School Admissions
Admissions
Choosing a nursery, school or college placement for child/young person can be a difficult decision. Parents often ask many questions about how they know how to apply for a school place and which school will meet their child’s needs the best.
If you decide you want to take someone with you (perhaps your partner, relative or a friend who knows your child well) to visit a school, take any relevant information about your child, such as any assessments, educational psychology advice and copies of Individual Education Plans or school reports.
Following statutory guidance, SENDIASS are to remain impartial and therefore, cannot recommend a school to you; however, we would advise you to think about the following factors before choosing and applying for your child’s school placement:
- Location.
- Close to childcare/family and friend’s support.
- Does your child already know anyone in the school?
- Do they have siblings that attend the school?
- What can the school offer your child in terms of SEND support (check out their policy and website).
- Have you viewed the school and spoke to Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)?
- Does the school have wraparound childcare?
- Make a checklist of all the things that are important to your child and you.
- Look up the school’s most recent Ofsted report.
How to apply?
The government website gives the following information on how to apply for your child’s school place and when you should expect to hear about your child’s placement. Follow your local council’s application process to apply for a primary school place or for a secondary school place.
You must still apply for a place, even if the school is linked to your child’s current nursery, infant or primary school.
Apply directly to the provider for:
- a 6th form place at a school or college
- a place at a private school
Moving to another area
You apply through your local council even if you’re applying for schools in another council area or you’ve just moved to England.
If you’re applying from another country, contact the local council in the area where you’re going to live.
You may need to:
- Supply proof of your new address, for example, a mortgage or rental agreement or deeds for the property
- Prove that you’ll live in the area before the start of the next school term
- Complete the application
- When you fill in the form (online or on paper) you’ll be asked to list the schools you’re applying for in order of preference.
Listing only one school will not increase your chances of getting a place there.
To get a copy of the application form on paper, contact your local council.
When to apply
Applications open on different days in each local council area. Find out from your local council when applications open for primary or secondary schools.
Applying after the start of the school year
Contact your local council to find out about applying for a school place once the school year has started (known as in-year applications).
They can tell you which schools still have places and how to apply. Once your child has been offered a place, they will usually start school at the beginning of the following term.
Applying for a primary school place
You must apply for a primary school place a year before your child can start school.
Applications open in September and close on 15th January. Your child will be 3 or have just turned 4 when you apply.
You’ll need to apply then even if you want your child to start part-way through the year.
Applying for a secondary school place
The deadline for applying is 31st October.
Your child is less likely to be offered a place at their chosen school if you miss the deadline for applications.
Councils will send offers of school places for:
- Primary schools on 16th April.
- Secondary schools on 1st March.
If either date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, offers are sent the next working day.
You must accept the offer by the deadline given in the offer letter. Otherwise, it may be withdrawn and the place given to someone else.
The local council must provide a place at another school, if your child is not offered a place at any of the schools you’ve applied for. This is usually your nearest school with places still available.
Choosing a school
Most children with Special Educational Needs can be taught in mainstream schools. If your child has more severe or complex needs, you may want to consider a school with an additionally resourced provision or a specialist school.
Whether your child is starting school for the first time, transferring to secondary school, or moving schools for any other reason, there are a number of things you might want to think about when you are looking at schools to help you make your decision.
This is not a definitive list. You may have other questions you wish to ask, but you might like to use these ideas as a starting point.
- visit more than one school so that you have something to compare
- start with schools that are local to you
- read the latest Ofsted report and parent view feedback
- read the school's SEN information report (this should be on their website)
- keep an open mind until you have looked at all the possibilities and spoken to the professionals involved with your child
- contact the school and make an appointment to speak to the SENCO
Remember, your own experiences of school may affect the way you see the school so try to put these feelings aside and look at the school from your child’s perspective.
Before you visit the school, make your own list, or add to this one, and take it with you so that you can discuss your child’s needs as fully as possible with the school.
Take a notebook or paper with you when you visit because you may wish to make some notes on the school’s answers to your questions.
After the visit
- Make a list of all the things you were happy with and those that you were not.
- Keep this list and use it for comparing with any other schools that you look at.
- You might like to discuss your feelings about new schools with a someone, such as a friend.
Things to consider
- How will the move to the new school be planned?
- What is the school’s policy regarding communication with your child’s current school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) and class teacher?
- If your child currently has Teaching Assistant (TA) support, how will the new school ensure that TA support is in place when your child starts the new school?
- Will your child be able to visit the school on induction days?
- If your child’s current school is not a feeder school and there are no arrangements in place for group visits, can special arrangements be made for your child?
- How will your child travel to and from school?
- Can you walk your child to school?
- If your child has an EHC plan you can apply for SEN transport, but this is not guaranteed.
- How will the school ensure that you child is able to access the curriculum as fully as possible?
- Consider your child’s difficulties and strengths. What is your child good at and will they have the opportunity to develop their interests in the new school?
- Will the school include your child on day and residential trips?
- Will your child be able to access any after school activities and lunchtime clubs?
- Do the teaching staff who would be working with your child have relevant specialist training or the opportunity to access necessary training?
- Are there any other children in the school with similar Special Educational Needs (SEN) to those of your child? If so, has their placement been successful?
- Does your child require any specialist resources? If so, can the school provide them?
- What size class would your child be placed in?
- Does the school set or stream pupils?
- How does the SENCo communicate information about individual pupils to teachers? This is especially important at secondary school where a pupil might be taught by 13-14 different teachers in a week.
- If your child needs help with things like collecting lunch at lunch time or changing for PE, how will the school provide this help?
- Does your child need any therapy, such as Speech Therapy or Physiotherapy? If so, how would this happen?
- Will your child be able to get around the building easily?
- Do the classes change for every lesson? If so, does your child need help getting from one to another? What can the school offer if they do?
- What are the school policies on bullying, discipline, uniform and homework? Does the school have any other policies covering this?
- If you have any particular concerns, for example, that your child may be bullied, ask how the school would deal with this.
- Is there a Home-School agreement?
- What is the school’s behaviour policy? How does it apply it to children with SEND?
- If your child has behaviour difficulties, how would the school respond to this?
- What policy does the school have for contact with parents?
- Do parents have open access to school staff or are there special arrangements for making appointments?
- How does the school involve parents in school life?
- Look at the school website. There will be a lot of useful information there including all of the school policies.
- Look at the other children–are they happy and do they get on well with each other?
- Do you feel that you are made welcome?
- Do staff seem interested in you and your child?
- Do you think that your child would be happy here?
- If your child has any particular religious or cultural needs, would they be met?
- Do the classrooms look like places where children can learn?
- Are the displays current and interesting and do they seem to include pupils of all abilities?
If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan
If your child has an EHC plan, the law says that you have the right to “express a preference” for the school you wish your son or daughter to attend. If your child is already at school, in Year 4 (first schools), Year 6 (primary schools), Year 8 (middle schools) and Year 11 (secondary schools) an Annual Review meeting should include discussions about which type of school your child should go to for the next stage of their education. The same applies for young people in Post-16 provision.
Before naming a school in an EHC plan, the LA must consult with the governing body of the school and allow them 15 days to respond. Sometimes a school will state that it cannot meet the needs of a pupil or refuse to take a child for a variety of reasons. The LA should take account of a school’s views, but the LA has the final say on whether or not to name a school in an EHC plan. In most cases they do not need the agreement of the school, but there are some exceptions to this.
You will be asked to tell the LA your preference for a school and they will then take your views into account when decisions are being made about which school can best meet your child’s needs.
If the LA does not agree to name your preferred school, you may have the right to mediation or to appeal.
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