Information for admissions.
Please do watch this video - we did make it in Covid but it is all still valid - except now you can visit the school in person!!
Come and visit us
If you are interested in your child joining the school, please contact us to discuss what we have to offer and to arrange a visit if you can. We don't offer 'open days' but more of a personalised appointment and tour for us to talk about your child and what you want for them from school. Please contact us to make an appointment
01803862018 head@the-grove-primary.devon.sch.uk
Once you decide you would like a place you must make a formal application.
How to apply
Most children join our school at the normal round, the main intake into school from the start of September in Reception. As a parent, you can apply for a place to the Local Authority.
There are different options for parents of children starting school in Reception. This includes part-time education and deferring or delaying admission until later in the Reception year or, for children with birthdays in the summer term, to the following September. Come and talk to us if you are considering this..
Do come and talk with us if you are interested in a place in a different year group for any reason.
Applications for residents of Devon are made between 1 September and 31 October for secondary schools at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline
Applications for residents of Devon are made between 15 November and 15 January for primary schools at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline.
If your child lives in another LA, including Cornwall, Dorset, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay you should apply through that council. The closing dates are the same nationally.
For questions about your child joining the school or just about the admissions process in general, please don’t hesitate to contact the school direct or contact Devon School Admissions Service on 0345 155 1019 or by email to admissions@devon.gov.uk Devon publishes guides to the admissions process: the Step by Step Guide and the In-Year Guide at http://devon.cc/prospectus
If you are interested in your child joining the school in-year (once the academic year has started), you can apply for a place through Devon County Council at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline
There is a right of appeal and to a place on a waiting list for places where an application is refused.
Devon County Council is the admissions authority for our school. It has responsibility for the admissions policies and decisions on applications for admission. We have an admissions policy for each academic year and they will be published on this page when they are proposed for consultation and after they have been determined annually. They are written to comply with the School Admissions Code 2021 and School Admissions Appeals Code 2022.
The Local Authority
We take part in the co-ordinated admissions schemes of Devon County Council. Devon County Council publishes information about admissions and its own policies to support the admissions application and appeals process. This is at www.devon.gov.uk/admissions
Applications can be made online at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline or by using the forms available at http://devon.cc/applicationforms
The appeals process is detailed at www.devon.gov.uk/school-appeals
Our Admissions Policies
You can find our admissions policies below - we review the school policy annually and may make changes if we feel this would be in the best interests of the school and our community.
Each academic year has its own policy document, with details about how to apply for a place in school from the start of Year X through to Year Y.
School admissions policy 2023-24 and 2024-25
See our determined policy below. If you have any comments regarding the policy, you can contact us at the school or schoolsadmissionpolicy-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.
The following amendments were made in August 2022 and August 2023 to the determined policy for 2023-24 and 2024-25 to comply with the revised School Admissions Code 2021: priority for children adopted from state care outside England was added to oversubscription criterion 1; wording added to reflect that decisions on in-year admissions must be sent to a parent within 15 school days; provision added for Hard to Place children; advice added regarding applications for overseas children.
See our determined policy below. If you have any comments regarding the policy, you can contact us at the school or schoolsadmissionpolicy-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.
School admissions policy 2025-26
See the policy below. This will be open for comment during a public consultation for all policies in Devon between 1 November 2023 and 6 January 2024 at www.devon.gov.uk/admissioarrangements If you have any comments regarding the policy, you can contact us at the school or schoolsadmissionpolicy-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.
Proposed changes from the policy for 2025 are highlighted in red text.
The policy will be determined by our admissions authority before the end of February and published here by 15 March 2024.
See below for all these policies
The Admissions Appeals Timetable 2024
Appeals at the normal round of admissions will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 31 May 2024. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 17 April 2024, they will be heard within that 40-day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Appeals at the normal round of admissions will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 31 March 2024. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 1 March 2024, they will be heard within that 40-day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
The Admissions Appeals Timetable 2025
Appeals at the normal round of admissions will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 31 May 2025. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 16 April 2025, they will be heard within that 40-day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Appeals at the normal round of admissions will be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for lodging appeals on 31 March 2025. Where the application was not made in time for a decision to be made on 1 March 2025, they will be heard within that 40-day period or, if that is not possible, within 30 days of the appeal being lodged. In-year admission appeals must be heard within 30 school days of the appeal being lodged.
Devon County Council is the admissions authority for our school, responsible for setting our admissions policy and making decisions when an application is made to join us. Devon County Council's Admissions Service manages applications on our behalf. For further information or advice about the admissions process, parents can call My Devon on 0345 155 1019 or visit www.devon.gov.uk/admissions.
Parents can apply for a Reception intake place here using their Local Authority Common Application Form (for children who live in the Devon County Council area, this is available at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline or by requesting a copy of the from My Devon. Applications should be made up to the national closing date of 15 January– late applications may be at a disadvantage. Decisions are sent to parents around 16 April.
For admissions at any time after the start of the Reception year, you can apply using the D-CAF, wherever your child lives. Copies are available from My Devon.