Transferring school at other times

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Transferring school at other times

• moving house
• how can I transfer my child from one school to another?
• how will my application for a transfer be delt with?
• in year fair access protocol
• transferring school in the next school year
• transfer for behavioural or disciplinary reasons

Moving house

• If you have moved house and it is no longer practical to make the journey to your child’s current school, the school admissions team will be able to arrange immediate transfer to the school you prefer (if there is a place available when we receive your transfer preference form).
• No school places are reserved for people who move into the area, but we will be pleased to advise you about which schools have places available at the time you require a school.
• If you have moved house or have been living at your current address for less than six months, or your child is currently at private school, please supply proof of your address with your application. If we do not receive this with your application, we will write and ask you for it, but this may mean that you miss out on a place at your preferred school if other children with confirmed addresses have already applied for places there.

How will my application for a transfer be dealt with?

• To ensure a transfer is possible for the following term (providing a place is available), please make sure that the school admissions team receives your form by the last Friday of the school holidays. If your form is received after this date, your child will not be able to change school until the term after that.
• To receive a decision before the end of a particular half term, you will need to apply two weeks before the end of that half term. To receive a decision for September allocation before the end of the summer term you will need to return your form before 21 June 2013. September allocations will be made from summer half term onwards so it is a good idea to return forms for this type of transfer before that.
• If transfer forms are received during term time, the school admissions team will allocate a place at a school, but this will be for the next available half-term. 
• If we cannot meet any of your preferences we will suggest that your child remain at his or her current school. If this is not feasible because you have moved house, we will offer a place at the nearest school to your new home which has a vacancy in the appropriate year group You may wish to discuss alternative places with the school admissions team.
• If we cannot offer you a place at your first preference school when you apply, your child’s name will be added to the waiting list for that school. If a place becomes available for your child before the beginning of the next term, it will be offered to you. If a place has not become available for your child by that point, his or her name will be removed from the waiting list. If you wish your child to remain on the waiting list, you will need to contact us to arrange this. The waiting list is then renewable on a termly basis. You will need to contact us at the end of each term to confirm you wish to renew, or your child’s name will be removed.
• You have the right to appeal to the independent appeals panel if you do not get the place you want. You may appeal after you have received the email or letter notifying you of the school allocation. 
• If you do not contact the school to accept a place offered by the date specified in the allocation email or letter, the place will be given to another applicant. 

Please note: these arrangements refer to community schools. Church aided schools have their own admission arrangements that are controlled by the school govenors, you should contact the headteacher for further details.

In year fair access protocol

As required by Law, Brighton & Hove has a fair access protocol with schools.  This ensures that vulnerable children who need a school place outside the main admission round are offered one as soon as possible.  This can sometimes result in the schools going above their published admission number for an established year group.

Transferring schools in the next school year (September transfers)

Sometimes parents/carers would like to transfer a child from one school to another starting in the next school year (that is, from next September). You may send in your request at any time during the year, but it will be held until the summer half term. At that point, the School Admissions team will be able to establish whether there are places in your child’s year group at your preferred schools. If your form is received before 21 June 2013, you will receive a decision before the summer holidays. If your form is received after this, it will be dealt with as quickly as possible, but your child may not be able to start school on the first day of term.

If your child would be due to change schools in September 2013 anyway (if your child will be going into reception or you are applying for a Junior School and your child will be going into year 3), this section does not apply. Instead your application will be dealt with as described in the council's admissions priorities.

Transfer for behavioural or disciplinary reasons

Occasionally it is thought to be in a child’s best interests to change schools because of his or her behaviour, or because he or she is unable to follow the school’s disciplinary code. Such a move may be agreed with parents on a voluntary basis, but sometimes a child may be permanently excluded from a school. If this is considered necessary there will be an opportunity for parents to discuss the matter fully with the Headteacher of the child’s present school and officers from Brighton & Hove City Council. Parents/carers have the right to appeal against exclusion, and they will normally be able to express a preference for a new school. However, if a child has been permanently excluded for a second time the parent/carer does not have the right to express a preference for a new school for a period of two years following the second exclusion.