Admissions Consultation 2027 to 2028

Consultation - 3 November to 15 December 2025

We are seeking your views on proposed changes to the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled primary, infant and junior schools in Wokingham for the school year 2027 to 2028.

This consultation will run from 3 November 2025 until 15 December 2025.

How to respond

Please use the online response form on our Engage website to submit your comments on the plan.

Background

The School Admissions Code (2021), published by the Department for Education, requires all admission authorities to consult on their admission arrangements if they are seeking to make changes from the previous year. Consultation must take place for a minimum of 6 weeks between 1 October and 31 January. The final arrangements must be determined by 28 February 2026.

Admission arrangements are the formal rules and processes that govern how school places are offered. For Wokingham’s Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, they include:

• An admissions Policy: The criteria used to rank applications when a school is oversubscribed as well as definitions of key terms (e.g. sibling, home address) and how places are prioritised based on distance from home to school.
• Published Admission Number (PAN): The number of places a school must offer in the main year of entry (Reception for primary schools, Year 3 for junior schools).

Other documents include Wokingham Borough Council’s co-ordinated scheme for main round and in-year admissions.

Consultation

Summary of Proposed Changes to Admission Arrangements

Wokingham Borough Council is consulting on proposed changes to the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled to primary, infant, and junior schools. These proposals aim to simplify the admissions process, improve fairness, and align with national practice and local policies.

The proposals apply to the Wokingham Borough community and voluntary controlled primary schools listed below. 

• Aldryngton Primary School
• Bearwood Primary School
• Colleton Primary School
• Farley Hill Primary School
• Gorse Ride Infant School
• Gorse Ride Junior School
• Loddon Primary School
• Robert Piggott Infant School
• Robert Piggott Junior School
• St Paul’s Junior School
• Walter Infant School
• Winnersh Primary School
• Woodley Primary School

Proposal 1: Replace Catchment Areas with a Direct Distance-to-School (D2S) Model

Admissions would be prioritised based on straight-line distance from home to school, removing reliance on historic catchment boundaries. This model is clearer, fairer, and better aligned with Wokingham’s Travel Assistance policy.

Proposal 2: Remove the Medical/Social Needs Criterion

Due to low usage and complexity, this criterion would be removed. Children with significant needs will continue to be supported through other established routes, such as EHCPs.

Proposal 3: Prioritise Children of Established School Staff

Children of staff employed at the school for two years or more would be given priority, supporting staff retention and recognising their contribution.

Proposal 4: Amend the Secondary Admissions Evidence Deadline

The deadline for submitting evidence of house moves and other documents would move from 31 December to 30 November, improving consistency and processing efficiency.

Proposed Oversubscription Criteria (in priority order):

When a school receives more applications than it has places available, it becomes “oversubscribed.” In these cases, we need a clear and fair way to decide which children are offered places. Based on the proposed changes outlined in this consultation, we are considering the following order of priority for allocating places. Within each category, children living closest to the school (measured in a straight line) would be given higher priority.

1. Looked after and previously looked after children
2. Children transferring from a linked infant to junior school
3. Children of school staff (employed for 2+ years)
4. Siblings
5. Distance from home to school (straight-line)

Have your say

For full details of the proposals and to take part in the consultation, please visit the Engage website.

Admission policies

There are minor changes to the wording/phrasing of published school admission arrangements which were required to be written in line with guidance from the Department for Education. Changes were also made for clarification, defining key terminology and the changing dates for the admissions process.

Key documents

Please find the key documents below:

• Proposed Primary School Admission Arrangements 2027 to 2028 (PDF)
• Proposed co-ordinated admissions scheme for primary schools 2027 to 2028 (PDF)
• Proposed co-ordinated admissions scheme for secondary schools 2027 to 2028 (PDF)
• Proposed co-ordinated In Year Admissions Scheme 2027 to 2028 (PDF)

What happens after the consultation closes? 

All responses received by 15 December 2025 will be considered and presented to the Council’s Executive who will decide whether to proceed with the proposed changes as well as determining the admission arrangements for all community and voluntary controlled schools. All admission authorities must agree the admission arrangements that are most suitable according to the local circumstances.   

Determining admission arrangements 2027 to 2028

Admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools must be agreed (determined) by Wokingham Borough Council by 28 February 2026. 

Publication of determined arrangements 2027 to 2028

Once we have determined our admission arrangements, they will be available on the website for the whole offer year (the academic year in which offers for places are made.) Local authorities must publish on their website by 15 March 2026.