Find schools in your area and the admission criteria for the schools you’re interested in by contacting your council.

Apply outside your local council area

You can apply for schools outside your local council area. You can do this through your own local council.

Find out about a school

You can find out more by:

• visiting the school - most schools have open days you can go to
• reading the school’s most recent Ofsted reports
• checking school league tables, which include exam results
• talking to other parents about what they think of the school

What schools must publish on their website

Schools' websites must include:

• how much money they get from taking underprivileged children (the ‘pupil premium’), what they do with it and the effect it’s had
• details of the curriculum
• admission criteria
• behaviour policy
• special educational needs policy
• disability policy
• links to Ofsted reports
• links to performance data
• the school's latest key stage 2 and 4 attainment and progress measures

You can also get advice about choosing schools from your local council. All councils have teams to help parents get their children into schools.

All schools have admission criteria to decide which children can be allocated places.

Your local council can give you a booklet about schools’ criteria and how to apply. Contact the council if you’re applying for a school place after the start of the school year (eg changing schools).

Admission criteria are different for each school. For example, schools may give priority to children:

• who have a brother or sister at the school already
• who live close to the school
• from a particular religion (for faith schools)
• who do well in an entrance exam (for selective schools, eg grammar schools or stage schools)
• who went to a particular primary school (a ‘feeder school’)
• in care or being looked after (all schools must have this as a top priority)

Complain about unfair criteria

Contact the Schools Adjudicator if you think a school has unlawful admission criteria.

You must do this by 30 June, before places are allocated.

You must apply to be considered for a place at a school, even if it’s linked to your child's current nursery or primary school.

The way you apply depends on whether you’re applying for:

• a primary school place
• a secondary school place

Private schools have their own admissions procedures. Apply directly if you want to send your child to a private school.

When applications open and deadlines for applying

Applications open on different days in each local council area - usually at the start of the autumn term of the year before your child is due to start school. Find out from your local council when applications open for primary or secondary schools.

Deadlines to apply

You must apply for a primary school place by 15 January.

You must apply for a secondary school place by 31 October.

How to apply

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.

You can apply for at least 3 schools.

To get a copy of the application form on paper, contact your local council.

When you’ll find out

Councils will send confirmations for:

• primary schools on 16 April
• secondary schools on 1 March

All children are entitled to go to primary and secondary school. If your child hasn't got a place, your local council can tell you which schools have places available.

You’ll be sent a letter with the decision about your child’s school. You can appeal against the decision to the admission authority for each school that does not offer a place - the letter will tell you how to do this.

You must appeal against each rejection separately.

Appeals for infant classes

For 5 to 7 year-olds, the class size is limited to 30. Your application can be turned down if all the classes already have 30 children.

You can still appeal if your child would have been offered a place. Your appeal could be successful if:

• the admission arrangements haven’t been properly followed
• the admission criteria aren’t legal according to the school admissions appeal code
• the decision to refuse your child a place wasn’t reasonable

Help preparing your appeal

Coram Children’s Legal Centre may be able to help you prepare your appeal.

When the hearing will be

The ‘admission authority’ for the school (usually the school itself or the council) must give you at least 10 school days’ notice before the hearing to confirm the date.

Appeals must be heard within 40 school days of the deadline for making an appeal.

What happens at the appeal hearing

There’s a panel of 3 people at the appeal hearing. The panel must be independent.

1. The admission authority will explain why they turned down your application.

2. You'll be able to give your own reasons why your child should be admitted.

3. The appeals panel must decide if the school's admission criteria were properly followed and are legal according to the school admissions appeals code.

4. If the criteria are legal and were properly followed, the panel must decide if they were followed fairly and thoroughly.

5. If the criteria weren't properly followed or are illegal, your appeal must be upheld.

6. If your appeal has not already been upheld, the panel will decide if your reasons for your child to be admitted outweigh the school's reasons for not admitting another child.

7. The panel will send you and the admission authority their decision within 5 school days.

A panel’s decision can only be overturned by a court. If there’s a change in your circumstances which could affect the decision, you may be able to appeal again.

Complain about the appeals process

You can complain about the way the appeal was carried out, but you can’t complain about the decision itself.

Maintained schools

Complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Fill in the online complaint form.

Other schools

Complain to the Education Funding Agency about a decision made by:

• free schools
• academies
• university technical colleges
• studio schools

Contact the Education Funding Agency for a complaint form.

Education Funding Agency
academy.questions@education.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0370 000 2288
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

You should get a decision on your complaint within 9 weeks (45 working days). You’ll be told if it’ll take longer.

You’ll get a letter explaining the reasons for the decision.

If the Education Funding Agency decides something went wrong with the appeals panel, it may either:

• ask the school to hold a new appeal hearing with a different panel
• recommend the school reviews its appeals process