Admissions
Thank you for your interest in St Catharine’s. Below you’ll find our admissions policies, the forms you may need and our parish maps. Every day is an open day, so we’d love to show you around.
Admissions Policies
Our admissions policies for 2026–2027 and 2027–2028 are published on our trust’s website.
Forms
Admission Appeals Process and Form (Word document)
In-Year Admission Application Form: included at the end of the current Admissions Policy.
Applying for a Reception place in September 2027
Applications for children starting school in September 2027 must be made to your local authority by 15 January 2027. If you live in Gloucestershire, apply through Gloucestershire School Admissions.
Starting Reception
Your child’s journey to school starts at home.
Every child develops at their own pace, and some children need more help than others when it’s time to start school. That’s completely normal. Practising a few key skills at home will help make the move to Reception as positive as possible. Click a heading below to find out more.
How can I help my child get ready?
- School brings lots of new activities and routines. Your child will need to do some things more independently than before.
- Research shows that a child’s relationship with their parents is the most important factor in their development, so there’s a lot you can do at home.
- Practise as a family through fun, everyday activities (see the useful links below).
- Some skills take time to master, so introduce them gradually as part of your daily routine.
- If your child attends a nursery, pre-school or childminder, they will work with you to help your child get ready.
What if my child has additional needs?
- Share as much information as you can with your child’s new teacher, so we can work with you to find strategies that help them settle.
- Summer-born children, and those learning English as an additional language (EAL), may need a little more support.
- If your child has suspected or confirmed special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or developmental differences or delays, some of the skills below may not yet be achievable, and that’s okay.
- Early support makes a big difference. Ask your child’s nursery, health visitor, local children’s centre or Family Hub for help.
Who can I speak to for help?
All children need their trusted adults to help them feel confident and excited about starting Reception.
- Your childminder, nursery or pre-school team, health visitor, children’s centre or Family Hub can all offer advice.
- You’re always welcome to contact the school office to speak to our Reception team.
Skills to practise before starting Reception
New skills take time to learn. Practising little and often at home will help your child start school with confidence.
1. Growing independence
Taking care of themselves
- Putting on and taking off their coat and shoes
- Using the toilet and washing their hands
- Getting dressed with little help (e.g. after using the toilet or PE)
- Using a fork and spoon, and drinking from an open cup
- Spending time away from you, learning that other caring adults can look after them
Play, creativity and curiosity
- Imaginative play, such as role play
- Drawing, painting, colouring and sticking
- Sharing story books, looking at the pictures and talking about the characters
- Exploring the world around them, such as the natural world or playing safely with objects at home
2. Building relationships and communicating
Being with others
- Sharing and taking turns with toys
- Talking about how they are feeling and why. Story books are a great way to talk about characters’ feelings
- Beginning to recognise how others feel (e.g. noticing when a friend is sad)
- Setting simple boundaries, such as knowing how to say “no”
Communication and language
- Singing songs and nursery rhymes
- Talking happily about activities, experiences and the world around them
- Asking for help clearly (in simple English, their home language or sign language)
- Recognising their own name, so they can find their coat peg
Listening and engaging
- Paying attention for short periods of time
- Listening to and following simple instructions
- Keeping going when a task is tricky, and bouncing back when things go wrong
3. Physical development
Getting moving for at least three hours a day
- Walking up and down steps (one foot at a time, holding the rail or wall)
- Climbing, running, jumping and playing
- Catching a large ball (most of the time)
- Doing simple puzzles and crafts, and strengthening their grip through cutting and sticking
Healthy routines
- Going to bed at around the same time each night and waking in time to get ready for school
- Keeping screen time within recommended limits (see the useful links below)
- Eating a healthy diet and trying new foods
- Brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day (supervised until at least age 7)
Concerns about your child’s development
What if I have concerns?
- Talk to your childminder, nursery or pre-school team, health visitor, local children’s centre or Family Hub.
- If your child has suspected or confirmed SEND or developmental delays, speak to their early years setting well before they start Reception.
- Work with your child’s setting to support self-care, managing emotions, social skills and communication in a way that suits their stage of development.
- Share useful information with everyone supporting your child, including their new Reception teacher: their needs, what motivates them, what might cause difficulties, how they learn best and which strategies work well.
Organisations that support families with additional needs
These organisations offer information and strategies to help you, your child and their setting prepare for a smooth transition:
Useful links
Click a heading to see the links for that area.
Getting school ready
Taking care of themselves
Toilet training
Play, creativity and curiosity
- 5 steps for brain building through ‘serve and return’: Harvard Center on the Developing Child
- Following your child’s interests in play: National Literacy Trust
- Pretend role play: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Playing pretend animals: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Fire up their imagination with drawing: BBC Tiny Happy People
- What is mark-making and why does it matter? PACEY
- Sharing story books: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Nature activities for children: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Learning and having fun on the bus: BBC Tiny Happy People
- ‘What’s that sound?’ game: BBC Tiny Happy People
Building relationships and being with others
- Shaping Us Framework: The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood
- Enjoying stories together and starting-school book recommendations: BookTrust
- Helping your child make friends: Family Corner
- Understanding your child’s social development: Words for Life
- Practising sharing with toys: BBC Tiny Happy People
Communication, language and listening
- Helping your child learn to write their name: Words for Life
- Learning to talk, 3 to 5 years: NHS Start for Life
- Making up stories together: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Walk and talk trail: National Literacy Trust
- Listening game, cardboard telescope: BBC Tiny Happy People
- Listening game, Red Light, Green Light: BBC Tiny Happy People
