Moving schools (in-year) transfer

Changing schools can affect your child in many ways. The decision should not be taken without thought and planning.

Can an issue be put right without moving schools?

We understand that there are various reasons why children move schools. 

In some cases, it may be you can resolve an issue with your child's current school, avoiding the need for your child to move elsewhere.

If the issue relates to teaching, friendship issues, bullying, special needs, subjects etc, raise your concerns with your child's class teacher. You can also speak to staff members responsible for special needs or pastoral care, depending on the situation. If you feel your concerns haven't been addressed, speak to your child's head of year or headteacher.

Considerations for moving your child to another school

There is a lot to consider when planning to move your child to another school. Make sure your child feels involved in the decision. Research together by visiting the school and reading their prospectus (available on their website). Talk to your child about the points raised below to see how they feel about the move.

New place, new people, new routine

• How will your child cope with learning new school rules and having to do things differently?
• How does your child feel about making new friends and working with new teachers?
• How will your child get to school - are they okay with a walking / cycling route, do you need to take them, are they eligible for school transport?
• How will you manage start and finish times?
• Does the new school have a breakfast and / or after-school club that you can make use of?
• Does the new school have the same extra-curricular hobbies and interests clubs that your child attended at their previous school?

Curriculum

Each school teaches the National Curriculum in different ways and at different times of the academic year. Moving schools may mean your child misses or repeats some parts of the curriculum. Their learning may be disadvantaged by this.

• Will your child's new school study the same timetable of termly topic areas?
• Will your child have missed important work?
• Will your child have to sit through the same work again?

GCSEs

Children usually pick their GCSE subjects in Year 9 to study during Years 10 and 11. Not all schools offer the same GCSE subjects and may use different courses and exam boards.

• Can your child still take the same GCSE subjects?
• Are the courses and exam boards different?
• Will your child be comfortable with potentially taking a new GCSE subject?

Special Educational Needs

If your child has Special Educational Needs and received support at their previous school, this support does not automatically transfer to a new school. There may be a delay in accessing new support.

Siblings

If your child currently has siblings at the same school, transferring one child could affect the others. Your other child(ren) will have no automatic rights to transfer to the new school either now or in the future. Will you be able to transport your children to different schools at the appropriate start times and pick up at the end of the day?

Attendance and missed school days

It may take time for your child's file to transfer to their new school. Previous attendance / exclusion information is shared with the new school at the point of admission.

Any gaps in education between changing schools can lead to children missing key learning which may have significant impact on their future learning.

The higher the level of sessions missed at school, the lower the likely level of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2). Pupils with no absence are 1.6 times more likely to be working within expected levels or above, and 4.7 times more likely to achieve above expected levels.

Uniform

You might need to buy a completely new school uniform for your child, including PE kit. Have you thought about the cost involved?

Travel / transport

Your child needs to be able to travel to school easily, safely and on-time:

• How will your child get to school?
• Does your child know a safe route if walking?
• Does your child know where the bus stop is and which bus to get if using public or school transport?
• What are the costs involved?

A change of school is usually regarded as parental choice. In most circumstances, your child is unlikely to be eligible for travel assistance to your preferred school.

On your application, you need to list three school preferences. If you only list one and it is full, your child might not receive a place there. We may have to allocate your child a place at a school you did not like or consider. That is why it is important you have two further options listed.

We have an online primary school directory and secondary school directory that you can use to find out further information about each school in Peterborough. Each school’s directory listing provides information on:

• The name, address, website address and contact information for the school
• The age range of the school
• The number of children attending the school
• The number of children the school can have in each year group – also called the Published Admission Number (PAN)
• Oversubscription criteria for the school – factors that the school considers to prioritise applicants when it receives more applications than it has places available
• Catchment area and map – the area around the school from which it will accept children
• Supplementary Information Form (SIF) – if you are applying for a place at a religious school, they will ask you to complete a SIF in addition to our own council application form
• Open day event information
• Information about the local offer for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)
• Ofsted unique reference number (URN) and latest report

In addition to our directory, you can find out further information about schools from Ofsted and the Department for Education. They publish information on inspections and performance:

• Ofsted inspection framework
• Ofsted inspection reports
• Ofsted parent view
• Department for Education - performance tables
• Department for Education - school admissions code
• Department for Education - guidance for schools on school admission and overseas students

School transport

Parents have a duty to:

• Make sure their child attends school
• Arrange necessary transport to and from school
• Accompany their children where necessary on journeys to and from school

If you make a preference for a school other than your catchment or nearest, you will be expected to make your own arrangements for your child’s journey to and from school and meet any costs involved.

