School Admissions FAQs

Primary (including infant, junior and middle) school places for the 2020/2021 school year

Online applications – 16 April 2020 (National Offer Day):

• You can log on to see the outcome of your application on offer day
• You will receive an email* with details of your child's offer of a school place on offer day. If you have not been offered a place at your preferred school(s), this email will give you more information about what to do next. This will include details of how to make an appeal.

*unless you have indicated that you do not wish to receive an email. Please check your 'spam' and 'junk' folders.

Paper applications – 16 April 2020 (National Offer Day):

• You will be sent a letter, which we will post out on this day by second class post with the offer of a school place and information about what to do next.

If you cannot access your online account, please visit the school admission portal homepage for help with common user problems.

Please contact the Admissions Team on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) for further assistance.

Primary (including infant, junior and middle) school places for the 2020/2021 school year

Online applications – 16 April 2020 (National Offer Day):

If you applied online you should receive an email with the offer of a school place, unless you have indicated that you do not wish to receive an email. If you applied online successfully, you should have received a confirmation email immediately. If you did get a confirmation email and you have not received your offer email on National Offer Day, please check:

• your spam or junk mail folder
• that you haven’t changed your email address since making your online application
• whether your mailbox is full.

If you did not receive a confirmation email immediately after applying online, you may not have successfully submitted your application and will need to submit a paper CAF1 application for consideration.

Please contact the Admissions Team on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) or admissions@suffolk.gov.uk for further assistance.

Please note: if you have changed your email address since submitting your online application and you have not updated your details in ‘My Account’, then an email will have been sent to the email address you used to apply for a school place. If you no longer have access to your old email address, you will still be able to log on to view your child’s school offer using your old email address.

Paper applications – 16 April 2020 (National Offer Day):

If you applied on a CAF1 paper application form, or you applied online and indicated that you did not want to receive an email with the offer of a school place, you will receive a letter which will be posted on National Offer Day by second class post.

Primary (including infant, junior and middle) school places for the 2020/2021 school year

Suffolk schools for the normal year of entry

We assume that you are accepting the school place offered, unless you email admissions@suffolk.gov.uk by 29 April 2020 to let us know.

Please note: We are unable to withdraw an offer of a school place unless your child has another education provision in place.

Schools outside of Suffolk for the normal year of entry

If your child has been offered a school in another county, you may be required to formally accept the place. Please contact the school directly for details.

Further information

You can find out more by reading the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

You will be emailed or posted by second class post an offer of a school place to a primary (including infant, junior or middle) school on 16 April 2020, if your application was received by the closing date of 15 January 2020.

If your application was received after 15 January 2020 please see the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2020/2021 guide for information on late applications and when you are likely to hear the outcome.

Primary (including infant, junior and middle) school places for the 2020/2021 school year

Please email admissions@suffolk.gov.uk by 29 April 2020 to let us know.

Please note: We are unable to withdraw an offer of a school place unless your child has another education provision in place.

If we cannot meet any of your preferences, we will offer your child a place at the next nearest suitable school with a place available.

For more information and guidance, read the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

You can contact the Admissions Team at admissions@suffolk.gov.uk to find out your child’s position on the waiting list. You could also call us on 0345 600 0981 (local rate). Please remember that the information we provide is only accurate at the time you contact us.

There may be circumstances which affect your child’s place on the waiting list (for example, moving house). In which case you should send the appropriate written evidence to the Admissions Team as soon as possible.

The waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools will close on 31 December 2020.

The waiting lists for those foundation, voluntary aided schools, and academies who have agreed to operate the same policy as Suffolk County Council will also close on 31 December 2020.

Information on when the waiting lists close for foundation, voluntary aided schools, free schools and academies who do not operate the same policy as Suffolk County Council is available from the schools directly.

If your child has been refused a school in another county, you should contact the school directly for details of waiting lists.

Further information

You can find out more about waiting lists by reading the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

For the normal year of entry to a school, if your child has been refused a place at a preferred school, their name will automatically be added to a waiting list for that school in case a place becomes available.

If you do not want your child’s name on a waiting list, please email us at admissions@suffolk.gov.uk.

The waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools will close on 31 December 2020. The waiting lists for those foundation, voluntary aided schools, and academies who have agreed to operate the same policy as Suffolk County Council will also close on 31 December 2020.

Information on when the waiting lists close for voluntary aided, free schools and academies who do not follow the same policy as Suffolk County Council is available from the schools directly.

Further information

You can find out more by reading the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

We understand that there are several reasons why parents may want to change the schools they originally listed on their application.

Read the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2020/2021 guide for more information on late applications or you can find out more about your options by reading the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021 

Primary (including infant, junior and middle) school places for the 2020/2021 school year

If your child is eligible for SCC funded school travel the Passenger Transport Team will email you by Friday 15 May 2020, for those that applied by the closing date of 15 January 2020, with details of how to opt-in and when. If we don’t have an email address for you, we will write to you.

If you have not received an email or a letter from the Passenger Transport Team by Friday 15 May 2020, and you think your child may be eligible for SCC funded school travel, please visit www.suffolkonboard.com/schooltravel for more information on how you can apply.

If your child is not eligible for SCC funded school travel, we have provided some information on www.suffolkonboard.com/schooltravel that may help you consider how your child will travel to and from school, accompanied as necessary. Information about sustainable travel options is also available at www.suffolkonboard.com/SMOT.

SCC funded school travel eligibility will not be reassessed unless there is a change of school offered or change of the child’s home address. If you are refused school travel you will be able to ask for a review of the decision.

The closing dates for on time applications for school places for the 2020/2021 school year have now passed.

You can still submit an application by completing a paper application form (CAF1)

Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and to help you stay at home, please send any applications, evidence or supporting information by email to admissions@suffolk.gov.uk. If you don’t have access to a scanner, you can take photos of your application form, evidence or supporting information and attach these to your email.

If you are unable to send us your application or supporting evidence by email, you may wish to get proof of posting when you send your application.

However, we cannot guarantee that any post sent to us during this current time will be received.

Late applications or changes will be considered after we have offered school places for the applications we have received on time.

For information and guidance on late applications please read the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2020/2021 guide  or you can find out more about your options by reading the section What to do after receiving your offer (Step 7) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

Online applications

You should have received an email acknowledgement if you have submitted an online application for the normal year of entry.

Paper applications

We do not acknowledge receipt of paper applications. We recommend you get proof of postage when submitting a paper application as we cannot be held responsible for forms being lost in the post.

If you’re still worried that your application has not been received, we recommend that you submit another application.

Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and to help you stay at home, please send any applications, evidence or supporting information by email to admissions@suffolk.gov.uk. If you don’t have access to a scanner, you can take photos of your application form, evidence or supporting information and attach these to your email.

If you are unable to send us your application or supporting evidence by email, you may wish to get proof of posting when you send your application.

However, we cannot guarantee that any post sent to us during this current time will be received.

You can search for schools in your area by checking the school catchment areas list.

We cannot guarantee your child a place at any school, including your catchment area school.

A catchment area school may not be the nearest school to your child's home address.

Some voluntary aided, foundation, free schools and academies do not have catchment areas.

Find out about making an in-year application for the 2019/2020 school year.

Information and guidance is available on how to apply for the coming year:

• Apply for a primary school place 2020/2021 
• Apply for a secondary school place 2020/2021

You can find information about the School and Post-16 Travel Policies by visiting suffolkonboard.com/schooltravel