Admissions in mainstream school or college

If you are applying for your child to start primary, junior or secondary school for the first time, you can find all the information you need to consider, including national deadlines, online application portal and school admission information for North Yorkshire schools on North Yorkshire Council’s website School admissions | North Yorkshire Council

If your child is at a school, but you wish to change schools, you’ll need to apply for a school transfer through an in-year application Changing schools | North Yorkshire Council

Before applying we would advise you to visit the schools you are interested in to make sure that you think they are suitable.

Considering a new placement for your
Child or Young Person (CYP)

You may also need to think about how your child might travel to and from school and whether you would be eligible for any help with home to school transport.

School places are offered according to the admission criteria listed in the school’s admission policy. Across North Yorkshire there are lots of different admissions policies, so you will need to check the school’s policy to see what their criteria are.

All North Yorkshire schools are inclusive and are expected to meet needs for all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Families with disabled children may have additional concerns about whether a school will include their child/young person, keep them safe and give them the help they need to learn. Talk to the school when you visit raising your concerns.

Most children with SEND will get a school in the same way as children without SEND. They are supported from the help generally available in the school. These children must go to mainstream school, and they will get a school place through the normal admissions system.

When children start school for the first time or move to a different phase of education, for example from primary to secondary school. Admissions are coordinated centrally by North Yorkshire Council. There is a single national deadline for secondary applications (31 October) and one for primary applications (15 January).

When applying for your child, you will need to fill in an application form and state the schools you’d like in order of preference. Starting primary school and junior school | North Yorkshire Council; Starting secondary school | North Yorkshire Council You can apply for schools outside your own local authority if you want to, but you still use your own local authority’s form.

The information on your form is then passed to the schools to decide whether they can offer your child a place based on their oversubscription criteria.

Many schools have more applicants than places available and use oversubscription criteria to decide which children have priority.

Criteria for community schools and some church schools are set by the local authority. Criteria for all other state-funded schools are set by the governors of the school. It is important to check the oversubscription criteria to see how likely your child is to get a place. You should include as a backup at least one school in your list where your child has a good chance of a place.

Common criteria that are taken into account:

• Looked after or formerly looked after children (children who are or have been in council care); these children must get first priority
• Children who have a brother or sister already at the school
• Distance of the school to your home address; children who live closest to the school will get priority

Faith schools generally give priority to children of that particular faith. You may need to fill in a separate form with details of religious practice, for example church attendance. Other schools may select children on the basis of academic potential or offer a set number of places to children with an aptitude in sport, music or languages.

Parents sometimes ask if their child can get priority because of a disability, medical condition or special educational need. All schools must admit children with an EHC plan that names the school, but other children with SEN do not automatically have priority.

If you have moved into an area outside of the normal admissions times, or if you want a change of school for your child, this is known as an ‘in-year’ admission. Visit North Yorkshire Council’s website Changing schools | North Yorkshire Council

Not all in-year admissions are co-ordinated by the local authority, so you may need to apply directly to the school.

As a general rule, if a school has a place available they cannot refuse to admit your child.

For more information and finding a school visit School admissions | North Yorkshire Council

A child’s normal/chronological age group is the age group a child would have been in had they entered school in the September following their fourth birthday.

The most common time for a parent to request admission outside of a child’s normal year group is admission for pupils who are ‘summer-born’. 

There is nothing in the law which directly requires children to be taught in year groups but, other than in small primary schools where mixed-age classes are unavoidable, it is generally accepted that pupils should remain in their age group and move up with their peers unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

North Yorkshire Council’s guidance states:

“It will only be in exceptional circumstances that a pupil moves out of her/his chronological age group.  In no instance should this be more than a single NC year. Schools should take steps to ensure that curriculum entitlement is not compromised.”

Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. 

Admission authorities must make clear in their admission arrangements the process for requesting admission out of the normal age group.

Admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. They must also take into account the views of the head teacher of the school concerned.

When considering placing a child above or below their chronological age group the following factors are taken into account:

• Is the child’s development significantly below the expected level for their age range?
• Has the child experienced problems which have resulted in being out of education for a substantial period of time?
• Has the child previously been educated in a different year group from the normal one for their age up until that point?
• Is the child remarkably gifted and talented?
• Was the child born prematurely and would they have been admitted into the year ‘below’ if delivered on their due date?
• Is the child delayed emotionally and therefore cannot make adequate relationships with their peer group?

It will be important to provide strong evidence when making a request for education outside of your child’s chronological age group.  Consider the following:

• Does the proposed action respond to the educational needs of the child based on available evidence?
• Does the proposal have strong support from all parties with a legitimate interest in the child’s education, including the child?
• Has it been clearly demonstrated that the expected educational progress of the child could not reasonably be expected to be achieved by remaining with his or her normal age group through making reasonable adjustments?

• There is no guarantee that the deferred place with continue throughout a child’s education.

• Where placement in a younger year group is maintained, phase transfers, SATs, GCSEs and school leaving are reached a year or more late.

Young people cease to be classed as being of statutory school age the last Friday of June in the school year in which they turn 16 years of age. 

This could impact on their ability to move onto other settings or courses as they will be a year older than the normal age-range for which the setting usually provides education. Pupils attending mainstream provision can usually be funded to the end of the academic year in which they are 19 years old if the setting is willing to accommodate children beyond 18 years old (subject to some restrictions)

• Where placement in an older year group is maintained, the consequence is that the child will reach the next phase transfer, SATs or GCSEs, and school leaving point a year or more early. Young people do not cease to be of statutory school age until the last Friday of June in the school year they turn 16 years of age and as such would have to negotiate transfer early to a school sixth form or Further Education college, which would not be guaranteed.

If you wish your child to be admitted out of their normal age group, you should still submit an application for your child’s normal age group at the usual time – this is in case the request for admission out of the normal age group is refused.  You also need to contact North Yorkshire Council:

Making a request for admission out of the normal age group | North Yorkshire Council

By law, you have a right to appeal if your child is not offered a place at your preferred school.

Appeals are made to an independent appeal panel. You must be given at least 20 school days to submit your appeal. The panel considers the appeal in two stages:

1. Was the admissions procedure carried out fairly in your child’s case? If it was not, for example, the criteria were not applied correctly, the panel will look at whether your child should have been offered a place. You may win the appeal at this stage.
2. Could the school reasonably admit your child over their normal numbers? Would any disadvantage to your child not going to that school outweigh the disadvantage to the school in taking another pupil?

At the hearing you will get an opportunity to present your reasons as to why your child should be offered a place at your preferred school. The panel will decide once having heard all the evidence if there are sufficient grounds to overturn the admission authority’s decision.

To access the appeal form and information on preparing for the hearing, what happens at the hearing and afterwards visit Appeal for a school place | North Yorkshire Council.

A school cannot refuse to admit a child on the grounds that the child may need an EHC plan but hasn’t yet got one. If the school is full, and you don’t fulfil the oversubscription criteria (see oversubscription information in this section.

You will need to go through the normal admissions system in the first instance and make sure you get your application in on time (see ‘when and how to apply for a school’ in this section)

You may otherwise miss out on a school place. If your child does get an EHC plan before starting school, you will have another chance to ask for your preferred school at that point.

Making a request for admission out of the normal age group – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

School admissions: School starting age – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Education of children outside of their chronological age group – childlawadvice.org.uk 

Summer Born Admission – childlawadvice.org.uk 

School starting age and deferred entry explained for parents | TheSchoolRun