In terms of primary school children, we will provide free transport for:

• Primary aged children in Reception to Year 3 who attend their nearest suitable or designated school and live at least 2 miles from the school.
• Primary aged children in Year 4 to Year 6 who attend their nearest suitable or designated school and live at least 3 miles from the school; or
• Who attend their nearest suitable or designated school, where the parents are in receipt of the appropriate benefits, and live at least 2 miles from the school.

In terms of secondary school children, we will provide free transport for:

• Secondary aged children in Years 7 to 11 who attend their catchment or nearest available school and live at least three miles from the school

View our school transport page.

We process in-year admissions for Peterborough schools. However, some schools have chosen to process their own in-year applications:

• Arthur Mellows Village College
• Braybrook Primary Academy
• Discovery Primary Academy
• Fulbridge Academy
• Gladstone Primary Academy
• Hampton Vale Primary Academy
• Jack Hunt School
• Ken Stimpson Academy
• Lime Academy Trust: Abbotsmede / Parnwell / Watergall
• Longthorpe Primary School
• Manor Drive Primary Academy
• Manor Drive Secondary Academy
• Nova Primary Academy
• Ravensthorpe Primary
• Thomas Deacon Academy
• Thorpe Primary School
• G.P.U.T.C

Please contact these schools directly for in-year admissions information.

If you wish to apply for any other Peterborough school, please continue with the application process on this page.

The home address on the school place application must be where you live with your child. This is unless you can prove that your child lives elsewhere with someone who has legal care and responsibility for your child.

It is important that the address you give on your child’s application is your child’s permanent or main residence at the time of application. ‘At the time of application’ means the closing date for applications unless you are in the process of moving house.

We expect the child’s home address to be a residential property that is the child’s only or main residence. It should not be an address at which your child may sometimes stay or sleep due to your domestic arrangements. The property must be owned / rented / leased by the child’s parent or carer, or the person with legal care and responsibility for the child.

As part of the school admissions process, we ask you to provide proof of address. We are committed to following strict address verification procedures. School place offers are conditional until we receive confirmation of proof of address.

Children who live at more than one address (split residency)

We can only accept one application per child. We can only consider the application from one home address.

When parents who live separately share responsibility for a child, the child’s residence is where they spend most school nights – Sunday to Thursday. You should give this address as the main home address for your child on the application.

Where residency is equally split, we will consider the child’s main residence as the home where:

• The child is registered with the GP or health professional
• The child benefit money is paid

The law states that you have a right to express a preference for where your child attends school. As an admissions authority, we are required to comply with your preference subject to the availability of school places.

When you apply for a school place you will need to list three school preferences.

Many schools in Peterborough are heavily oversubscribed. This means that they receive more applications than they have places available.

If your child isn’t offered a place at your first preferred school due to oversubscription, you need to have two back-up options. We ask you to choose three school preferences, so your child doesn’t end up without a school place.

We treat each of your preferences as if it was a separate application. Schools are unaware of your preference order or the other schools you have applied to. The school will consider every application it receives against its oversubscription criteria.

Your preferences and ranking

• You should list three schools in order of preference. There is no advantage in listing only one school.
  
  
• We recommend that you include your catchment or nearest school as one of your three preferences.
  
  
• If you qualify for more than one school, we will offer the one that you ranked highest. We will withdraw the remaining schools you qualified for.
  
  
• Think about travel and how you will get your child to school. Your preferences could affect your eligibility for home to school transport.
  
  
• If you submit invalid preferences, such as an independent school. You will not get the opportunity to name other schools.
  
  
• If you apply for a school outside Peterborough, we'll send your application details to the local authority where the school is. They will then tell us if you qualify. We will offer a place based on your preference order.
  
  
• There is no guarantee of a place at any school even if you live in the catchment area.
  
  
• If your child does not qualify for any of your preferred schools, we will offer a place at the nearest available school to you. This is only done after considering all other applications so places will be limited. You could be responsible for getting your child to a school some distance from your house.

A catchment area is a defined geographical area surrounding a school from which it will usually take most of its pupils. Most schools have a defined catchment area.

You find catchment area maps for each individual school on our primary school directory or secondary school directory.

• In a small number of cases an address may be in the catchment area for a school that falls under a neighbouring council. If you are a Peterborough resident, you will make your application through the Peterborough School Admissions Team. They will then share your application with the relevant council.
• Living within the catchment area of a school does not guarantee your child a place at that school if the school is oversubscribed.
• Catchment and nearest school are based on the child's home address.

