Finding a school and applying for a place

Admissions - Children without an EHC Plan

Most children with special educational needs (SEN) do not require an EHC Plan, as their needs can be met within the resources of a mainstream school. These children will get a school place through the Local Authority’s admissions system.

Normal admissions round

This is when children start school for the first time or move to a different phase of education; for example from primary to secondary school. For Rotherham resident children admissions are coordinated centrally by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. When applying for your child, you will need to fill in a common application form and express a preference for up to three schools, in order of preference. You can apply online here or you can request a paper common application form. You can apply for schools outside of the Rotherham Local Authority if you want to, but you will still use Rotherham's application form. The information on your form is then passed to the schools to decide whether they can offer your child a place, based on their admission criteria. Many schools have more applicants than places available and use admission criteria to decide which children have priority.

Parents of a summer born child may choose not to send their child to school until the September following their fifth birthday, and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group. There is government guidance on the admission of summer born children which you may find useful to familiarise yourself with if you are considering this option, along with speaking to the head teachers of your preferred schools. This request (including reasons) must be submitted in writing to the Admissions Team along with your application form, stating your preferred schools. Upon receipt, the Local Authority will seek to take into account the views of Head Teacher(s) of your preferred school(s) and a decision will be made.

Offer of a school

The schools you've listed will each decide whether they can offer your child a place, and the Local Authority will consider these offers against your preferences, along with the preferences of other parents. On national offer day (1st March for secondary, 16th April for primary) you'll get a single offer of a school. If none of your preferences can offer your child a place, you'll be offered another school which is likely to be the nearest school with places still available.

In-year/transfer applications

If you have moved into Rotherham outside of the normal admissions round, or if you want a change of school for your child, you can request a school transfer online here.

What if I'm not happy with the school offered?

If you’re unhappy with the school offered, there are several options open to you:

• Keep your child on the waiting list for any schools you originally applied for; sometimes there is some movement before September.
• Put in a new application for other schools not on your original list.
• Appeal for any school where you applied and were turned down.

You may want to accept the school place offered, even if you are unhappy with it, as this will ensure that your child has a guaranteed school place if other options fail.

Appeals are made to an independent appeal panel, and you must submit your appeal within 30 school days of the decision to the Local Authority. Please view Rotherham’s school admissions appeals guidance for more information on what to include in your appeal form.

Please bear in mind that infant classes (Foundation 2, Year 1 and Year 2) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single class teacher; therefore, at an appeal, the panel can only uphold your appeal if there has been a mistake and your child should have been given a place.

Can a school refuse to take a child because they are disabled or because they don't have an EHC plan?

School admissions are covered by the Equality Act 2010; therefore a school cannot legally refuse to take your child because they have a disability or SEN if your child would otherwise have qualified for a place under the admission criteria. Also, a school cannot refuse to admit a child on the grounds that the child may need an EHC Plan but hasn’t yet got one. Schools can put into place, where needed, additional support for a child within their own resources prior to needing to request top up funding from the Local Authority (via making a request for an EHC needs assessment).