We are always happy to show prospective parents around the Academy so that parents can learn more about the educational experience we offer children. Please contact the school office to book an appointment or our telephone number is 01638 715680.

West Row Academy follow the admissions criteria of Unity Schools Partnership. A copy of the Trust’s Admissions Policy can be found on our Policies and Documents page.

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Suffolk County Council manage admissions on our behalf for entry to Early Years (Reception Class). Their details are as follows:

Telephone: 0345 600 0981

Email: admissions@suffolk.gov.uk 

Website: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-places/

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Children coming into the Early Years Reception Year are admitted to school in September of the school year when they have their 5th birthday (i.e between 1st September and 31st August).

During the summer term, we hold open events for the families of the upcoming September intake into our Reception class. There are various opportunities for parents and new children to come into school and for our experienced team to visit you to help with the settling in process. Our Early Years team is led by Mrs Peachey and she can be contacted through our school office.

We follow the same Admissions Policy for children with Special Educational Needs and more information about this can be found along with the SEND policy, on our SEND page. 

A copy of our Admissions Policy is located on our Policies and Documents page.

Admissions Appeals:

If parents wish to appeal against a decision relating to admissions for West Row Academy, this must be done in writing and a form can be obtained from the Academy office. The Academy follows the appeals process of Suffolk County Council.

Please click here if you would like further information about admissions appeals.

Oversubscription:

If admissions for West Row result in the school being oversubscribed, we follow the Admission Policy of Unity Schools Partnership.

Consultation on Admission Arrangements for 2027/28

 6 October 2025- 17 November 2025

As the Admission Authority for West Row Primary Academy, Unity Schools Partnership (USP) is seeking views on proposed new admission arrangements for the school year 2027/28 for West Row Primary Academy.

All schools within USP follow the Admissions Code and the law relating to admissions. This accords with the Trust’s funding agreement with the Department for Education. Suffolk County Council will continue to co-ordinate the admission arrangements for the normal year of entry (Year R) for our Suffolk schools and USP will continue to administer in-year applications. Parents wishing to apply for a school place outside of a normal year of entry should contact the school office for further information which is also available within the Trust’s Primary Admissions Policy which can be found on our Policies and Documents page.

The current Published Admission Number (PAN) for West Row is 45 pupils for Reception. Unity Schools Partnership is seeking to reduce the PAN to 30, which would bring the PAN in line with numbers on roll for the last five years.

Arrangements for when a school receives a higher number of applications than it has places available will remain the same, with an over-subscription criteria being used to determine which pupils are allocated a place. The new admissions arrangements do not change the order in which the oversubscription criteria is applied but have been revised to provide greater clarity regarding how the sibling priority works (including sibling tie-break situations); how distances are calculated and a broken link to information about catchment areas has been fixed. The proposed new arrangements also now include clearer guidance regarding (i) the admission of pupils who have an Education, Health and Care plan which names the school, (who must by law be offered a place at that school), (ii) deferred entry (iii) requests for admission outside a child’s normal age group (iv) fair access protocol and (v) fraudulent and misleading applications. The changes made under these headings have been made to provide greater clarity and bring the policy in line with current guidance and Suffolk LA practice. The oversubscription criteria is available within the Trust’s Admissions Policy as above.

As part of the consultation process, you are entitled to give your views on the proposed changes to the admission arrangements described above [including the reduction in PAN]. You can do this by either:-

 Writing to us at: West Row Academy, Beeches Road, West Row, Suffolk, IP28 8NY.

or

Emailing us at: office@westrow-academy.org

Responses must be received no later than midnight on 17 November 2025.