If you are moving your child from one Peterborough school to another, without moving home, please ask your child's current headteacher to complete a copy of the Student Details Form.

We will not process your in-year application unless you submit a completed Student Details Form with it.

You can find the Student Details Form further down this page.

For cases in which you are seeking an in-year transfer due to moving home, you will need to provide proof of your new address with your application.

If you are unable to provide proof of your new address, you can apply using your old address. However this may affect how your application is considered against the over-subscription criteria for your chosen schools and your position on the school’s waiting list, should your preferred school be full.

See a list of documents we accept as proof of address further down this page.

UK law states that children must be receiving an education between the school term after their fifth birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year that they turn 16.

If you are moving from overseas, temporarily or permanently, your child may be eligible for a school place. You will need to provide proof of your new address. Your child must be:

• Aged between 4 and 16
• Intending to attend a Peterborough school for at least 30 school days

See a list of documents we accept as proof of address further down this page.

We can only accept one application per child. We can only consider the application from one home address.

When parents who live separately share responsibility for a child, the child’s residence is where they spend most school nights – Sunday to Thursday. You should give this address as the main home address for your child on the application.

Where residency is equally split, we will consider the child’s main residence as the home where:

• The child is registered with the GP or health professional
• The child benefit money is paid

When parents are not living together but share responsibility for a child, they should talk and decide which schools to apply to. If we receive different applications or if the Admissions Team is told about a dispute between two parents, we will put all applications on hold. We will not process them until:

• one joint application is made, signed by all parties: or
• written agreement is provided from both parents; or
• a court order is obtained confirming which parent's application carries precedence.

If multiple applications are received, you risk your child not being considered for a school place or an offered place being withdrawn.

If one parent has custody and needs to change schools due to moving, the application can proceed based on that parent's preference. If a child isn't getting an education, both parents with parental responsibility can be prosecuted.

Disputes

Parents are expected to discuss and agree upon important decisions relating to their child’s education together. However, sometimes parents do not agree, or one parent makes a unilateral decision on a child’s schooling without the other’s consent.

If you feel you have tried everything and cannot reach an agreement, then it might be time to seek legal advice. If this happens, your application will be paused.

You may have multiple children going through the school admissions process at the same time – i.e. twins, triplets, siblings born in the same academic year etc.

You must apply separately for each child. You must also refer to each child on application forms. Please state if the children are twins, triplets, multiple-birth etc.

We will make every effort to offer places together for these children. Many schools give priority for siblings.

By sibling, we mean:

• Brother / sister
• Half-brother / half-sister
• Adopted brother / adopted sister
• Step-brother / step-sister
• Child of the parent / carer’s partner

If your child already has a sibling at the school you're applying for

Many schools give priority to siblings. When you apply, it is important to tell us if your child has a sibling already attending your preferred school.

You should also tell us on your application the names and birth dates of any sibling enrolled in the school when your child starts.

In every case, the children must be living in the same family unit at the same address.

We will make every effort to place these children together at the same school.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement of Special Educational Needs, you will need to contact the Statutory Assessment and Monitoring Service (SAM) instead of the Admissions Team. Find out more on our Family Information Service website.

You may also like to contact the SAM Service on 01733 863733 or by email to SENTeam@peterborough.gov.uk

Admission authorities must treat a family being posted to their area, whose posting abroad comes to an end, as meeting the residency criteria for the catchment area even if no house is currently owned in that area, once proof of the posting has been provided. A school place will be allocated in advance if accompanied by an official government letter declaring a relocation date and intended address. The Admissions Team will accept a unit postal address or a quartering area address for applications from service personnel in the absence of a new postal address.

If you provide an official government letter stating your relocation date and intended address, we can allocate a school place in advance.

We will accept a Posting Order, or a quartering area address for applications from service personnel in the absence of a permanent home address.

You will need to provide this documentation with your application.

Looked after children (also known as children in care) and previously looked after children have the highest priority for school places.

Looked after children are those who are in the care of the local authority or are being provided with accommodation by a local authority in England in the exercise of their social services functions.

Previously looked after children are those who immediately after being in care (as defined above) became subject to an adoption order, child arrangements order or special guardianship order. They are also those who appear to the admission authority to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care because of being adopted.

