Admissions

We are delighted that you are considering our school for your child. To help you get a sense of life at St Austin’s, we have created a short video that gives prospective parents a snapshot of what our school looks like.

Please choose one of the options below to find the information you need, whether your child is starting school for the first time or you are thinking about joining our school family part-way through the year.

Reception Starter - Starting school for the first time

Admissions: Reception places available at St Austin’s

At St Austin’s your child will benefit from being part of a warm, welcoming and inclusive community. St Austin’s delivers a rich and stimulating curriculum throughout the school.

Your child’s educational journey will be underpinned by fantastic facilities and resources, knowledgeable staff and strong engagement with our Parish church and wider community.

Open Day for Reception 2027 starters dates as follows:

If you have a child due to start in Reception in September 2027 and would like to consider submitting an application to our school, we would like to invite you to one of our Open Days . This will allow you the opportunity to look around our school, talk to Senior Leaders and ask any questions you may have. There are four open days:

Thursday 8th October 10am
Thursday 8th October 2pm
Thursday 26th November 11am
Thursday 26th November 1.30pm

To enable us to prepare for the Open Days we kindly request you use the link to register tour place at one of the Open Day sessions:

https://forms.gle/MsDXMrv1hMnaiJNRA

These will be fantastic opportunities to visit our school to see all that it has to offer your little one.

Families can expect:

A tour guided by our School Council.
A talk by our Headteacher, Mr Molyneux.
A detailed tour of our Reception Classrooms and provision areas.

We welcome pupils and families from all faiths and backgrounds into our school. All pupils are truly cherished and nurtured throughout their time with us and by Year 6, they are fully prepared for the next phase of their educational journey.

St Austin’s has been consistently rated as a ‘Good’ school by Ofsted in recent and past inspections.

Admission Arrangements for September 2027 (Reception class)

Applications for our Reception class for September 2027 opens on 1st November 2026 and closes on the 15th January 2027.

If you are applying for a reception place for September 2027, all applications are made in advance. Offers are made by local authorities on national offer day. The LA website Click here is a composite prospectus for all Wakefield schools and includes information about:

all the steps you need to go through to make an application
the key dates
a search tool to see if your home address gives any higher priority for admission to any school(s)
an explanation about how places are offered if there are more applications than spaces (oversubscribed)
the online application portal – apply online and you will be sent your offer by email
a summary of each school’s individual admission policy criteria
data about who got a place in the last 3 years – this will help you work out if there is a reasonable chance of your child qualifying for a place.
Information about applying under a specific admission criteria (such as your child being previously looked after). It is important to ensure you submit all supporting evidence by the deadline to show you meet any such criteria.

It is also necessary to submit to our school (not the local authority) a completed Supplementary Information Form (SIF) We need to receive this by 15th January 2027. It is essential that you make both parts of the application; one to the local authority asking for a place at our school and the second application direct to school by completing the SIF. You do this online at the above link. If you do not send the application to the local authority, you will not have made a valid application for a place at our school.

The school will contact all successful applicants directly after the 16th April (national offer day) with further information regarding admissions and our welcome meeting.

Please read the information given below which gives details of our admission arrangements for the school.

In-Year-Transfer - Moving from another school to St. Austin's

Does your child have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)? Please don’t use the in-year application form. Contact Wakefield’s SEN Assessment and Review Team (SENART) at sengroup@wakefield.gov.uk to start the consultation process with us. Read more about joining us with an EHCP.

To apply for a school place mid-year or to apply to transfer your child to our school, you must complete the following:

Contact the School Admissions Team and request an In-Year Transfer application form. You can contact the Wakefield Admissions Team at admissions@wakefield.gov.uk or 01924 306 052 (8am -12noon). You will be asked to provide your child’s name, date of birth, your current address and details of your child’s current, or previous, school. Further information about completing the application form is available at Changing schools or new to Wakefield
Complete the Supplementary Information Form. Complete the form and return directly to school. You can download it HERE.

Appeals

Appeals for in year applications are carried out throughout the year and are carried out by WMDC. Please access the Wakefield Council Website for more information.

If your preference for a school place cannot be met you have the right of appeal. All appeals are organised by Committee Services. Your appeal should be submitted within 20 days from the receipt of refusal. You will be asked to complete a form, clearly stating your reasons for your appeal.

Further information can also be found on the GOV.UK website.