Admissions and transfers to secondary school

Pupils transfer from primary to secondary school in the September following their 11th birthday. All schools provide a full curriculum up to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level at 16 years of age.

• Is your child due to transfer to a secondary school in September 2012?
• How can I find out what secondary schools are in my area? 
• How can I find more out about a particular school?
• How will I receive my application form and booklet?
• How to apply for a place
• How to apply for a place online
• Verification of address
• How many schools should I apply for?
• How are the places decided?
• How will I know I have been offered a secondary school place for my child?
• What can I do if my child is not offered a secondary place at the school(s) of my choice? Can I appeal?
• What happens if I apply for a place after the secondary school places have been offered?
• How do waiting lists work?
• Parent advisor

Is your child due to transfer to a secondary school in September 2012?

If so, you will need to apply for a place at your preferred high school(s). If you currently live in Salford you need to apply for a school place through Salford Local Authority (LA). If you are applying for a place in a school in another LA, you will need to apply for that place through Salford LA who will send your application to the LA concerned. The other LA will tell Salford LA if your child can be offered a school place in their area or not.

How can I find out what secondary schools are in my area? 

Visit our handy online search facility where you can see what schools are in your area.

How can I find more out about a particular school?

All schools have open evenings and welcome visits to the school. Schools will have a prospectus which details the school's ethos, policy and achievements. These are available direct from the school concerned.

Copies of the annual school performance tables are available by telephoning 0800 242322. There is a charge for this information. Or you can see them on the Department of Education website.

Copies of published reports on recent school inspections can be obtained from the School Improvement Service at the address below or telephone 0161 909 6539. They can also be seen on the Ofsted website.

How will I know when to apply?

All children who are resident in Salford will be prompted to apply for a school place. The closing date for applications is 31 October 2011.

The Special Educational Needs Team will contact parents/carers of children who are statemented for Special Educational Needs or attend special schools in the early part of the autumn term.

For a breakdown of the whole admissions process see the admissions timetable.

How to apply for a place

As a Salford resident you will be information on how to apply during September 2011. You will be asked to state:

• Which school you would like your child to attend
• The reasons (see admissions criteria) why your child should attend in the event that the school has more requests for places than places available

Some voluntary aided schools may require parents to provide additional information. Supplementary forms are available online. Please contact the school concerned for more details.

Verification of address

Because of problems in the past, the Admission and Exclusions Team will ask you to provide proof of your address. When your child is offered a school place you will be asked to provide proof of address to the school, along with your acceptance of the place. You will be issued with a list of acceptable forms of proof which may include such things as:

• Council Tax bill
• Rental/tenancy agreement
• Recent Child Benefit papers
• Copy of completion papers in the case of a recent house purchase

The evidence you provide should be dated in the last three months.

Your address is considered to be where your child is normally and regularly living at the time of deciding places. If your child is living with friends or relatives for reasons other than guardianship, then we cannot use that address at the time of allocating places.

The Local Authority may consider a child’s temporary address (where, for example, they may be living in temporary accommodation due to their parents working commitments whilst they are seeking a permanent address in the same area) at its discretion.

If your main address has changed temporarily (for example, if you live with extended family during illness or you take up temporary accommodation because of building work) than your address counts as the one you were at before moving to the temporary residence.

You must notify us as soon as possible if there is any permanent change in address.

How many schools should I apply for?

When filling in the form please list three or more school choices for your child. If the first school on your list is full, your next choice of school will be looked at. If you do not list more than one choice and a place cannot be offered at that school, your child may be offered a place at a school which has places available. This may be some distance from your home.

How are the places decided?

Places are allocated using the secondary admissions criteria. Please read the criteria carefully as you will need to decide which one of these categories your child will be considered under at the time the decision is made on his/her school place.

Voluntary Aided Secondary Schools may have different admissions criteria. To view each individual school's criteria see the Secondary Policy Booklet.

How will I know if I have been offered a secondary school place for my child?

You will be informed of the decision by letter which will be posted to you on 1 March 2012. You will normally be given at least ten working days to let the Local Authority know whether you want to accept the offer. If you do not respond within the timescale the place may be given to another child.

What can I do if my child is not offered a secondary place at the school of my choice? Can I appeal?

If you are not offered a secondary school place for your child at the school(s) of your choice you can:

• Leave your child's name on the waiting list at your choice of school(s) in case a place becomes available
• Choose another school with places available. If you do this your child's name can remain on the waiting list at your preferred choice of school(s)

You also have a right to appeal if you do not get a place for your child at the school of your choice.

The Department of Education publish a guide for parents on school admissions and appeals. The guide explains the school admissions and appeals processes: what parents can expect from the admissions system, how to object to unlawful arrangements, and how to find further information and support

For further details please contact the Admissions and Exclusions Team.

What happens if I apply for a secondary school place after the places have been offered?

If you want a secondary school place after the allocation date of 1 March 2012, you need to fill in an application form as soon as possible.

If your choice of school does not have any places left you can either:

• Leave your child’s name on the waiting list at that school in case a place becomes available
• Choose another school school with places available. If you do this your child’s name can stay on the waiting list at the school of your choice
• You also have the right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel

How do waiting lists work?

If your application for a secondary place at your choice of school(s) has been refused, you are entitled to place your child's name on a waiting lists. Waiting lists must be held until at least 31 December 2012. The local authority will hold waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools throughout the school year.

You should check individually with voluntary aided schools to check if their waiting lists will be held beyond 31 December 2012.

This page was last updated on 31 August 2011