Admissions
You are warmly invited to visit our wonderful school. Please complete the below form to book a tour: Open Morning Booking Form
Our Open Mornings are held on the first Wednesday of every month during term time. Open mornings start at 9:15am and finish 10:15am.
If you have any other questions regarding joining Dalmain, please email: attendance@dalmain.lewisham.sch.uk and we would be delighted to provide you with more information.
Applications
Applications for a primary school place at Dalmain School are processed centrally by the London Borough of Lewisham Admissions team, following Lewisham’s Determined Admissions Criteria. If the school is oversubscribed places will be allocated, in order, to:
- Children in care
- Children with a medical or social need
- Siblings of children already in school
- Children who live closest to the school
If you are a Lewisham resident, to apply for a place in reception at Dalmain you need to either apply online on the eAdmissions website: https://www.eadmissions.org.uk/eAdmissions/app, or complete a common application form, which is available from any Lewisham primary school or from AccessPoint in the Town Hall.
If your child is not offered a primary school you applied for, please contact them via their appeals service: Lewisham Council - Appeal against not getting a primary school place
- Reception Class
Children start in Reception the September after their fourth birthday. Applications can be made between September and January for a place the following September. - Other Year Groups & In Year Applications
For any other applications, the parent/carer should contact Lewisham’s Admissions Team directly, by telephone on 020 8314 8282, by fax on 020 8314 3039 or by email on schooladmissions@lewisham.gov.uk. If you are applying from another Lewisham school you will first need to meet with the Headteacher of the current school to discuss your reasons for wanting to move. - Nursery Class
In line with the Early Years Free Entitlement (570 hours of free early education year taken as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year), Dalmain’s Nursery class offers 50 part time places (25 in the morning, 25 in the afternoon). Children can start in nursery the September after their third birthday.
Applications for a place in our Nursery can be made directly to the school, by collecting an application form from the Reception desk and returning it directly to the school once completed. Applications can be made at any time prior to the end of March for a place the following September.
We also offer full time places for children who are eligible for 30 hours - check here to see if you are eligible: https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare
The Admissions Procedure
If a child is offered a place at Dalmain, a member of the school office staff will call the child’s parent/carer and invite them into school for a meeting, during which they will complete the relevant enrolment forms. Parents will be given a handbook containing some information about the school, and will also have a chance to purchase school uniform. Children will be informed of the name of their class and teacher.
Children who have English as an additional language will be given an appointment with the EAL teacher (which the parent can also attend), during which their level of English fluency will be assessed.
Pupil Premium
Parents/carers of pupils who are eligible for free school meals will be advised on how to apply for free school meals in order that the school receives additional Pupil Premium funding for that child. School staff will also advise the parent of other benefits available through the Pupil Premium funding, such as subsidised music tuition and Breakfast Club membership.
Lewisham Parental Responsibility Protocol
Lewisham Parental Responsibility Protocol
Please see below our new parental responsibility protocol.
We will ask the parent or carer who makes the application to provide:
- two documents confirming their address
- one document confirming their child's address
- one document confirming their child's date of birth.
Confirming the address the parent or carer should provide:
- one document from Section A and one document from Section B.
Section A
|
Document |
Notes |
|
Council Tax statement or letter |
This must be supplied if the applicant is the council taxpayer and must be for the current financial year. |
|
Tenancy agreement or solicitor’s letter confirming completion of house purchase. |
Must be current and include the pages that show the names of the tenants. If this is a new address, the applicant must supply a letter from solicitor confirming completion date. (If child is named on this it can be used as a proof of address for child if no other child documents are available) |
|
Letter from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) or UK Border Force (UKBA) confirming you live at the address |
Must be current year. |
Section B
|
Document |
Notes |
|
TV licence |
Must be for current year. |
|
Utility bill |
Must not be more than three months old. Mobile phone bills will not be accepted. |
|
Driving licence |
Must be current. |
|
NHS registration card |
Must show the applicants name and address. |
Confirming your child's address
The applicant must provide one of the following documents to confirm the child’s name and address.
|
Document |
Notes |
|
Child NHS registration card |
Must show the child's name and address. |
|
Medical letter or prescription |
Must not be more than 12 months old. |
|
Immigration documents |
Must show address. |
|
Letter signed by "No recourse to public fund" team |
Must state child and parent’s name and address. |
|
Letter signed by social services - If child is a Looked After |
Must state the child and carer’s name and address. |
Confirming your child’s date of birth
The applicant must provide one of the following documents to confirm the child’s date of birth.
|
Document |
Notes |
|
Passport |
Must be current. |
|
EU national identity card |
Must be current. |
|
Prescription or medical letter |
Must have the child's name and date of birth printed on it. |
If the documents can't be provided
If the parent or carer is unable to provide any of the documents above, a sworn affidavit, statutory declaration or affirmation must be provided. It must state parent and child's full name, address, the date the applicant started living at that address and the child’s date of birth.
The document must signed by a solicitor holding a current practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Please note that Lewisham Council will not contribute towards the cost of obtaining this documentation.
The person completing the application must be the child’s parent (including adoptive parents) or the person with legal parental responsibility. We cannot accept applications from a grandparent or other family member unless they have legal parental responsibility.
If the applicant applying for a school place is not the child’s parent, they will need to include a letter explaining the relationship is to the child and why they are applying instead of the parent. The applicant must also provide a legal document to prove they have parental responsibility.
Shared care arrangements: Lewisham is aware that some parents share the care of their child. Lewisham will normally accept that the child lives with the parent who makes the application and is able to provide documentary evidence of the child’s main domiciliary address, ie who the child lives with on school days.
STEPS TO BE TAKEN FOLLOWING PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY DISPUTES
What will Lewisham do if two parents are in dispute and both want to submit two separate applications from two different addresses and both have parental responsibility?
According to: Government Guidance, called Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility Updated 3 September 2018
Where a parent’s action, or proposed action, conflicts with the school’s ability to act in the child’s best interests, the school should try to resolve the problem with that parent but avoid becoming involved in conflict. However, there may be occasions when a school needs to decline requests for action from one or more parents.
In cases where schools cannot resolve the conflict between separated parents, they should advise the aggrieved parent to pursue the matter through the Family Court.
Therefore if two parents, submit two separate applications and are unable to agree whose application will be processed, Lewisham will proceed with the parent who is able to provide the appropriate documentation.
If both parents provide the documentation, then neither application will be processed until a resolution is sought.
Lewisham may check its records, as well as those of other external agencies, to confirm a child’s permanent home address.