Changing school during the school year

Apply to change school during the school year.

In-year admissions

An in-year admission is when a child already attends a school but wants to transfer to another school outside the usual transfer time, for example because the child is moving to a new address. These transfers take place during the school year, which is why they are called in-year admissions. There are two different types of in-year admission:
  • Parents or carers who are moving/have moved house and wish to move to a school closer to their new home.
  • Parents or carers who are not moving house, or whose change of address is not a significant one (a significant house move is defined as over 2 miles for Key Stage 1 or 3 miles for Key Stage 2 and above), but would like their child to change school.

You may apply at any time during the school year, but no earlier than one school term in advance of when the school place is required. A child usually starts at a new school at the beginning of a term unless their home address has changed significantly or they are new to Kirklees. Please indicate on the form if this is the case.

Making an application

Changes to how you apply

Between Monday 8 April and Monday 8 July 2024 there are two ways of making an in-year application.

To apply for a place with an immediate start due to a significant house move

You will need to download and complete the In-year Common Application Form (ICAF)

To apply for a place with a start in September 2024

You will need to apply online on the Kirklees Parent Portal.

After Monday 8 July 2024 no further paper applications will be accepted.

If you are not sure which to use please contact Pupil Admissions for advice before making the application.

If you have moved house and do not have a school place for your child, or if your child cannot continue to attend their current school because it is too far from your new home, you will need to complete the In-Year Common Application Form (ICAF).

or;

If you are not moving house, or you have not moved very far but want to change your child's school for personal reasons you should discuss this in the first instance with the head teacher of your child's present school. This may resolve any issues that may have made you think about changing your child's school. If after speaking with the head teacher of your child's present school, you still want to transfer your child to another school, you should apply online on the Kirklees Parent Portal.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan then please do not complete the ICAF. You should contact your child's SEN caseworker to discuss a change of school.

You can apply for any school(s) in Kirklees on the Kirklees ICAF but not private fee paying schools.

If you want to apply for a school/academy in another local authority, you will need to fill in that authority's ICAF. Contact details of neighbouring authorities can be found below.

Completing the paper ICAF

The following points are important for ensuring you correctly fill in the paper ICAF form:

  • Make sure you use your child's full legal name as shown on their birth certificate
  • Make sure that you use your child's current permanent address
  • You should give at least one contact telephone number in case there are any questions we need to ask you about your application
  • You may want to add reasons why you would like your child to attend the school. If you state any medical or social reasons the admissions policy for the school may not allow them to take into account your reasons, however, if you want to appeal for a place at a school it may help your case to have mentioned reasons for your preference on your ICAF. Please attach any evidence of your reasons securely to the form. Don't forget to keep a copy of the evidence for yourself.

Completing the online ICAF

The following points are important for ensuring you correctly complete your online application:

  • Make sure you use your child's full legal name as shown on their birth certificate.
  • Make sure that you use your child's current permanent address.
  • You should give at least one contact telephone number in case there are any questions we need to ask you about your application.
  • You may want to add reasons why you would like your child to attend the school. If you state any medical or social reasons the admissions policy for the school may not allow them to take into account your reasons, however, if you want to appeal for a place at a school it may help your case to have mentioned reasons for your preference on your application.
  • You can apply for up to three schools in Kirklees (except for private fee paying schools) on each application.
  • If a reason for your change of school request is due to a future house move please state this, your future address and the date you expect to move there in the 'individual reasons' box under Preference Reasons for each school you have applied for.
  • Whilst the application will allow you to name up to 3 schools on each application there is not a preference order. Each school named as a preference is to be dealt with individually.

The three stages of your online application on the Kirklees Parent Portal


If you do not complete all three stages, your application is not complete and cannot be processed.

Stage 1 Create an account (if you have not already created one in a previous year). If you are the legal parent/carer, enter your details and follow the link that will be sent to the email address you have used. The process will verify your account and provide you with a link that will take you to the login page of the Kirklees Parent Portal.

Stage 2 Add your child's details (if you have not already added them in a previous year)

Stage 3 Add your three preference schools. Check the application and then submit the application.

A child's permanent address

The allocation of a school place MUST be based on the child's permanent address.

