Visits to Holy Family

Please see the scrolling bar on our homepage with all the dates for visiting us.  The deadline for applications is 15th January 2024.  This is directly to Essex.

Appeals

Please scroll further down this page to find out how to appeal an admissions decision.

WELCOME TO HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

Choosing the right school for your child is an important decision and I hope that the information contained within this website will assist you.

Holy Family is a school where we all work together to give the best possible start in school life for each child.  Our Mission Statement below is at the heart of all we do.

‘Living, Loving and Learning Together with Jesus’

We learn this in sign language so that even our very youngest pupils can understand what is important to us as a school, and what an important part they play.

As a Catholic school we place God at the centre of our lives, and we delight in the achievements of our pupils, however big or small.  We take pride in promoting Christian values and principles, and helping pupils to realise that they are unique and special.

Mrs Kelliher

Head Teacher

Holy Family is a Catholic school

Holy Family Catholic Primary School was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic

families. As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the school. All applicants are therefore expected to give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school.

CERTIFICATE OF CATHOLIC PRACTICE

Applicants applying under criteria 1 and 2  (document below), must submit a Certificate of Catholic Practice (CCP) by the closing date. This form (which used to be called a priest’s reference form) is available from the parish or from the diocesan website catholiceducation.org.uk. Parents should fill in the top part of the form with their details and then take the form to their parish priest (or the priest at the parish where they normally worship) for signature. It is the parent’s duty to ensure that the CCP is submitted to the school in good time. The priest will only sign this form if he knows you and agrees that you are a Certificate of Catholic Practice family.

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 above. 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 Certificate of Catholic Practice

-A Supplementary Information Form (SIF)

These documents must be supplied to the school by the deadline. It is the applicants 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

The Catholic Certificate of Practice (CCP) will only be available from your Parish Priest.  Please see him directly.  This form MUST be returned to Holy Family School by the deadline stated in our letter. The CCP is essential as it allows us to correctly prioritise applications in line with our admissions policy, as do the Baptismal certificates.

Please ensure that only current forms are used for both the Catholic Certificate of Practice and the Supplementary Information Form (SIF). See SIF above with the Admissions policy..

The SIF and CCP must reach the school office by the deadline stated in our letter.

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 the ranking of the application. 

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 the ranking of the application. 

For all other applicants

Please complete the Supplementary Information Form (SIF) above and return it to our school office by the stated deadline. 

Importance of a supporting letter from your Priest, Minister of Faith or Faith Leader

If your child (not you as a parent) is a baptised catholic you will be able to submit their baptismal certificate as part of the evidence to support your application to Holy Family.  Our admissions criteria can be found in our Admissions Policy.  As a faith school, catholic children rank at the top of the criteria.  We tend to have places available for non catholic children too, and these places are allocated according to the Admissions criteria.  A supporting letter from your faith leader will give us the necessary evidence to rank an applicant within categories 6, 7 or 8.  Without a supporting letter the application will go into category 9.

Each category also takes into consideration if there is a sibling at the school (in the September when you are applying for a younger child.  If your older child has left the school prior to your younger child starting that sibling link won't be applicable), and the distance that you live from the school (as stated by Essex Admissions)

FAQs

Question

We are a catholic family and already have a 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 at 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.  

Mid-Year Applications

All mid year admissions applications need to be made directly to Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Mrs Buet, our Admissions Officer, can be contacted on admissions@holyfamilyrc.essex.sch.uk 

A Supplementary Information Form for mid-year applications can be found below. 

Please supply this form with a copy of Birth Certificate, Baptism Certificate and Certificate of Catholic Practice if applicable. This will enable us to determine ranked admission for our waiting list.

We warmly welcome visits to our school.  Your son/daughter is most welcome to come too.

Holy Family Catholic Primary School (Witham) - 2023/2024

Timetable for Admissions and Appeals for Children Starting Primary School in September 2024

15^th January 2024       Closing date for applications.

                                      This is the last day for receipt by the Local Authority

                                      (Essex County Council) of the Common Application

                                      Form, either paper or online.

Your Supplementary Information Form (SIF) and

                                      Certificate of Practice from your Parish Priest (if

applicable) must also be sent to Holy Family Catholic Primary School by this date.

                                      Applications received after this date will normally

                                      be treated as late applications.

16^th April 2024             National Offer Day

                                      Essex County Council will send offer notifications

to Essex resident applications.

If you do NOT receive notification by 24^th April 2024, you should contact the LA School Admissions Team by email:  admissions@essex.gov.uk

13^th May 2024              Deadline for Lodging an Appeal

Deadline by when appeals against a refusal of a place should be lodged if you want it to be heard before the end of the summer term.

5th July 2024      Appeal Hearings (held virtually via Zoom)

(One of these dates            Appeals heard for those lodged by the above

to be confirmed after           deadline and where possible for late appeals.

17^th May)              

(Appeals for applications made within the normal admissions round will

be held within 40 school days of the above deadline.  Appeals for

late applications will be heard where possible within 40 school days of

the above deadline OR within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.)

September 2024         Appeal hearings for any appeals not heard

onwards                      before the end of the summer term

Waiting List

The waiting list for Holy Family Catholic Primary School is maintained by the Local Authority

until 31 August 2024.   Following that date the waiting list will be maintained by Holy

Family Catholic Primary School.

Admissions for September 2023

Please have a look at the current Foundation class webpage to see typical daily life at Holy Family.

https://www.holyfamilyschoolwitham.co.uk/class-pages/

Induction Information

https://www.holyfamilyschoolwitham.co.uk/new-parentchild-induction-information/