Our School
Welcome to our admission page, where you will find all the information you need if you would like to apply for a place in our school. The page is divided into three sections
- Nursery Applications
- Reception Applications
- In-year Applications
Please click on the tab to go to the relevant information.
Applying For A Secondary School.
You can apply for a secondary school place from September until the 31st October.
To apply online go to
Please click on the video below to watch a find out more information on how to apply to for a secondary school place and information on when local school tours are happening this year.
In Year Admissions
In year admissions are handled by the County admissions department. Families who move into the area, should contact the in-year admission team to find out which schools in the area have spaces.
County admissions In Year Phone number: 0300 123 4043
You may also contact the school to see if we have places in the year groups you require. The number of places in a school is set according to the accommodation available in the school. The way of doing this is decided by the LA. The result is an admissions limit, which, for Ladbrooke JMI School, is 30 children for each school year.
If there are sufficient spaces within the school, you will be invited to visit the school and be offered the chance of a guided tour. Should you then wish to enrol your child/children; the relevant paper work will be given to you on this visit.
If there are no places available, you will be offered the chance to go on the waiting list. The order on the waiting list is determined by the admission rules. Please see the section on Reception admissions for a full list of these.
Applying for a Reception Place at Ladbrooke School
At the beginning of the school year in which each child will be five, parents can apply for a reception place at the school. This is done online via www.hertsdirect.org/admissions. Parents/carers are required to fill a form in and return it before a given date.
This year the you can apply from Wednesday 1st November 2023 until Monday 15th January 2024.
County admissions will allocate places based on the admissions rules below. Please note that you still have to apply for a reception place if your child is in the nursery. We are sorry but being in the nursery class does not guarentee you a place in reception.
Places this year will be allocated on Tuesday 16th April 2024.
Parents/carers must then choose whether to accept or reject this offer within a given time. There are appeal procedures, which the LA will explain, should parents/carers have a problem with the decision.
Once a place has been accepted at Ladbrooke, we will make contact, giving you details of a chance to visit before your child begins school.
Current Hertfordshire County Council's admission rules for community primary schools
We apply these rules in the order they are printed below. This means that we offer places first to every child who qualifies under Rule 1, and then to every child who qualifies under Rule 2, and so on. If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, we use a tiebreak by applying the next rule to those children.
Rule 1: Children looked after and children who were previously looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order)*.
Rule 2: Medical or Social Children for whom it can be demonstrated that they have a particular medical or social need to go to the school, which includes children previously from abroad who were cared for by the state because he or she would not otherwise have been cared for adequately and subsequently adopted.
A panel of officers will determine whether the evidence provided is sufficiently compelling to meet the requirements for this rule. The evidence must relate specifically to the school applied for under Rule 2 and must clearly demonstrate why it is the only school that can meet the child’s needs.
Rule 3: Linked School (This rule only applies to pupils who are currently attending an infant school which has a linked junior school¹.) In the case of junior schools, children who attend the linked infant school at the time of their application.
Rule 4: Sibling Children who have a sibling on the roll of the school or linked school at the time of application*. This applies to reception through to Year 5 in infant, junior and primary schools; and from reception through to Year 3 in first schools; and from Year 5 to Year 7 in middle schools.
Rule 5: Nearest School Children for whom it is their nearest school or academy. This includes all schools except those which allocate places on the basis of faith.
Rule 6: Distance Children who live nearest to the school. Children not considered under rule 5 will be considered under rule 6.
These rules are applied in the order they are printed above. If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, the next rule will be used to further prioritise children.
Tie Break
When there is a need for a tie break where two different addresses are the same distance from a school, in the case of a block of flats for example, the lower door number will be deemed nearest as logically this will be on the ground floor and therefore closer. If there are two identical addresses of separate applicants, the tie break will be random. Every child entered onto the HCC admissions database has an individual random number assigned, between 1 and 1 million, against each preference school. When there is a need for a final tie break the random number is used to allocate the place, with the lowest number given priority.
Continuing Interest
After places have been offered, Hertfordshire County Council will maintain a continuing interest (waiting) list for all community and voluntary controlled schools. A child’s position on a CI list will be determined by the admission criteria outlined above and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it. The county council will contact parents/carers if a vacancy becomes available and it can be offered to a child. Continuing interest lists will be maintained for every year group until the summer term (date to be confirmed). To retain a CI application after this time, parents must make an In Year application.
In Year Admission
Hertfordshire County Council co-ordinate In Year Admissions for all community and voluntary controlled schools. Information about how to aply and the online application form can be found at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/inyear the oversubscription criteria outlined above is used to prioritise all In Year applications to community and voluntary controlled schools.
