medical grounds.
It is the applicants responsibility to obtain a supplementary social and medical information form which must be completed and returned to the School Admissions Team along with supporting written evidence from a professional at the same time as the in-year application.
The supporting evidence for social and medical grounds should be from the relevant registered professionals involved with the child. Examples include registered health professionals, such as consultant, GP, psychologist or psychiatrist. All evidence must be on letter headed paper and reflect the child’s current situation.
This evidence must prove why the school in question is the only suitable school and why the child cannot attend another school. This evidence must be specific to the school in question. It is the applicants responsibility to provide all evidence in support of their request and it is not possible for it to be considered under this criterion if no evidence is supplied.
All schools have the resources to work with special educational needs and common childhood complaints such as asthma.
Requests will be considered in accordance with the Equalities Act 2010.
You can download a copy of the social and medical form from our in-year school application page.
Applications on social and medical need will be considered firstly by the panel of officers. They will consider information on the social and medical supplementary information form and any evidence from the relevant professionals. They will recommend whether a decision can be made to either:
The recommendation will then be passed to the School Admissions Manager for a final decision. The decision on the application will be recorded and a letter will be sent to the applicant informing them of the outcome.
The following admissions arrangements (criteria) apply to this voluntary controlled school:
A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority in England, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England 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 a school.
This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (section 46 adoption orders).
Child arrangements orders are defined in section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
See section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian.
A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
Crowthorne CE Primary
Children with an Education Health and Care Plan that names a specific school must, by law, be admitted to that school. After this requirement has been satisfied the following rules will apply:
(A) Looked After Children6 and all previously looked after children. Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted7 (or became subject to a child arrangements order8 or special guardianship order9) immediately following having been looked after. This also includes those children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted10.
(B) Children who have either medical or social grounds for admission to a particular school. This evidence must set out the particular reason why the school in question is the only suitable school and the difficulties caused if the child had to attend another school. The LA’s decision in these matters is final.
(C) Children of staff at a particular school.
(D) Children who live in the designated area of the school and who have a sibling who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission and whose parent(s) meet the denominational criterion.
(E) Children who live in the designated area of the school and who have a sibling who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission.
(F) Children who live in the designated area of the school and whose parent(s) meet the denominational criterion.
(G) Children who live in the designated area of the school.
(H) Children who do not live in the designated area of the school but who have a sibling who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission and whose parent(s) meet the denominational criterion.
(I) Children who do not live in the designated area of the school but who have a sibling who will still be attending the school at the time of the child’s admission.
(J) Children who do not live in the designated area of the school but whose parents meet the denominational criterion.
(K) All other children.
If there are still insufficient places, and no distinction can be made between the applicants within each of the criterion or if they do not fulfil any of the above criteria, applications will be ranked on the radial distance (straight line distance on a map) between the home and the school. Those living nearer to the school will be placed higher than those living further away. Radial distance will be based on the co-ordinates for the property and the school as defined in the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and based on the Ordnance Survey’s national system. For new build properties these co-ordinates may not yet be finalised by the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and therefore the co-ordinates available at the time of application will be used.
Distances are measured using direct distance calculations within a computer system. The measurement of each distance has been calculated using Pythagoras’ Theorem. The way in which this is done is to calculate the distance in metres between the Easting and Northing co-ordinates for each location. The measurement in metres is then multiplied by 0.000621317 to convert this measurement to miles. The same method of calculation is used for each direct distance measured. This can be to 3, 4 or 5 decimal places where necessary.
If in the event that 2 or more children live at the same distance from school and it cannot be separated and there are fewer places available, then random allocation will be used to decide which child will be allocated the remaining place(s). The process will be drawn and scrutinised by people who are independent of the council. Random allocation will not be used for multiple birth siblings (for example, twins and triplets) from the same family tied for the final place.
Where demand exists, schools admit up to their admission number and no places are reserved for pupils moving into their designated area.
For details about this criterion, see social and medical grounds above.
Where an application is submitted on the basis of denominational grounds (faith based) for Crowthorne CE Primary School, it will be necessary for at least one of the parents or carers of the child concerned to regularly attend a church that is part of the group of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland or the Evangelical Alliance.
At least one of the parents or carers, who live at the same address as the child, must attend worship on at least 2 occasions in each calendar month for at least 8 months of the year in the 12 months prior to the date of application. Attendance does not include services of marriage, funerals or christenings (except for the christening of the child seeking entrance to the particular school).
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 admission arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been available for public worship.
Applicants will need to complete the relevant form in order to confirm that they are applying to the school on denominational grounds. In addition, it will then be necessary for the form to be passed onto their local clergy for verification before it is sent to the School Admissions Team.
You can download a copy of the Crowthorne church attendance form from our in-year school application page.
The admissions criteria for Voluntary Aided schools are set by the Governing Body of each school. For some of these schools an additional form may need to be completed as part of the application process.
Please contact the relevant school or check their website for any supplementary forms that might need to be submitted with your application.
The following Bracknell Forest schools are voluntary aided:
A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority in England, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England 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 a school.
This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Children’s Act 2002 (section 46 adoption orders).
Child arrangements orders are defined in section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.
See section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian.
A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the Binfield CE Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process in this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school are set by the school governing body and can be found on the St Joseph's School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process in this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school are set by the school governing body and can be found on the St Michael's Easthampstead Primary School website.
The admissions criteria for academies are set by each school’s trust. For some of these schools an additional form may need to be completed as part of the application process.
Contact the relevant school or check their website for any supplementary forms that might need to be submitted with your application.
The following Bracknell Forest schools are academies:
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by Maiden Erlegh Trust can be found on the Birch Hill Primary School website.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the Crown Wood Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by Maiden Erlegh Trust can be found on the Great Hollands Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by Bonitas Academy Trust can be found on the Jennett's Park Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
Any supplementary information forms required for this school can be found on our in-year school application page.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by King’s Group Academies Trust and can be found on the King's Academy Binfield website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
Any supplementary information forms required for this school can be found on our in-year school application page.
The school converted into an academy on 1 November 2024 and for the academic year 2025 to 2026 King’s Academies Trust adopted the admissions arrangements set by Bracknell Forest Council. These are explained in our community primary schools - admission arrangements section.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
Any supplementary information forms required for this school can be found on our in-year school application page.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by King’s Group Academies Trust and can be found on King's Academy Binfield website.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the Sandy Lane Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
The admissions arrangements (criteria) for this school have been set by the Catholic Academy Trust and can be found on the St Margaret Clitherow Primary School website.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the St Michael's Primary School website.
This school is part of Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme and the in-year application process detailed within this guide applies.
Any supplementary information forms required for this school can be found on our in-year school application page.
The school converted into an academy on 1 June 2024 and for the academic year 2025 to 2026 Key Academy Trust adopted the admissions arrangements set by Bracknell Forest Council. These are explained in our community primary schools - admission arrangements section.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the Wildmoor Heath Primary School website.
This school is not part of the Bracknell Forest in-year co-ordinated scheme.
You must contact the school for information about applying. You can find contact details on the Wooden Hill Primary and Nursery School website.
