Move to a different school (in-year applications 2023/2024)

You can apply for a place for your child at any time to any school outside of the normal admissions round.

Applications will not normally be considered more than one term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.

Some voluntary aided, free schools and academies may have different arrangements. You should contact them directly for more information.

Check if there is a catchment area school for your child's home address

A catchment area is the geographical area served by a school. The catchment area school may not be the nearest school to your child’s home address.

Some voluntary aided, free schools and academies do not operate catchment areas to prioritise applications to their school. Please check the school's admissions policy for details.

Use our school catchment area lists to find out if your child's address has a catchment area school.

You can view the catchment area map for individual schools on Suffolk Infolink.

If you live near a county border

If you live near the border with Cambridgeshire, Essex or Norfolk you may wish to apply for schools in those local authorities. You can visit their websites for details about the schools in their areas.

Full details about SCC funded school travel, including the School Travel Policy, additional arrangements for low income families and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), can be found at Suffolk on Board.

Please send any applications, evidence or supporting information by email to admissions@suffolk.gov.uk. If you don’t have access to a scanner, you can take photos of your application form, evidence or supporting information and attach these to your email.

If you are unable to send us your application or supporting evidence by email, you may wish to get proof of posting when you send your application. We are not responsible for forms lost in the post and we do not acknowledge receipt of paper applications.

*If you don't have a printer please contact us on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) and we will send you a paper application form or a SIF in the post.

If you live in Suffolk and wish to make an in-year application to a school outside Suffolk, please contact the relevant local authority to find out how to apply.

Moving house

If you want to use your new address as your child’s ordinarily resident address you must send us written evidence that you are legally committed to the move with your application form. The evidence must be one of the following:

• Proof of exchange of contracts for your new address.
• Signed letting/tenancy agreement confirming your new address.

Please note that a sale memorandum, an unsigned tenancy agreement or a letter from your solicitor confirming exchange of contracts will take place soon will not be accepted.

Oversubscription criteria

If there are more applications than there are places available, the oversubscription criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools will be applied and the applicants will be ranked. The applicant(s) with the highest criteria will be offered a place(s).

View the list of schools' details, admissions policies and Supplementary Information Forms to help you to understand how places are offered for each school you are interested in, as they may be different from one another.

After you apply for a school place

The Admissions Team aims to notify you of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days of receiving it. However, we will notify you in writing of the outcome within 15 school days.

If you have provided an email address on your application form, we will notify you of the outcome by email. If you haven’t provided an email address, we will send you a letter in the post.

If you have not received an email or letter after 15 school days of sending your application, please contact us by emailing admissions@suffolk.gov.uk or by calling us on 0345 600 0981.

The Admissions Team cannot give you the outcome of your application over the phone.

Unsuccessful applications

If your application is unsuccessful then you will be given the right of appeal.

You may also wish to make another application for a different school.

If your child does not have a local school place, we will offer a place at an alternative community or voluntary controlled school, or notify you of an alternative school in your area.

Waiting lists for in-year applications

We do not hold waiting lists for in-year applications to community and voluntary controlled schools.

Waiting lists for the normal year of entry

If we are unable to offer your child a place at any of your preferred school(s) for the normal year of entry, we will automatically add their name to the waiting list for that school(s).

Names are placed on the waiting list in priority order. This is set out in the school’s admissions oversubscription criteria.

The order of the waiting list can change when:

• a new child’s name is added
• the circumstances of a child already on the list changes

This means a child’s place on the waiting list can go up or down, for example, due to withdrawals or late applications.

The waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools will close on 31 December 2023. 

You can contact us on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) or email us at admissions@suffolk.gov.uk to find out your child’s position on a waiting list for a community or voluntary controlled school. Please remember that the information we provide is only accurate at the time you contact us.

Making another application for the schools you have already applied for

If your application is refused we will not process another application for the same school in the same school year, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances of the:

• parent/carer
• child or
• school.

This might be a house move or a place becoming available at a school.

If circumstances have not changed you can make another application for the following school year.

For community and voluntary controlled schools, applications will not normally be considered more than one term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.

*If you don't have a printer please contact us on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) and we will send you a paper application form or a SIF in the post.

If you live in Suffolk and wish to make an in-year application to a school outside Suffolk, please contact the relevant local authority to find out how to apply.

Oversubscription criteria

If there are more applications than there are places available, the oversubscription criteria for the relevant school will be applied and the applicants will be ranked. The applicant(s) with the highest criteria will be offered a place(s).

View the list of schools' details, admissions policies and Supplementary Information Forms to help you to understand how places are offered for each school you are interested in, as they may be different from one another.

After you apply for a school place

The school should aim to notify you of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days of receiving it. However, they must notify you in writing of the outcome within 15 school days.

Contact information for all schools is available from our online Infolink directory of schools in Suffolk

Unsuccessful applications

If your application is unsuccessful then you will have a legal right to appeal the decision. The details of how to appeal should be included in the decision letter from the school.

You may also wish to make another application for a different school.

If your child does not have a local school place and the school notifies us of their decision, we will offer a place at an alternative community or voluntary controlled school, or notify you of an alternative school in your area.

Waiting lists

You should speak to the school or visit the school's own website for information on waiting lists.

Making another application for the schools you have already applied for

You should speak to the school or visit the school's own website for information on when you can make another application for a school you have already applied for. In most cases, if your application is refused another application will not be processed for the same school year, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances of the:

• parent/carer
• child or
• school.

This might be a house move or a place becoming available at a school.

If circumstances have not changed you can make another application for the following school year.

The Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme for schools in Suffolk for the 2023/2024 school year explains how Suffolk County Council co-ordinates admission arrangements for the normal year of intake for all mainstream schools in Suffolk and with other neighbouring authorities.

You can search the list of schools' details, admissions policies and Supplementary Information Forms for the 2023/2024 school year.

Find out about Suffolk's Fair Access Protocol.