To apply for a place at Gorringe Park Primary, please go to London Borough of Merton, School Admissions, using the following link Merton Schools Admissions

To apply for an In-year application to Gorringe Park Primary, please use the following link Merton Schools Admissions

Please click on the following link to view a virtual tour of our school Virtual School Tour

2024/25 Reception & Nursery Prospective Parents Open Mornings

In the Autumn Term 2023, we will be holding open mornings for parents with children starting in our Nursery and Reception in 2024.  These will usually include a short presentation from the headteacher and other key staff, as well as a tour of the school, and in particular our Early Years provision.   Dates to be confirmed be at the start of the Autumn term 2023.  

Nursery

Our nursery is led by qualified teachers and teaching assistants and follows the Government's 'Early Years Foundation Stage' (EYFS) curriculum.  We offer morning sessions (8:30am – 11:30am) and afternoon sessions (12:30-3:30pm) with a maximum of 52 children in each session.  Children are admitted to our Nursery the term after their third birthday. 

We also offer 30 hour places for eligible parents. Parents must apply for their 30 hour code the term BEFORE they wish to use it, by the deadlines shown in Table 2 below and are subsequently required to ‘reconfirm’ their code every three months via their HMRC Childcare Service account. Codes are 11 digits long and usually start with ‘500’.

Please see the government website for more information around eligibility www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare.

If you are not eligible for 30 hours we do offer the option of paying for a full time session and the charge for this is currently £85 per week. Please call the office for more information. 

Please note that admission to the nursery does not guarantee your child a place in the main school.  You will need to apply as normal, via eadmissions, for a reception place.

Reception Admissions
We are a two-form entry primary school admitting 60 children to Reception each year.

In Year Admissions to all Year Groups
You will need to complete an In-Year Transfer Form which can be obtained from Merton Council (www.merton.gov.uk/learning/schools/admissions) or from our school office. 

If you have any questions about admissions, please email office@gorringepark.merton.sch.uk or call 0208 648 1451. 

Admission Arrangements for Entry

This page sets out the admission arrangements for the community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools in Merton.

1. General Arrangements

1.1 Entry to Nursery

Gorringe Park Primary School has nursery provision on site. However, attendance in the nursery does not give priority for a place in the reception class of the school.

Children will be eligible for consideration for entry to nursery from the term after their third birthday.

1.2 Entry to Reception in Community Infant and Primary Schools

Merton primary schools will offer full time education to children from the September before the fifth birthday. Parents may request to defer their child’s entry to Reception, but not beyond statutory school age. If the parent of a summer born child wishes to defer their child’s entry until the following September, and this is agreed, they will be taking a Year 1 place; they may not defer and then take a Reception place the next academic year. However, parents can make a fresh application and be considered for Reception in the following year’s intake (see 1.3 below).

Parents may also request to stagger entry from part-time to full time attendance. Individual requests will be considered by the school.

Where the child is attending the school nursery or co-located children’s centre, a separate application must be made for entry into Reception Class. Places are allocated according to the admissions criteria shown below; no automatic entry or priority is given to children attending the school nursery or co-located children’s centre.

1.3 Admission of Children Outside Their Normal Age Group

Parents wishing to apply for places outside the child’s normal year group will have their application considered by each admissions authority they are applying for based on the circumstances of each case. Applicants should include relevant supporting professional evidence for consideration, based on the individual needs of their child.

Parents are encouraged to seek advice from the Local Authority in these circumstances before applications are submitted.

2. Applications

2.1 Nursery

Applications for nursery places in Merton community primary schools should be made to the London Borough of Merton.

2.2 Primary (Reception)

Merton participates in the Pan-London Co-ordinated Admission Scheme for entry to Primary and Secondary School. Please see Merton’s Pan-London Scheme for further details regarding the application process.

2.3 In-Year

Applications for Merton schools outside the normal points of entry to Reception and Secondary School should be made to the London Borough of Merton.

3. Admission Numbers for Community Schools

The admission numbers below relate to the year group of normal entry to school (Reception).

3.1 Community Primary Schools

4. Admissions and Oversubscription Criteria for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools

Please go to the link below for information on how places are allocated.

https://www.merton.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/admissions/in-year-school-admissions-junior-applications-and-transfers

4.1 Nursery

When a community school nursery is over-subscribed, applications will be ranked against the following factors:

Looked after children or previously looked after children (see notes at 4.3.1)

1. Where there are professionally supported medical reasons or exceptional social reasons why a child should attend a particular nursery (see notes at 4.3.2).
2. Where a sibling is already in the main school at the time of admission (see notes at 4.3.3)
3. Straight line distance between the child’s home address and the main school (see notes at 4.3.4)

Where oversubscription occurs in categories (a)-(c) above, the subsequent criterion will be applied as a tie-breaker. If oversubscription occurs in category (d), and home to school distance is equal, rank order will be randomly generated by the Local Admissions System.

