Prospective Parents' Information

Reception Class for September 2025

For entry to Reception Class in September 2025, tours of the school will be held during the week commencing Monday 4th November 2025 .

Prospective Parents are kindly requested to telephone the school office to make an appointment for that week:

01424 429494 or email office@sacred-heart.e-sussex.sch.uk

A copy of our Admission Policy and Supplementary Information Form for 2025-2026 entry are available from the school office or can be downloaded from the school website.

Completed Supplementary Information forms must be returned to the Admissions Secretary at the School by 15th January 2025.

Please ensure the East Sussex County Council online admission application is also completed by 15th January 2025: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/admissions

In-year Admissions

What are In Year Admissions?

You can make an in-year application if your child needs to join a school outside of the normal admissions round - for example, if you move house and your child can no longer attend their current school.

How parents can apply for a school place

If you want to apply for an In-Year admission to Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School you need to complete:

The East Sussex In Year Application Form  

The online ESCC Application Form can be found here: eastsussex.gov.uk/admissions

[Note: If you are not able to apply online please contact the ESCC Admissions and Transport team on 0300 330 9472 for a paper application.]

The School’s Supplementary Information Form (SIF)

• The SIF is available here.
• You MUST return the Supplementary Information Form to the school at:         The Admissions Secretary, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Old London Road, Hastings, East Sussex TN35 5NA

Who processes your application?

The governing body is the admissions authority for Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and has responsibility for admissions to the school, including setting the priority of admissions when the school is oversubscribed.  

The governing body will consider whether it has any vacancies and if so, whether they are able to offer a place.  The school will confirm to East Sussex County Council (ESCC) as soon as possible. The school will contact you to let you know the outcome of your application.

When will parents be notified of the outcome of their application?

Upon receipt of an In Year application, the school aim to notify parents of the outcome of the application in writing within 10 school days.  However, it might take up to 15 school days.  You must respond to any offer of a place within ten school days.

The right to appeal

If you are refused a place at any school you applied for, you have the right to make an appeal to an independent appeal panel.  Where an application is refused, the school will set out the reason for refusal.

For applications for In Year Admissions, appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.  If parents wish to appeal, they must set out the grounds for appeal in writing.

Accepting a place

Where an applicant is offered a school place following an in-year application, and the offer is accepter, arrangements should be made for the child to start school as soon as possible, particularly where the child is out of school.

Waiting List

If your child is not offered a place, you can add their name to a waiting list. Waiting lists are ranked according to each school’s admission criteria.  Your child’s position on a waiting list may go down as well as up, for example, if other children with greater priority according to the school’s admission criteria are added to the list.

Note: A hard copy of this online page is available on request for parents who don’t have internet access