BRIEFING PAPER Number 07147, 11 January 2016 School admissions in By Nerys Roberts England: state-funded mainstream schools PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES Inside: 1. Background to school admissions in England and the legal framework 2. Applying for a school place in the normal round 3. How admission authorities rank applicants 4. Parents unhappy with offered school place 5. Statistics on school place offers for 2015/16 6. Schools Adjudicator report www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library |
[email protected] | @commonslibrary Number 07147, 11 January 2016 2 Contents Summary 3 1. Background to school admissions in England and the legal framework 4 1.1 Admission authorities and statutory admissions framework 4 Application of school admissions codes to academies and free schools 4 1.2 Determining admission arrangements 5 2. Applying for a school place in the normal round 6 2.1 School starting age in England 7 Summer born children starting school 7 Deferring a reception place, or attending part-time initially 7 2.2 How far in advance do parents have to apply for a place? 8 2.3 Guidance for parents and carers on school admission process 8 2.4 Selecting schools: naming preferred schools on the application form 8 Myths about naming more than one school on the application form 9 Nominating schools in other local authority areas 9 2.5 When a child has two addresses because of shared care 9 2.6 Moving into the area after the application deadline 9 2.7 School places for children returning or arriving from abroad 9 2.8 Obtaining a school place dishonestly 10 3.