Admissions
Consultation: Admission to Schools in Suffolk for the 2027/28 School Year
As the Admission Authority for Westfield Primary Academy, Unity Schools Partnership (USP) is seeking views on proposed new admission arrangements for the school year 2027/28. All schools within USP follow the Admissions Code and the law relating to admissions. This accords with the Trust’s funding agreement with the Department for Education. Suffolk County Council will continue to co-ordinate the admission arrangements for the normal year of entry (Year R) for our Suffolk schools and USP will continue to administer in-year applications. Parents wishing to apply for a school place outside of a normal year of entry should contact the school office for further information which is also available within the Trust’s Primary Admissions Policy at: Policies and Documents | Unity Schools Partnership
The new admissions arrangements do not change the order in which the oversubscription criteria is applied but have been revised to provide greater clarity regarding how the sibling priority works (including sibling tie-break situations); how distances are calculated and a broken link to information about catchment areas has been fixed. The proposed new arrangements also now include clearer guidance regarding (i) the admission of pupils who have an Education, Health and Care plan which names the school, (who must by law be offered a place at that school), (ii) deferred entry (iii) requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group (iv) fair access protocol and (v) fraudulent and misleading applications. The changes made under these headings have been made to provide greater clarity and bring the policy in line with current guidance and Suffolk LA practice. The oversubscription criteria is available within the Trust’s Admissions Policy as above.
As part of the consultation process, you are entitled to give your views on the proposed changes to the admission arrangements described above. You can do this by either:-
Writing to School details or Emailing: admin@westfieldprimaryacademy.co.uk
Responses must be received no later than midnight on 17 November 2025.
How to Apply
Selecting a school and applying for a place for your child can sometimes seem complicated but we hope that the information on this page will guide you. Please read the attached Trust’s Admission Arrangements for further details, including our oversubscription criteria and the administration of waiting lists. Suffolk County Council also produce a very useful guide for parents and carers on how to apply for your child’s school place.
We are always available to talk to you about our school and the admissions process, please do contact us.
Normal Year of Entry
Westfield Primary Academy is a two-form entry primary school with a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 60 for entry in Reception. Suffolk County Council co-ordinates all Normal Year of Entry Admissions into Reception and communicates all admission decisions to parents.
► Your application must be with Suffolk County Council by 15 January 2025
The advantages of applying online are that you:
- will receive confirmation of your application by email
- can check or change your application right up to the closing date
- can view the outcome of your application online on the offer day
- will receive an email with details of your school offer on the offer day
If you prefer to complete a paper application this can be downloaded from this link. The completed CAF1 form can be emailed or posted using the contact details on the form – it is advised to get proof of postage.
► Online Applications: You’ll be able to view the outcome of your application on 16 April 2025, the National Offer Day.
► Postal Applications: An offer of a school place will be sent out on 16 April 2025 by Suffolk County Council. You’ll receive this letter after 16 April 2025.
In-year Applications
Our school is part of Unity Schools Partnership (USP). USP is its own admissions authority and processes its own in-year admissions applications. Normal year of entry (new Reception intake) applications should be made through the local authority’s admissions website, as detailed above.
You can apply for a place for your child at any time to our school outside of the normal admissions round. However, an application will not normally be considered more than half a term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.
If your child is changing schools, you need to think about:
- why you are applying to change schools
- if our school is right for your child
- how your child will travel to our school
- the availability of places in the year group at our school. Be aware that even if our school is full, you are still able to apply for a place.
Read the ‘Guidance on transferring schools’ (PDF) before moving your child from their current school, attached to this webpage.
If you wish to make an in-year application to our school, you should:
- Apply for a place by completing the school’s own application form available from our school office, or complete an editable version of the in-year application form (Word, 69KB) and email to our school, or if you are unable to access this version apply for a place by downloading and completing the in-year application form (ADM1) (PDF, 216KB)*.
- Send the application form directly to our school.
The email address is available on our contact us page.
*If you don’t have a printer please contact our office and we can arrange for a paper application form to be sent in the post.
Check the oversubscription criteria for our school on the Admissions policy on the Admissions page of the website of the school you wish to apply for. The criteria are also available here in the list of schools’ details, admissions policies and Supplementary Information Forms or in the Directory of Schools in Suffolk.
In-year applications
Unity Schools Partnership will aim to notify you of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days of receiving it, however, we must notify you in writing within 15 school days.
If you have provided an email address on your application form, we will notify you of the outcome by email. If you have not provided an email address, we will send you a letter in the post.
If you have not received an email or letter within four weeks of sending your application, please contact our school office directly to check on progress. Contact details are available on our contact us page
Once a place has been made available for your child, they must take up that place by the date given in our offer letter. Our school will put your child on roll by this date. If your child does not take up the place it will be withdrawn and may be reallocated.
Unsuccessful applications
If your application is unsuccessful then you will have a legal right to appeal the decision. The details of how to appeal will be included in the decision letter and further information can be found on Suffolk’s website at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions.
Waiting lists
Our school does not hold waiting lists for in-year applications.
Making another application for our school, if you have already applied before
If your application has been refused, Unity Schools Partnership will not process another application for the same school in the same school year, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances of the parent/carer, child or school. This might be a house move or a place becoming available at a school.
If circumstances have not changed you can make another application for the following school year. However, this will not normally be considered more than half a term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.