Admissions

Here you will find information regarding Admissions at Whitehill Primary School and Nursery along with some useful guides and forms from the Kent County Council website.

Admission Numbers

The school's published admission number for September 2024 (PAN) is 90.

Please click on the link below to read Whitehill Primary School's Admission Policy:

Whitehill Primary School's Admission Policy

Admission Arrangements

Kent County Council (KCC) co-ordinates the admission arrangements for children who are requiring a Reception placement at Whitehill Primary School.

KCC administrates Secondary placements when the time comes for our students to move on. Applications for Secondary School must be done via the Local Authority. If you wish for your child to attend a Grammar School then they will need to sit a test called the 11+ (known as the Kent Test in Kent). Interested parents must register their child for the test directly with the Local Authority.

Please click on the links below to access Kent County Council's information on application procedures and timetables:

KCC's School Places Webpage KCC's Primary School Application Procedures Webpage KCC's PDF Guide to Applying for a Primary School Place KCC's Kent Test Information Webpage

Kent County Council's Admissions and Transport Offices are based at:

Sessions House, County Hall,
Maidstone,
Kent ME14 1XQ

Contact details for Primary Admissions Team at Kent County Council are:

Tel No. | 03000 412121
Email | [email protected]

Admission Forms

Please click on the relevant links below, complete and submit the form if you wish your child to transfer between schools midyear or if you wish your child to attend one of our nurseries:

In Year Admission Form This form must be used to request admission to or transfer between schools during the school year.

Expression of Interest Form for the 30 Hour Nursery Expression of Interest Form for the 15 Hour Nursery

If you have any further questions regarding admissions, please feel free to contact Mrs Lisa Webster in the main office on 01474 352973.

Getting Ready to Start School

A child's first day at school is an extremely important and exciting milestone. Many parents and carers ask how they can best support their child with their early days is school. Confidence is a vital ingredient to making a positive start. Children who know that their parents or carers are happy and excited for them to go to school are more likely to embrace the new experience.

Talking and encouraging conversations at home will prepare the children for school. They will be better equipped to express their interest, ideas and needs. They will also have the necessary language to form and sustain friendships. Talk about the objects that interest your child and use talk to structure your child's play. Talk about the pictures that interest your child in books and use Nursery Rhymes as a fun way to engage with your child. Encourage your child to describe things to you and answer questions as fully as possible. This approach will prepare the way for reading and writing by widening your child’s vocabulary.

Please encourage your child to do the following things that will help during the early days at school.

to dress him/herself and be able to pull on socks, fasten shoes, handle zips and buttons
to use the toilet independently and can do so before it is too late
to wash and dry his/her hands
to use a knife and fork
to put on a coat and hat and be able to remove them and hang them up
to recognise his/her own name on clothing
to use a handkerchief/tissue
to understand and carry out a simple one step instruction
to be able to listen
to use playground equipment, such as climbing frames and swings

Moving to a New Class or School

At Whitehill Primary School & Nursery, we recognise that transition at any time in our lives can cause anxiety. We subsequently take supporting smooth transition seriously. We feel that children who are supported in a positive way learn to deal with transition whenever it may occur in their lives, and therefore become more confident learners.

We want children to feel safe, secure and comfortable, and staff to have an awareness of the individual needs of the children to ensure continuity and progression.

We understand that the transition between new classes, Key Stages and new schools can be an anxious time for some children. As part of our personalised provision, we ensure that children who may find changes difficult are supported in their transition through additional visits to their new class, time to meet their new teachers in a more individualised setting and through the use of Social Stories.

The transition to secondary school is equally exciting for our oldest children, however we are fully aware that some children become anxious at the prospect of leaving behind their familiar primary school in exchange for the hustle and bustle of much larger secondary schools. To support children with this, our Year 6 children undertake transition work in Term 6, they visit their new schools on taster days and we invite the secondary school teachers in to meet their new pupils. Alongside this, our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENC0) will liaise closely with the pastoral support teams in our local secondary schools to secure additional visits and support as required for individual children.

We recognise that every child is unique so should your child especially struggle with transition or should you feel that they need more intensive support, please raise this with us and the SENCO will get in touch to form a plan.