How to apply for a school place outside the normal transfer times

You should be aware of the following when making an application:

• Moving into a school’s linked village or area does not necessarily guarantee your child a place at the linked school.
• A high percentage of schools in Northamptonshire are already up to the published admission number (PAN) in most year groups and, therefore, it may not be possible to offer a place at your preferred schools.
• For families with more than one child, it can be extremely difficult to allocate a place for all the children in the same school. The result of an in-year application may be that siblings have to be split across two or more schools and that, in order to keep the children together, we may only be able to allocate a school which is not your preferred school and which may be some distance away from the home address.

If you are moving to Northamptonshire, documentary evidence in the form of a solicitor’s letter to confirm exchange of contracts or a copy of your signed tenancy, or rental agreement, will be required to verify your address.

Moving from overseas

If you are moving from overseas your child may be entitled to a school place. You should be aware that:

• Children must be resident within the country before we will process an application. Please note a visitor's visa does not entitle your child to a school place.
• If your application is due to a move into the UK, documentary evidence to verify your address may be required. A copy of either a child benefit letter or Tax Credit letter is normally acceptable, along with a copy of your rental agreement or exchange of contracts letter. The county council reserves the right to seek further documentary evidence as necessary.

Special conditions apply to UK Armed Service Personnel and other Crown Servants.

For families of service personnel with confirmed posting to their area, or crown servants returning from overseas to live in that area, admission authorities must allocate a place in advance of the family arriving in the area, provided the application is accompanied by an official letter declaring a relocation date and a Unit postal address or quartering area address.

Admission authorities must not refuse a service child a place because the family does not currently live in the area, or reserve blocks of places for these children.

Therefore, where places in the year group are available at the preferred school, it is expected that places will be allocated in advance.

However, this does not necessarily guarantee a place at the preferred school if the year group is already up to the published admission number (PAN).

The operation of the waiting list is not on a 'first come, first served' basis. When a place becomes available at a school, if there is only one child on the waiting list, the child will be offered the place. If, however, there are two or more children on the waiting list when a place becomes available, then the children will be ranked according to the school's oversubscription criteria.

Documentary evidence to verify your address, e.g. Child Benefit letter or Tax Credit letter is normally acceptable, along with a copy of your new rental agreement or an exchange of contracts letter.

A child's position on the waiting list may change if new applicants are added to the list.

Schools who do not keep a waiting list

Some academies in Northamptonshire do not keep a waiting list. This means that parents who wish to secure a place for their child at one of these schools will have to continue to make additional applications throughout the year.

Normally, we will accept only one application per academic year in respect of the same school for the same academic year. We will, however, accept a second and subsequent application from a parent for those schools which do not continue to hold a waiting list. If the school remains up to the published admission number (PAN), and there has been no significant and material change in circumstances, the application will be refused. Parents or carers will receive a generic email response stating the school is still unable to offer a school place in the relevant year group and a second appeal will not be offered.

Contact details

Email: admissions@childrenfirstnorthamptonshire.co.uk

School Admissions Team
Northamptonshire County Council
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ED
Phone: 0300 126 1000

All local authorities have in place a Fair Access Protocol (FAP) in order to ensure that ‘unplaced’ children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place as quickly as possible. 

The operation of FAP is outside the arrangements for coordination and is triggered when an eligible child has not secured a school place under normal in-year admission procedures. The local authority must ensure that no school - including those with available places - is asked to take an unfairly large number of children who have been excluded from other schools or who have challenging behaviour.

There is no duty to for local authorities or admission authorities to comply with parental preference when allocating places through the FAP. However, parental preference will be considered.

In order to identify whether a child meets the criteria of the Fair Access Protocol or whether additional support may be required in school for a successful reintegration, parents are encouraged to complete the questions on the in-year application, providing as much information as possible regarding the child’s previous history.

Fair Access Protocol Policy

More detail is available in our Fair Access Protocol Policy:

• Fair Access Protocol Policy 2017 (PDF 351KB)

​If your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan or a statutory statement of special educational needs (SEN), please see the special educational needs (SEND) page for information on how to apply as there is a different process for these applications.