Your first point of contact with Hartley Primary Academy is usually at the School Office, which is open between 8.30am – 4.00pm daily.
If you wish your child to start at Hartley, as a result of moving into the area and/or transferring from another school, please place your child on the list for future entrants by completing an In-Year Admission Form. Please send your completed In Year Admission Form to office@hartleyprimary.org.uk. For new reception children a KCC ‘Reception Common Application Form’ will need to be completed (this is an online process), expressing Hartley as your first preference. The office staff will be pleased to answer any questions you may have. Kent County Council’s website on School Admission can be found here.
Pupils are admitted to school in accordance with the Hartley Primary Academy Admissions Policy. All forms should be completed and returned to the school by the deadline indicated on the form.
If you have any difficulty completing the forms please do not hesitate to contact the school office, where help will be given.
Allocation of Places, School Admission Policy and Planned Admission Limit
Places will be allocated according to the published criteria in priority order:
- Children in Local Authority Care and previously looked after children including those who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
- Current family association (an elder brother or sister in the school at the time of entry).
- Child of a teaching member of staff.
- Health reasons (for which a medical certificate may be needed).
- Nearness of children’s homes to school.
Hartley Primary Academy has a Planned Admission Limit of 60 children per year group.
Reception Places – for September 2023 Intake
Primary school applications closed on 16 January 2023.
If you have not applied and are a Kent resident, please contact kentonlineadmissions@kent.gov.uk
Parents do not legally have to send their children to school until the term after they are five. We find in practice, due to effective transition procedures, children younger than five cope well in their first year with our wonderful staff who have particular skills with our youngest children.
Parents are advised that there is no guarantee that nursery children will be placed in the same Reception class as their friends. We have a number of criteria which are taken into account when allocating children to their new classes; friendships are not part of our defined criteria.
Appeals
If you have not been offered a place following an in-year application, the law entitles you to appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. This panel is completely independent of the school and the Local Authority. In accordance with the 2022 School Admission Appeals Code Appeals, the admission authority and appeal panels have elected for all admissions appeals to be held online.
If you wish to appeal, please use the links below to complete your appeal online.
Please do NOT use ANY other appeal form or send your form to your local authority. It is highly recommended that you download the explanatory booklet about appeals which you should read before you complete the appeal form.
If your appeal is for years Reception, year 1 or year 2, you are strongly advised to read the section on Key Stage 1 appeals on page 18.
You should include any evidence or supporting material with your appeal form and you MUST state the grounds of your appeal at the time you lodge your appeal form. Your appeal form will not be accepted unless you give the grounds of your appeal. You may appeal for more than one school.
Please note that the online form will ask you to download two utility bills dated in the last THREE months. If you do not have access to a scanner, please take two photographs using a mobile phone and upload the photographic files.
If you wish to contact the clerk – email: clerk@educationappeals.com
Information about Primary Transfer appeals will be posted on this website before 28 February 2025.
Timetable for Appeals
Last day for lodging appeal forms
20 School days after the decision letter informing you that you had not been offered a place.
Invitation letter giving details about your hearing will be sent by the Clerk to the Independent Appeal Panel
At least 10 school days before the hearing. This MAY be emailed.
All in year appeal will be heard within 30 school days of the appeal form being lodged.
Closing date for any additional supporting evidence
FIVE working days before your hearing. You are advised that additional paperwork received on the day of the appeal hearing will not be taken into account. Please email to clerk@educationappeals.com
Please note that slightly different rules will apply for any primary transfer appeals into Reception.
Letter from the Clerk informing you of the decision of the independent appeal panel
Due to the high number of appeals, an email is sent a few working days after your hearing with the decision of the panel. This is followed up around 10 working days later with a letter outlining the panels reasons.