Admissions
Ready to join our community and become part of Team Portland?
📝 Complete our enquiries form for information about tours, open days and for help, and we'll get back to you. You can fill this in if you are interested in a school place for nursery or any year group.
📞 You can also call the main office on 0151 652 5124. Miss Taylor or Mrs McKay will be available to take your call throughout the day.
To apply for Nursery
Applications are made directly to the school. We recommend you contact us to arrange a viewing first.
- We have 28 Nursery places.
- We provide 30 hours per week of free nursery education, on a full-time only schedule (8.45am - 3.15pm).
- We request that packed lunches are sent in with Nursery pupils.
- Children can join us in September, January or April, after they turn 3 years old.
To apply for Reception
Applications are made via the Local Authority.
To apply for Years 1-6
Are you new to the area? Moving from another school?
Applications are made via the Local Authority.
Video tours and photo galleries
Nursery
Reception
Further information
Reception through to Year 6
For places in any year (apart from nursery)
You should apply on your local authority website.
Places are limited by the number of children we can (legally) accept in each year group.
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If you live in an area that’s Wirral – wirral.gov.uk
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If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council
Apply for a reception place (if you have missed the deadline)
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If you live in an area that’s Wirral – wirral.gov.uk
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If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council
Move to us from another school
If you want to move school, get in touch and we can help you get started. You can complete this online on your council’s website:
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If you live in an area that’s Wirral – wirral.gov.uk
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If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council
For support with this, please contact the in-year transfer team. For Portland this is – schooladmissions@wirral.gov.uk
Oversubscription Criteria
All applications are managed by Wirral Local Authority. We have a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 30 for our reception year group. Places will be offered up to but not exceeding the PAN. Regulations also require that reception and infant classes must have no more than 30 pupils to each qualified teacher.
Children with an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) will be admitted to the school named on their plan. These children are assigned places before the oversubscription criteria is applied.
When there’s more applicants than places available
It is the academy’s policy to try and meet parents’ wishes where possible, however, in some cases, there may be more applications than there are places available.
If the total number of preferences for admission to our academy exceeds the Published Admission Number of 30 (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places:
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Children who are looked after (in care), and children who were looked after but have been adopted or are subject to a residency order or special guardianship order (previously in care).
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Parents of children who live ‘in zone’ and already have older brothers or sisters at the school living in the same household at the time of the start date. If there are more children with older brothers or sisters at the same school than there are places available, we will give priority to children with the youngest brothers or sisters at the school. Where there is more than one child with a sibling in the same year group, priority will be given to those children who live nearest to the school.
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Parents of pupils who live ‘in the zone’ and have a valid medical reason. You must give details on the preference form and this may be checked by a medical officer of the health authority. A letter in support from a senior health care professional will be required as evidence, which must make clear why only this school is appropriate for your child’s medical needs.
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Parents of pupils who live ‘in zone’ and nearest to the school. We measure distances from home to the school gate nearest to the child’s home using the shortest road route, unless it is possible to use a footbath which we consider to be a safe walking route.
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If children do not live in the school’s catchment area, and if places remain available, places will be allocated in accordance with the following criteria:
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To children who already have older brothers or sisters at the school when they are due to start and living in the same household. If there are more children with older brothers or sisters at the school than there are places available, we will give priority to children with the youngest brothers or sisters at the school. Where there is more than one child with a sibling in the same year group, priority will be given to those children who live nearest to the school.
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To children who have valid medical reasons for going to the school. You must give details on the preference form and this may be checked by a medical officer of the health authority. A letter in support from a senior health care professional will be required as evidence, which must make it clear why only this school is appropriate for your child’s medical needs.
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To pupils who live nearest to the school. We measure distances from home to the school gate nearest to the child’s home using the shortest road route, unless it is possible to use a footpath which we consider to be a safe walking route.