By law children are required to attend school from the beginning of term following their fifth birthday. Children of the appropriate age who move into the area may join the school subject to availability of places (for our school the maximum number in any one National Curriculum year group is 20).

If your child is due to start primary school in September 2024, you can appeal if you are refused a place at one of your preferred schools on National Offer Day (16th April 2025).

You must submit your appeal before 14th May 2025 for it to be considered by 16th July 2025. Any appeals received after this time will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline, or where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education.

Starting School

It is a great help, particularly to the children’s confidence, if, by the time they start school, they are able to:

• go to the toilet without assistance
• use a knife, fork and spoon
• dress and undress themselves
• understand and obey simple verbal instructions

On the first day of school it would be useful for you to bring your child into school and for them to have:

• a named PE kit
• fruit for morning playtime
• a named lunchbox, if they are having packed lunches, with favourite packed items so that there is nothing new for them to cope with at lunchtime

In-Year Admissions

All admissions that do not form part of the coordinated Reception application process are called ‘in year admissions’.

All ‘in year’ school applications regardless of year group and point of entry should be made directly to the school that you wish your child to attend. If you are interested in your child joining Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School, please speak to the school office and before making a formal application for a place. You will need to complete an In Year Admission Form (IYAF) and return it to the school office for processing.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days. If there is no space available, you will have the option of appealing for a place, and your letter will explain how to do this.

Your child’s next school

At the age of eleven all children transfer to secondary school. The local authority will send parents particulars of all the options open to them at the end of Year 5. A Year 6 parents evening is held in the Autumn term at school to provide helpful information to parents about the transfer process. Parents will also be invited to attend an individual interview with the Class Teacher to discuss each child and their appropriate placement in a secondary school.

In order to ease the transfer to secondary school each child’s abilities and progress are discussed with the school concerned. Secondary teachers visit Temple Ewell School and the children before they transfer. Most pupils spend a day in their secondary school before they start in the September. All secondary schools hold open days/evenings where parents may visit each school and talk with staff. These evenings are co-ordinated to enable parents to visit as many schools as they wish.

In recent years children from Temple Ewell School have transferred to the following schools:

• Dover Christ Church Academy
• Dover Grammar School for Boys
• Astor College for the Arts
• Dover Grammar School for Girls
• St Edmunds R C Comprehensive School
• St Anselm's R C Comprehensive School
• Roger Manwood's School