All of the information parents/carers need to help them make their decision is available on our website at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions, including information about the School Travel Policy and some School Travel Scenarios. They will also find on our website:
– Information on how to apply for a school place, including the steps to follow and what to do if they have any queries. This information can also be found in the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2022/2023 guide on our website which can also be downloaded.
– Details of all primary (including infant and junior) schools and how places are offered when a school gets too many applications.
Parents/carers should apply for a school place online at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions. Only those who are unable to apply online should complete and return to us a paper CAF1 application form which is available to download from www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions or by contacting us on 0345 600 0981.
Pupils will not be allocated a school place automatically. All parents/carers must apply for a place, even if their child is already attending a nursery class in an infant or primary school, a pre-school or a children’s centre next to a school site. This is because a place in a nursery class, pre-school or children’s centre does not guarantee their child a full-time place at that school.
It is important that parents/carers consider how their child will travel to and from school before they apply for a school place. The following information is very important:
- We will provide SCC funded school travel to the Nearest Suitable School that would have had a place available for a child when they are: a) aged under 8 and live at least two miles from the school; or b) aged 8 or older and live at least three miles from the school. This would be whether or not an application was made for a place at that school. The nearest suitable school might not be their catchment area school.
- We strongly recommend that parents/carers check which school is their nearest suitable school on our Nearest School Checker because this might not be their catchment area school. They can find out which are their three nearest Suffolk schools (based on the statutory walking distance including Public Rights of Way) by putting their postcode into our Nearest School Checker. The Checker can be found at nearestschool.suffolk.gov.uk. We update this each year to include new roads and developments.
- We would only provide SCC funded school travel to their Catchment Area School if it is the nearest suitable school to their home that would have had a place available for their child and they meet the distance criteria.
- Their School Preferences and the order they put them on their admissions application could affect their child’s eligibility for SCC funded school travel. Our School Travel Scenarios can help parents/carers work out when their child might be eligible for SCC funded school travel to their school when the age and distance criteria are met. These can be found in Step 4 of the ‘Apply for a school place’ page online at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions.
- 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 www.suffolkonboard.com/schooltravel.
The Admissions Oversubscription Criteria for Community and Voluntary Controlled schools gives priority to siblings. This means that it is very important that parents include details on the application form of any other child already at or about to start at the school they are applying for.Failure to provide this information may affect the offer of a school place.
The Admissions Oversubscription Criteria for Voluntary Aided, Foundation, Free Schools and Academies may be different from Community and Voluntary Controlled schools.
Any applications made after the closing date may not be dealt with until after places have been offered to those who applied on time. This means that all available places at a parent/carer’s preferred school(s) may have been filled and it could be some time before the outcome of the application is known.
Parents/carers can keep up-to-date on school admissions by:
Liking us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SuffolkCountyCouncil/
Following us on Twitter: twitter.com/suffolkcc
If parents/carers have any questions, they can email us at admissions@suffolk.gov.uk or by telephone on 0345 600 0981 (local rate).