A child cannot be 'lodged' with a friend or relation to gain a place at a school.

Only one parent can submit a school application. The parent/carer who applies must have legal parental responsibility for the child.

It must be agreed which parent/carer will apply. When you apply, you are confirming that you have the

If you are moving house, before an admission authority can use your new address for admissions purposes, they will need proof that your house move is permanent and not easily reversible. The minimum they can accept is proof that you have relinquished all ties with your current address and are contractually bound to your new property

Right to be educated in the UK at a state funded school

In most cases, foreign national children in the UK have the right to attend schools in England. School admission authorities must not refuse to admit a child on the basis of their nationality or immigration status nor remove them from roll on this basis. It is the responsibility of parents to check that their children have a right, under their visa entry conditions, to study at a school.

To help parents, we recommend that local authorities advise foreign nationals, who wish to apply for a state-funded school place, to check that they have a right of abode or that the conditions of their immigration status otherwise permit them to access a state-funded school. Further information can be found at: School admissions: applications for overseas children

Contact details for neighbouring local authorities

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Calderdale Council

Leeds City Council

Oldham Council

Wakefield Council

Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs)

The following schools ask that parents complete the school's Supplementary Information Form (SIF) in addition to the ICAF:

You need to return the completed SIF directly to the school.

Previously looked after child (PLAC) SIF

If you are requesting admission to school under the previously looked after child (PLAC) criteria you need to complete this online form:

Provide supplementary information for a previously looked after child

Fill in our simple online form

Clock Completing this form takes around 5 minutes

Provide supplementary information

After you've applied

Your completed form will be sent to Pupil Admissions.

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Apply for a place with an immediate start due to a significant house move

If you are requesting a place due to a significant house move you will need to download and complete this form:

How to apply

Complete the in-year application form (ICAF)

If you wish to make an application to more than one school, you will need to complete a separate ICAF for each application

Download the In-Year Common Application Form (ICAF)

After you have applied

The admission authority for the school/academy will aim to send you, within 10 school days, but must within 15 school days of the application being received, a decision letter to offer or refuse a place at the school or academy.

Apply for a place in September 2024

If you are requesting a place in September 2024 for reasons other than a significant house move you will need to complete this online form:

How to apply

Clock Completing this form takes around 20 minutes

To complete this form you will need;

  • A valid email address
  • Your child(s) name and date of birth
  • Your address
  • The name of the schools you are applying for a place with
Apply for a school place

After you have applied

An email will be sent to the schools or academies named on the application. The email will inform the school they have an application.

The admission authority for the school or academy will aim to send you, within 10 school days, but must within 15 school days of the application being received, a decision letter to offer or refuse a place at the school/academy.

Please be aware that if your application is received during the school holidays, they may not be able to consider your application until the start of the new school term.

If your child is offered a place

The offer letter will give a date when your child can start at their new school. This will normally be the first day of the next school term where no significant house move has taken place. Where a child has moved, the offer letter should specify a start date no later than 10 school days from the date of the offer letter. Where possible, every effort should be made for your child to continue to attend their existing school until the transfer has taken place.

If your child is not offered a place

If your child is not offered a place for the first year of entry to the school, the only reason for this is that the year group has reached the Published Admission Number (PAN). This means that the year group is full and there are no places available. The only exception to this would be if you have applied to Heckmondwike Grammar School where places are offered to pupils who are identified by the results of an entrance examination.

If your child is not offered a place for a year group other than the first year of entry to the school, the letter from the admission authority must give you the reason why a place has been refused.

The letter which informs you that your child has not been offered a place must inform you of your legal right of appeal against the refusal of the place, the reasons for the refusal and advise you about waiting lists.

If a parent/carer is requesting a change of school because of a house move, and if a child has not been offered a place in a timely fashion, Kirklees LA will offer a place at the school designated by Kirklees to serve the parent/carer's new address, or if no such place is available, the nearest appropriate Kirklees school where a place is available. Nearest means the shortest distance from the child's home to the school measured in a straight line. In some circumstances Kirklees LA may decide to allocate a place immediately at the nearest appropriate Kirklees School where a place is available, following an individual assessment of an application.

Contact Pupil Admissions

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