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Apply for a school place

When you apply online you need to tick the box which indicates whether your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). If your child attends a mainstream setting and you are requesting a place in a special school or specialist provision, you must also indicate a mainstream choice as well.

• For a young person with an EHCP who will be moving from Middle to High/Secondary School, or Primary to High/Secondary School, their application will need to be made by the national closing date, which is the end of October the year before.
• For a child who currently attends Fort Royal Special School, you will need to apply online through School Admissions, and they will pass your application on to SEND Services who will process your request.
• For a child with an EHCP who will be moving from First to Middle School, their application will also need to be made by the end of October the year before, for your request to be dealt with (even though the closing date for middle school applications is different).

School Admissions will pass your application over to SEND Services who will then process your request. An amended EHCP will be sent to you in January of the year they are due to move, followed by the final Plan in February which will name your child’s school for the September of that year.

If at any time you have any queries about this, please contact the SEN Helpline on 01905 845579

More information about school places in ´óÐãÊÓƵ can be found at School Organisation and Provision Planning.

Children identified as possibly requiring a special school placement will undergo an Assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan. The Assessment may not be completed by the admissions cut-off date for Reception places which is mid-January of the year they are due to start school, therefore you will also need to apply for a mainstream place. This may result in you being offered a mainstream place before the special school places have been considered. SEND provisionally allocate these places according to the individual needs of the child in May of each year.

If at any time you have any queries about this, please contact the SEN Helpline on 01905 845579

More information about school places in ´óÐãÊÓƵ can be found at School Organisation and Provision Planning.

Special schools cater for children /young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and are for the children/young people with the most severe and complex special educational needs. There are very few unoccupied places in special schools, and it is important that these are available for the children/young people with the greatest needs.

If your preference is for your child or young person to be considered for a Special School, then you will need to also apply online through School Admissions, and they will pass your application on to SEND Services who will then process your request.

You may also want to use the link below to do a wider search for schools/colleges/education centres for children and young people with special educational needs outside of ´óÐãÊÓƵ.

Please note this is an external website and we are not responsible for its content.

Most children start school in the September after they turn 4, but a child does not need to start school until they reach compulsory school age.

The law requires all children to start full-time education by the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday. Children who have reached their fourth birthday are entitled to attend full-time in a reception class from the September after their fourth birthday.

As a parent, you decide whether your child will start school before compulsory school age - the admission authority cannot decide your child should start school aged 4.

Your child will be eligible for government-funded childcare until they start school or reach compulsory school age, even if you delay their admission by a year.

Children born from 1 April to 31 August – known as summer born children – do not need to start school until the September after their fifth birthday, a year after they could first have started school. This is when summer born children reach compulsory school age.
The Government have published advice for parents to help them decide what would be best for their summer born child, which you can read here:

´óÐãÊÓƵ have produced guidance for parents and schools on the process for either:

• delaying entry into school for matters of SEND
• delaying entry into school due to child being summer born

and also

• accelerated transfer

It can be downloaded here: Policy on Delayed and Accelerated Transfer (PDF)

For more information about Schools Admissions policies please visit: School admissions policies.