Holy Family Catholic Primary School
September Admissions Information
If you would like your child to attend Holy Family Catholic Primary School, please see full details of our admission arrangements.
All applications are welcome!
Applications for a place in our Early Years Foundation Stage for a September start, need to be made to Essex County Council. You will need to liaise directly with Essex. A guide for telling you how to apply for a place at an Essex primary school can be found in the timetable below. As well as applying to Essex, you will need to provide the following (where applicable)
- A copy of your child’s Birth Certificate
- A copy of your child’s Baptismal Certificate
-A Supplementary Information Form (SIF)
These documents must be supplied to the school by the deadline. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all documents are complete and submitted. Any missing or post-deadline submissions will affect the ranking of the application.
FOR APPLICANTS WHO ARE CATHOLIC IN FAITH
For applicants who are Catholic in faith
Please ensure that only the current form is used for the Supplementary Information Form (SIF). See SIF above with the Admissions policy.
The SIF must reach the school office by the deadline stated in our letter.
FOR APPLICANTS WHO ARE CHRISTIAN IN FAITH
For applicants who are Christian in faith
Please obtain a letter from your minister of faith supporting your application to Holy Family and submit it to the school office, along with the Supplementary Information Form (SIF), and any baptismal certificates by the date stated in the letter we will send to you. A supporting letter from the Minister of Faith is essential, and it helps with the ranking of the application.
FOR APPLICANTS WHO ARE OTHER FAITHS
For applicants who are of other faiths
Please obtain a letter from your minister of faith supporting your application to Holy Family, and submit it to the school office along with the Supplementary Information Form (SIF) by the date stated in the letter we will send to you. A supporting letter from the Minister of Faith is essential, and it helps with the ranking of the application.
FOR ALL OTHER APPLICATIONS
For all other applicants
Please complete the Supplementary Information Form (SIF) below and return it to our school office by the stated deadline.
FAQ's
FAQs
Question
We are a Catholic family and already have an older child at Holy Family. Do we still need to apply for a place?
Answer
Yes. Please apply to Essex Admissions by all the stated deadlines, submitting all the required evidence to support your application. (See link above to the Essex site)
Question
I am a Catholic, but I have decided not to baptise my child as I want them to choose for themselves. Will my application be counted within the Catholic category?
Answer
No. The application is for your child
Question
I have included a supporting letter from myself. Will this be counted as evidence?
Answer
Whilst it is lovely to hear why you would like to send your son/daughter to Holy Family, we can only accept a supporting letter from a Priest/Minister of Faith/Faith Leader.
Question
We are a non-Catholic family, but all our older children are at Holy Family. Will we automatically get a place?
Answer
We always hope that our non-Catholic siblings will get a place in Holy Family. As siblings, they would be at the top of category 9, and then in distance order. However, if we have a lot of non-Catholic siblings, it will go in distance order, so a place cannot be assured.
ADMISSIONS TIMETABLE
| KEY ACTION | SCHEME DATE |
| Publication of information (composite prospectus/admissions booklet) on ECC website | By 12 September 2025 |
| Reference to start of application process sent to all Essex infant and primary schools and early year providers | By 10 November 2025 |
| Primary school applications open for Essex County Council residents – online application systems opens | 10 November 2025 |
| LA notifies schools of all preference expressed for the school at that point in the process | 5 December 2025 |
|
National closing date for all applications. The online application system is closed after this date |
15 January 2026 |
| Inter-LA data exchange of applications undertaken | February 2026 |
| Lists for ranking lists provided to all infant/primary schools (including all application detail) for prioritising ALL applications against their over-subscription criteria and necessary checks, etc. subject to completion of data exchange | By 6 February 2026 |
| Admission authorities will apply their own admission criteria and rank all preferences received | 6 – 20 February 2026 |
| LA to receive completed lists of applications ranked in accordance with admissions criteria from ALL admission authorities | No later than 5pm on 20 February 2026 |
|
LA to process applications with reference to allocation lists and parental preference to establish ‘best fit’ of offers. Inter-LA data exchange of offers undertaken. |
March 2026 |
| LA to send ‘final’ allocation lists to all infant and primary schools in Essex subject to completion of data exchange | By 9 April 2026 |
| National Offer Day Offer notification sent to ECC residents | 16 April 2026 |
| Appeals date | 1st July 2026 pm |
| LA maintains waiting lists for all schools and fills places that become vacant | April 2026 until 31 August 2026 |
|
Waiting lists cease to be held by the LA. Waiting lists sent to Academies, Foundation and VA schools |
From 1 September 2026 |