Who should apply for a school place depends on who is responsible for the child:

• Social workers must apply on behalf of looked after children
  OR
• Foster carers must apply on behalf of their foster children
  OR
• Adoptive parents must apply on behalf of their adopted children

Our School Admissions Team does not have access to care records. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the social worker, foster carer or adoptive parent to provide evidence to support the application:

• An adoption certificate
• A special guardianship order
• A residency order
• A child arrangement order

You also need to provide contact details for the social worker assigned to the child, if applicable.

If your child does not currently attend a Peterborough academy, foundation or voluntary aided school it is your responsibility to provide sufficient proof of your address in Peterborough to the allocated school.

See a list of documents accepted as proof of address further down this page.

The Department for Education has provided us with updated guidance following on from Brexit regarding the rights of foreign national children, who are within the UK and their rights to a school place. If you believe this information relates to your situation, please read guidance for school admissions applications from overseas children on the GOV.UK website.

We accept:

• The child’s birth certificate / adoption certificate
  OR
• The child’s passport (must be valid)

The home address on the school place application must be where you live with your child. This is unless you can prove that your child lives elsewhere with someone who has legal care and responsibility for your child.

It is important that the address you give on your child’s application is your child’s permanent or main residence at the time of application. ‘At the time of application’ means the closing date for applications unless you are in the process of moving house.

We expect the child’s home address to be a residential property that is the child’s only or main residence. It should not be an address at which your child may sometimes stay or sleep due to your domestic arrangements. The property must be owned / rented / leased by the child’s parent or carer, or the person with legal care and responsibility for the child.

As part of the school admissions process, we ask you to provide proof of address. We are committed to following strict address verification procedures. School place offers are conditional until we receive confirmation of proof of address.

Please provide any two of the following documents:

• A copy of a current tenancy agreement signed by all parties and arranged through a letting/estate agency
• Current private tenancy agreement (not arranged through a letting/estate agency) must be supported with three copies of utility bills.
• A letter from your solicitor confirming exchange of contracts on your new property you are purchasing stating a full postal address and including a completion date
• A copy of your council tax bill for the current year
• A copy of a recent utility bill for your home address, showing usage - gas, electricity, water, telephone (not mobile phones)
• A copy of your driving licence
• A copy of your rent book for a current council tenancy
• A copy of a letter from a Housing Association confirming that you and the child are living at the address
• A copy of your house insurance dated within the last 12 months
• HMRC tax notification documentation
• Credit card statements dated within the last three months
• Statement from your bank / building society dated within the last three months
• TV licence (valid for the current year) with the name and address
• Letter from National Asylum Support Service (NASS) OR UK Border Force (UKBA) confirming placement at the address

Parental responsibility means having all the rights, duties, powers and responsibility for a child in your day-to-day care. This is set out by the Children Act 1989.

We can only:

• Accept applications from a person who is legally responsible for the child
• Accept only one application per child
• Consider the application from one home address

Where there is any doubt about parental responsibility, we will ask you to provide proof of parental responsibility.

Any recent change of principal carer or parental responsibility must be supported by satisfactory evidence. For example, if a child moves to live at another address.

Who has parental responsibility and proof required

A mother usually has parental responsibility for her child from birth.

A father usually has parental responsibility if he is either:

• Married to the child’s mother
• Listed on the birth certificate (after a certain date, depending on which part of the UK your child was born in)

You can apply for parental responsibility on GOV.UK if you do not automatically have it.

Examples of documents that prove parental responsibility:

• The child’s birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Parental Responsibility Agreement entered into by birth parents
• Copy of a Court Order giving the father parental responsibility
• Child Arrangement Order in respect of the child
• Adoption Order
• Formally appointed guardian of the child

We can only accept applications from a person who is legally responsible for the child. When a child lives with relatives instead of their parents, you will need proof such as a Will or a Court Order. A private fostering arrangement will not give parental responsibility.

Please let us know if a parent who lives elsewhere should get updates about their child's application progress and result.

If you are moving school within Peterborough but not moving home, you need to ask your child's current headteacher to complete a copy of the 'Student Details Form' available below. This includes a state school to state school move and a private school to state school move.

If you are applying to a certain school for religious reasons, you may need to complete a 'Supplementary Information Form' and send it to the school you're applying to.

If you have recently moved home and your present address is different from the address on your application, you must provide the school with a Closing Council Tax bill or Closing Utility Bill for gas, water or electricity for your previous address to prove that you were living at the address at the time of application.

You will also need proof of your new address.

If you do not provide the above proofs, we will assume your child does not live in the catchment area. Even if you prove that you live at the address yourself, we still need proof that your child lives there as well.

Please be aware that irrespective of the proof you provide, the school may ask you to supply further evidence to verify your address or prove a sibling link.