Church schools traditionally exist for two purposes:

1. To educate the children of the faithful in a way that is consonant with the family's faith. (Domestic purpose)
2. To serve their community. (General purpose)

1 may be emphasised in RC schools or independent Christian schools.

2 is why Halewood CE was established. the school serves this parish by providing the best education in a Christian ethos.

National CE guidance says that CE schools are to be "distinctive and inclusive". Distinctive because everything we do is consonant with Christian faith. Inclusive means that we serve the children of this parish, irrespective of the faith of their parents.

The problem is to meet both criteria: to ensure that the school remains distinctive - otherwise it has no reason to exist - and to offer places at the school to any family in the parish who wants their children to be educated here.

Hence admissions criteria. what we need to guard against is an admissions policy that covertly selects children (or looks as if it might) on any other grounds, eg social. Eg, the distance to school criterion. Because of where the school is and the development of mostly private, owner occupier housing in Halewood Village, compared with the houses of the Torrington Estate, children from the expensive houses at the back of the school stand a better chance of getting a place than do those from the other side of the tracks (literally!). Or church involvement - a single mother on a limited budget may not be able to clean the church or someone who works shifts - class. CE Church-goers tend to be higher social class than non-church-goers, so selecting on church involvement tends to select higher social class.

Having sat in with the admissions committee for the first time, I now feel your pain! Once siblings were admitted, so few places to allocate between so many applicants. Blatant anomalies: a church-going family who live in the parish and want their child to be educated in a school with a Christian ethos, but worship somewhere other than St Nicholas' or St Mary's, are not given a place; while another family turn up at St Nicholas' a few times and then ask me to support their application. (I sign the form and explain the criteria.)

Also need to discuss the place of St Hilda's, Hunts Cross - we are linked to them as a 'cluster'. We need to protect the Church of England's role - we supports the school by providing Governors, etc. so people who support the CE do expect our school to offer places to their children. Illustration: leavers service disrupted by industrial action. School changed the day and moved it from church to school. Protests! The Church is not just a venue: people whose children are at HCEPS regard St Nicholas' as their church - even those who don't attend regularly.

Need t