Applying for a school place outside the regular points of admission is much more complicated than applying for a place at the start of primary or secondary school when there is a pan-London system for all state schools.
For in year school admissions parents and carers must follow different processes for different schools and local authorities. This can involve lengthy delays, including referrals to Fair Access Protocols and even the Secretary of State.
The result is children having to wait longer for a school place and missing out on education for months. This has a detrimental impact on their attainment and wellbeing.
Local authority oversight and management of pupil movements would bring about a simpler system for parents. It will also put in place checks and balances to support safeguarding and ensure children are not missing education.
In-year admission applications have increased significantly in London. Across 27 London boroughs, over 75,000 in-year admissions were received from September 2021 to July 2022. This is a considerable cohort of children who must apply through the current process. 85,000 children were offered a place to start primary school in the same period, illustrating the huge scale of this issue.
Our report, ‘Seeking school places: Addressing the challenges of in-year admissions’ explores the cohorts of children seeking school places in-year, the challenges in the system, and the powers local authorities need to fix the problem.