Emmanuel School

Emmanuel Church of England Primary School

Emmanuel School on completion of the brand new Omega building (2013) and ready for the children to move in
Emmanuel School Omega building from the rear amphitheatre and playground

 

Emmanuel School Alpha building (1845) remodelled and redeveloped as an Early Years Foundation Stage building, being re-opened, blessed and re-dedicated by the Bishop of London (2013)

To visit the School website please click here.

For further details of School admissions policy and criteria please click here.


Emmanuel Church enjoys a warm and collaborative relationship with our Church of England Primary School in the service of the whole wider community of West Hampstead.  Church of England Schools are not “faith schools” in the way that such phrases are commonly used in the media and elsewhere, but rather schools which exist for the whole wider community in all its diversity.

Each week the whole school comes over to the Church for a celebration of the Eucharist and are often joined by parents and carers, friends and members of the community. As a Christian school, our inclusive Christian values permeate our curriculum and acts of collective worship and parents and carers are ask to accept this when they choose Emmanuel School for their child.  This essential inclusivity ensures that we are not doctrinaire or inappropriately proselytising and it is the right of every parent or carer to withdraw their child from acts of worship if they so wish. We rejoice that we live in a diverse and multi-cultural society and it is the policy of the school to teach children about other beliefs and traditions to enable them to be sensitive and tolerant towards those whose religion and culture is different from their own.  We celebrate the fact that our school includes children from a wide variety of expressions of family life and the school has undertaken training with the charity Stonewall to reflect this wonderful diversity.

We currently have two thirds of places for church places (Route A) and one third of open/community places.  The Emmanuel Church membership criterion  requires participation in the life of the Church through an attendance of attendance at Emmanuel Church for a minimum of six times in each of the eight quarters for twenty four months at the time of application in January each year.

Variation of School admissions policy during the Covid19 pandemic

We are have returned to the requirement for church attendance for school admissions’ purposes from 28 March 2021.  Fuller details are given below.

Resumption of Attendance Requirements – 28 March 2021

The Government has released guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic which recognises the importance that places of worship play in providing spiritual leadership for many individuals, and in bringing communities and generations together. Where it is now possible for normal Church services to resume, and where a full risk assessment has been performed to protect participants in Church services from COVID-19, the Emmanuel Primary School Church of England Governing Body  determined that attendance requirements for Members of Route A applicants resumed from 28 March 2021.  The Governors of Emmanuel School and Emmanuel Church leadership will continue to monitor Government guidance and will respond as necessary to new guidance as it is issued.

Proposal for Variation to the Admissions Arrangements for September 2021

At the Full Governing Body meeting on 13 July 2020, the Governors of Emmanuel C/E Primary School resolved to propose that a variation be made to the admissions arrangements for admission to Nursery and Reception in September 2021 and 2022, in respect of the over-subscription criteria relating to church attendance.

The variation requested is that “In the event that during the period specified for attendance at worship the church has been closed for public worship and has not provided alternative premises for that worship, the requirements of these admissions arrangements in relation to attendance will only apply to the period when the church or alternative premises have been fully available for public worship.”

The variation was approved by the Schools Adjudicator on 20 August 2020.

Pandemic Response Period

Due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and in line with the proposed variance noted above, the Emmanuel Primary School Church of England Governing Body have agreed to waive the attendance requirement for Members of Route A applicants over the period from 15th March 2020 through to 28 March 2021 (the ‘‘Pandemic Response Period”). The Pandemic Response Period will also include any further periods of time where the Government has instructed places of worship to close.

The end of the Pandemic Response Period reflects Government guidance. Members of another Christian Church which has not resumed normal services at the end of the Pandemic Response Period will be required to provide a letter from the clergy person in charge of the Christian Church stating the date from which normal services resumed.

This notice and any other notices relating to the Pandemic Response Period, including the end or resumption of the Pandemic Response Period, will be published in the following locations:

  1. Emmanuel C/E Primary School Admissions Website (https://www.emmanuel.camden.sch.uk/parents-carers/admissions/)
  2. Emmanuel Church West Hampstead Website (https://emmanuelnw6.com/)
  3. Emmanuel Church West Hampstead Mailing List
  4. Emmanuel Church West Hampstead Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/EmmanuelChurchWestHampstead/)

For applicants in January 2021 and 2022, the School Admissions Committee will expect to see evidence of Church Membership over the required two year period, but will disregard the lack of attendance during the ‘Pandemic Response Period’.

Note: Words in bold italics are defined in the Nursery and Reception Admissions Policies