4.2 Primary (Reception year)

When a Community primary or secondary school is over-subscribed for any year group (excluding sixth form), applications will be ranked against the following factors:

Looked after children or previously looked after children (see notes at 4.3.1)

1. Where there are professionally supported medical reasons or exceptional social reasons why a child should attend a particular school (see notes at 4.3.2).
2. Where a sibling is already in the main school at the time of admission (see notes at 4.3.3)
3. Straight line distance between the child’s home address and the main school (see notes at 4.3.4)

Please note children with a statement of special educational needs or Educational Health Care Plan naming a particular school will be admitted before all other applicants. Admission numbers in section 3 will be adjusted to take this into account before the remaining places are offered to other applicants.

Where oversubscription occurs in categories (i)-(iii) above, the subsequent criterion will be applied as a tie-breaker. If oversubscription occurs in category (iv), and home to school distance is equal, rank order will be randomly generated by the Local Admissions System. Where this applies to twins or other multiple births, the school will consider if it can accommodate the additional child(ren) on a case by case basis.

4.3 Notes

4.3.1 Looked After Children or Previously Looked After Children

A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously looked after child is a child who was adopted, or subject to a residence order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after.

4.3.2 Professionally Supported Medical Reasons or Exceptional Social Reasons

Applicants wishing to be considered under this criterion must supply professional evidence supporting their case at the time of application. Providing evidence does not guarantee priority under this criterion; the School Admissions Team will consider if the evidence provided demonstrates that the child must attend a particular school and cannot reasonably attend an alternative school.

Applicants will not be individually advised if their application has been prioritised under this criterion.

4.3.3 Siblings

Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner, and in every case, who is living as part of the same family unit at the same address, Monday to Friday.

The following will not qualify under the sibling criterion:

• Siblings in Year 6 at the time of an application to start Reception in the following year
• Siblings in a school nursery

4.3.4 Straight Line Distance

Distances will be measured in a straight line from the child's home address, with those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority. All distances will be measured by the computerised Geographical Information System maintained by Merton Admissions team. It should be noted that the computerised system measures from a start point plotted within the property at which the applicant lives to the main school reception entrance and calculates this measurement.

Applicants wishing to query a distance from home to school should contact the School Admission team on 020 8274 4906.

The child’s home address excludes any business, relative’s or childminder’s address and must be the applicant’s normal place of residence. If there is a genuine equal share custody arrangement between the two parents, the address that will be used will normally be the address of the parent who is claiming Child Benefit for the child, however all available evidence will be considered.

The address to be used for the initial allocation of places to Reception, Infants (Reception) will be the child’s address at the closing date for application. Changes of address up to dates stated in the scheme may be considered if there are exceptional reasons behind the change, such as if a family has just moved to the area, or has returned from abroad. The address to be used for waiting lists, after the initial allocation, and for in-year admissions will be the child’s current address. Any offer is conditional upon the child living at the appropriate address on the relevant date. Parents have a responsibility to notify the Local Authority of any change of address.

5. Waiting lists

Where there are more applicants than places available, waiting lists will operate for each year group according to the oversubscription criteria shown above and without regard to the date the application was received or when a child’s name was added to the waiting list. Children with statements of special educational need will take priority over children on a waiting list. Waiting lists for entry to Reception and Junior school each September will be maintained strictly in accordance with the admissions criteria for the school until the last day of the Autumn term. Parents wishing to remain on the waiting list after this date must write to Merton Local Authority by 31 December of that year, stating their wish and providing their child’s name, date of birth and the name of their current school.

For in-year applications, children with statements of special educational need, those to be admitted through the borough’s Fair Access Protocol, looked after children and previously looked after children (see notes at 4.3.1) will take priority over children on a waiting list. Waiting lists are then held according to the remaining admissions criteria for the school.

All waiting lists will be reviewed termly. Parents wishing to remain on the waiting list after must write to Merton Local Authority by the end of the relevant term, stating their wish and providing their child’s name, date of birth and the name of their current school.

Children applying for nursery who are not offered a place will be automatically added to that school’s waiting list. Nursery waiting lists will be reviewed before being carried forward to the next academic year, to confirm which autumn and spring born children wish to be considered for a place in the next academic year.

6. Appeals

Applicants who are not offered their first preference school will be given a right of appeal for all schools of a higher preference than the school offered. Outcome letters will give details of how to lodge an appeal.

There is no right of appeal against a decision not to offer a nursery place. For further information about Appeals can be obtained by clicking on the following link Merton Schools Admissions

7. Further Information

Further information about admission arrangements can be obtained by contacting the School Admissions Team at the London Borough of Merton, admissions@merton.gov.uk

School Admissions Team

Civic Centre

Morden

SM4 5DX

8. School Procedures

In addition to the Local Authority’s admission criteria, the school will obtain additional information for the purpose of safeguarding pupils and reporting census information to the LA/DfE. The following information will be requested from the parents and carers of the child.

• School application form
• Child’s valid passport
• Child’s birth certificate
• Proof of address
• Medical information

This is not an exhaustive list. For more information please contact the school office.