Fair Access
Community and voluntary controlled schools will admit children under the Fair Access Protocol before those on continuing interest, and over the Published Admission Number (PAN) if required.
Please note that the rules for Hertfordshire County Council have been printed in accordance with the determination of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. For further information, please contact the Admissions and Transport team.
Further details can be found in the "Starting School" booklet and on the Hertfordshire web site: http://www.hertsdirect.org/scholearn/admissions/
Starting at Ladbrooke
We have a single intake into the reception class. All children, irrespective of birth date, start reception in September. To support a successful integration into the school the start of the term is staggered as follows
Week 1 All children attend from 8.45am - 12.00pm
Week 2 All children attend from 8.45am - 1.30pm
Week 3 All children are in full time from 8.45am - 3.00pm
Nursery Admissions
At Ladbrooke School Nursery we care about giving your child the best possible start to their school life.
Our dedicated staff members are committed to meeting the needs of each individual child, while nurturing their interests and talents. Activities are planned to ensure all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum are covered and are designed to follow the interests of the children to ensure maximum engagement.
We offer a safe and stimulating environment which is filled with open-ended resources and learning opportunities. Our exciting outdoor area has been developed to include a natural climbing structure, new texture kitchen, construction shed, bug hotel, wildflower grass area and ‘secret garden’.
As a parent or carer you are kept fully informed of your child’s progress through their Tapestry Online Learning Journal which gives you access to photographs, videos and observations made throughout the day.
We would welcome the chance to show you our setting in action, so if you would like to visit, please make an appointment to come and see us.
What We Offer
Ladbrooke JMI School offers up to 30 hours of child care, term time only. This offer is made for children in the September after they turn three. If places are available we may take children in the term after they turn three, but this will be considered on an individual basis. We have 26 places available in each session.
All parents are entitled to 15 hours of free child care and can buy additional hours for their child. This is charged at £16 per 3 hour session. Some children will be entitled to 30 hours of free child care. The nursery operates from 9am until 12pm or from 9am until 3.00pm. Children can come to morning sessions or full day sessions. Stand alone afternoon sessions are not permitted. For example a child requiring 15 hours could come every morning for 5 x 3 hour sessions or could attend on two full days and one morning. If a child is staying all day, parents will need to provide them with a packed lunch.
What am I Entitled to?
All children, who are three or four years old are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare. Some children may be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare. To be eligible you will need to meet the following criteria
- earn or expect to earn the equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage over the coming three months;
- this equates to £120 a week (or c.£6,000 a year) for each parent over 25 years old or £112.80 a week (or c.£5,800 a year) for each parent between 21 and 24 years old;
- this applies whether you are in paid employment, self-employed or on a zero hours contract;
- the parent (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the free childcare to enable them to work;
- where one or both parents are on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, or if they are on statutory sick leave;
- where one parent meets the income criteria and the other is unable to work because they are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have been assessed as having limited capability to work;
- where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’ (i.e. they are newly self-employed) they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months;
- either parent has an income of not more than £100,000
if a non-EEA (European economic area) national, the parent must have recourse to public funds.
A parent will not meet the criteria when:
either parent is a non-EEA (European economic area) national and subject to immigration control (and has no recourse to public funds).
More information on this can be found at
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/parents
Can I look around the Nursery?
Visits to the nursery are warmly encouraged throughout the Spring Term. Please contact the school office to find out the dates and times and whether there are any restrictions in place. These dates and times are usually available by December.
How do I apply?
Click on the link below. Complete the form and hand it into the school office
When do I apply?
Applications for September 2024 can be made between 1st February and 8th March 2024.
After this time, applications will be classed as late applications and will be looked at after other applications have been considered.
We will consider early applications for children in the term after they have turned three, but these will be considered on an individual basis and only if places are available.
How Applications are considered?
Once the closing date has arrived, we will then consider all the applications made. If there are less than 26 applications made, all offers will be made. If we receive more applications, then the following criteria will be applied.
- Does your child have an EHCP?
- Is your child a looked after child?
- Does your child have any medical or social reasons why Ladbrooke is the school they should go to?
- Does your child have a sibling in the school?
- Does one or more of the parents work in the school?
- Are you taking up the 30 hour offer?
- The distance you live from the school
To be eligible for criteria 1-3, further documents will be required at the point of application. If these are not sent in with the application form, this criteria will not be considered.
How will distances be measured?
We will use the following online distance measuring tool to calculate the straight line distance from your house to the school
www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm
When will offers be made?
Offers will be made in the week beginning 11th March 2024. Parents will have until 25th March 2024 to accept or reject the offer.