School In-Year Admissions and Fair Access Procedure

This procedure applies to a maintained or academy school in England where the school or admission authority receives in-year applications, manages its own in-year admissions, is allocated a pupil through a fair access protocol, or is being considered for naming in a School Attendance Order.

1. School-managed in-year admissions

Where the school manages its own in-year admissions, the school must set out on [school website url] by 31 August how in-year applications will be handled.

The published information must explain how parents can apply for a school place and must provide a suitable application form for parents to complete. The published application route is [in year application route].

2. Receiving and recording applications

Applications must be received through the published route and recorded with the date on which the application was received. The school’s application record must identify the application and record its outcome.

Where the school receives an in-year application, it must inform [local authority name] of the application, including the outcome, so that the local authority is aware of children who may not have a school place.

3. Written decision

Parents must be informed in writing of the outcome of an in-year application within 15 school days of the application being received.

The written decision must state the outcome of the application and must be issued using [written decision method]. The date of issue must be recorded against the application.

4. Fair access protocol

The school or admission authority must comply with the applicable local authority fair access protocol.

This includes admitting children allocated to the school through the fair access protocol. The applicable protocol is [local fair access protocol].

5. Behavioural grounds for admission decisions

The admission authority must not refuse to admit a child on behavioural grounds in the normal admissions round or at any point in the normal year of entry, except where the child has been permanently excluded from two or more schools.

For an in-year application for a year group that is not the normal point of entry, where the admission authority has good reason to believe that the child may display challenging behaviour and does not wish to admit the child for that reason, it may refuse admission and refer the child to the fair access protocol.

Any decision involving behavioural grounds must identify whether the application concerns the normal admissions round, the normal year of entry, or an in-year application for a year group that is not the normal point of entry.

6. School Attendance Order naming process

Where [local authority name] is considering naming the school in a School Attendance Order, the school should engage with the local authority’s naming process.

The school should raise relevant concerns promptly and work with the local authority towards an agreement on the proposed admission. The school’s communication route for this process is [school attendance order contact].

The school should record the consultation or correspondence, the concerns raised and responses provided, the people involved, response dates, and any documented agreement or unresolved disagreement about the proposed admission.

7. Local arrangements

The school’s published application route, suitable application form, written decision method, local fair access protocol and School Attendance Order contact must be kept current for the arrangements applying to the school.