All admissions to the school are processed by Norfolk Schools Admissions 

Thank you for your interest in The Belfry! The majority of children start at The Belfry in our Reception class (Holly) which is currently a mixed R/1 class with the priority being the highest adult-child ratios in the youngest years, just as in pre-school settings. If you would like your child to join us at The Belfry, please contact  Norfolk School Admissions , who will then get in touch with us. If there is space in your child's year group, you can then make an appointment with Nick Read, headteacher, or Steve Boast, deputy, to look around and ask any questions. You can also contact us directly for a tour, but you would still need to apply via Admissions.

As a Voluntary Aided school, the governors are the admissions authority. Nevertheless The Belfry follows the standard LA admissions criteria, prioritising children in catchment or those with siblings already at the school. Children with EHCPs should approach their assigned EHCP coordinator in the first instance to establish suitability of chosen schools for their child. It is worth noting that small schools generally deploy less specialist resources or expertise than larger schools. 

The Belfry CEVA Primary School, Overstrand Admissions Policy

If you would like your child to attend our school, please see full details of our admission arrangements below.

The Belfry C of E Primary School uses Norfolk LA policy for the admission of pupils to primary schools as a guide.  Prospective parents and carers are welcome to visit the school – please contact our school to make an appointment on 01263 576040. Admissions to the school are managed by the Admissions team at County Hall.  The application is an online process. 

Children born between 1^st September and 31^st August may start school full time in our Reception class at the beginning of the Autumn Term before their fifth birthday.   This is in accordance with the Norfolk County Council Admissions policy. Please note we have a full-time Reception class, and do not offer flexi or part-time schooling, although other schools may accommodate this.

Pre-school children will be invited to visit and spend time in the Early Years’ classroom at least three times during the Summer term before they are due to start school, culminating in staying for a full morning and lunchtime.

A meeting for parents and staff is arranged towards the end of the Summer Term at which relevant information about the school will be given.

Liaison with the pre-school provider(s) will be made before admissions take place and records will be requested to be transferred to the school. Pre-school settings who maintain a Tapestry record can transfer this to our system.

In the event of our school or certain year groups being oversubscribed, admissions criteria are applied by the LA on our behalf.  Further details on Norfolk’s Admission Arrangements can be found below and are on the Norfolk Schools website.

Norfolk County Council Admission Policy

 If there are more applications for places than there are places available, we will give preference to children living nearest to the school, according to the following rules in this order of priority: 

Children who are due to start school and: 

1. have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) naming that school
2. are in public care or have been adopted
3. live in the catchment area and who have a sibling attending the school at the time of their admission
4. live in the catchment area who have a brother or sister attending the feeder junior school
5. have a disability and live in the catchment area (Appropriate professional evidence will be required to confirm the disability) 
6. live in the catchment area 
7. have been allocated a permanent place at a Specialist Resource Base attached to the school. (Places allocated by Norfolk County Council's Placement panel) 
8. live outside the catchment area who have a brother or sister with a statement of special educational needs attending the school at the time of their admission
9. live outside the catchment area who have a brother or sister attending the school at the time of their admission 
10. live outside the catchment area who have a brother or sister attending the feeder junior school 
11. have a disability and live outside the area served by the school (Appropriate professional evidence will be required to confirm the disability) 
12. children of staff a) where a member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made and/or b) the member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for there is a demonstrable skill shortage 
13. live outside the catchment area 

If all children within any of the above rules cannot be offered a place, the highest priority will be given to children living nearest to the school within that rule. To determine who lives nearest, distance will be measured on a straight line 'crow fly' basis, using Ordnance Survey data. The address will be measured from the post office address point on the property. In the unlikely event that distance does not separate the final two or more pupils seeking the last remaining place, a random allocation will be used to determine who is offered the final place. NOTE: Criteria 7 only applies to schools which have a Specialist Resource Base on site. Feeder school priority will only apply in the first year of entry to the school.