School admissions FAQs

Primary (including infant and junior) school places for the 2024/2025 school year

Online applications – 16 April 2024:

• 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. 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 2024:

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 online service homepage which offers advice on common user problems.

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

You cannot apply online after the closing date and will have to complete a paper application (CAF1).

Primary (including infant and junior) school places for the 2024/2025 school year

Online applications – 16 April 2024 (National Offer Day):

If you applied online, and received an email at that time confirming submission, 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 the 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 application (CAF1) for consideration. Further information is available at:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

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 view your child’s school offer using your old email address.

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

Paper applications – 16 April 2024 (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 the National Offer Day by second class post.

Primary (including infant and junior) school places for the 2024/2025 school year

Suffolk schools for the normal year of entry

We assume that you are accepting the Suffolk school place offered unless you let us know in writing by 30 April 2024 and tell us what education provision is in place for your child for September 2024.

We recommend that you email the Admissions Team.

Alternatively, you can write to us at The Admissions Team, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2BX.

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 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

You will be emailed or posted by second class post an offer of a school place to a primary (including infant and junior) school on 16 April 2024, if your application was received by the closing date of 15 January 2024.

If your application was received after 15 January 2024, you can find information on late applications and when you are likely to hear the outcome by reading the section Find out when you’ll be offered a school place (Step 6) on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

Primary (including infant and junior) school places for the 2024/2025 school year

Suffolk schools for the normal year of entry

Please email the Admissions Team by 30 April 2024 to let us know and to tell us what education provision is in place for your child for the 2024/2025 school year.

Alternatively, you can write to us at The Admissions Team, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2BX.

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

Please contact the school directly for details.

If we cannot meet any of your preferences, we will offer your child a place at the nearest suitable school with a place available. Your child will not be eligible for Suffolk County Council funded school travel to that school if they could have been offered a place at a nearer school, had you applied for it, or if they do not meet the statutory walking distance criteria.

For more information and guidance, read the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2024/2025 guide and Step 7 'What to do after receiving your offer' which are both found on the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

You can contact the Admissions Team on 0345 600 0981 (local rate) or email the Admissions Team to find out your child’s position on the waiting list.

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. We recommend that you email this to admissions@suffolk.gov.uk.

The waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools will close on 31 December 2024.

The waiting lists for those voluntary aided schools and academies who have agreed to operate the same policy as Suffolk County Council will also close on 31 December 2024.

Information on when the waiting lists close for 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 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

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 the Admissions Team.

The waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools will close on 31 December 2024.

The waiting lists for those voluntary aided schools and academies who have agreed to operate the same policy as Suffolk County Council will also close on 31 December 2024.

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 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

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

For more information on late applications and to find out more about your options, read the Admissions to Schools in Suffolk 2024/2025 guide and Step 7 'What to do after receiving your offer' which are both found on the following pages

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

Primary (including infant and junior) school places for the 2024/2025 school year

If your child is eligible for Suffolk County Council funded school travel the Passenger Transport Team will email you by 10 May 2024, for those that applied by the closing date of 15 January 2024, 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 10 May 2024, and you think your child may be eligible for Suffolk County Council funded school travel, please visit Suffolk on Board for more information on how you can apply.

If your child is not eligible for Suffolk County Council funded school travel, we have provided some information on Suffolk on Board 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 Suffolk on Board.

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.

Suffolk County Council (SCC) Funded School Travel

Please be aware: You must consider how your child will travel to and from school before you apply for a school place.

The following information is very important:

1. We will provide SCC funded school travel to the Nearest Suitable School that would have had a place available for your child when they are: a) aged under 8 and live more than two miles from the school; or b) aged 8 or older and live more than three miles from the school. This would be whether or not an application was made for a place at that school. The distance in a) and b) above is called the statutory walking distance.
2. We will only provide SCC funded school travel to your child’s catchment area school when it is the nearest suitable school to their home that would have had a place available for them and they meet the distance criteria.
3. It is important that you check which school is your child’s nearest suitable school on our Nearest School Checker for the 2024/2025 school year. You can find out which are the three nearest Suffolk schools (based on the statutory walking distance including Public Rights of Way) by putting your child’s postcode into the Checker which can be found at Nearest School Checker. We update this each year to include new roads and developments.
4. Your School Preferences and the order in which you put them on your admissions application could affect your child’s eligibility for SCC funded school travel. Our School Travel Scenarios can help you work out when your child might be eligible for SCC funded school travel to their school when the age and distance criteria are met.

The closing dates for on time applications for school places for the 2024/2025 school year have now passed.

You can still submit an application, find out how to apply for a school place by visiting one of the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

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.

You can find out which are your child's three nearest Suffolk schools (based on the statutory walking distance including Public Rights of Way) by putting their postcode into our Nearest School Checker.

We update this each year to include new roads and developments.

It is important that you check which school is your child’s nearest suitable school on our Nearest School Checker for the 2024/2025 school year before you apply. This is because it might not be their catchment area school, if they have one, and could affect any entitlement they may have for Suffolk County Council funded school travel if they live over the statutory walking distance.

We will only provide SCC funded school travel to your child’s catchment area school when it is the nearest suitable school to their home that would have had a place available for them and they meet the distance criteria.  

Use our school catchment area lists to find out if your child’s address has a catchment area school.

Some voluntary aided, free schools and academies do not operate catchment areas. Please check the relevant school's admissions policy for details:

• School admission policies for the 2024/2025 school year
• School admission policies for the 2023/2024 school year

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

It is important that you check which school is your child’s nearest suitable school on our Nearest School Checker for the 2024/2025 school year. 

How you should apply for a school place for your child with SEN varies depending on whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or are currently going through an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) process.

Applying for a school place if your child has SEN but does not have an EHC plan

You must apply for a mainstream school place by visiting one of the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

Applying for a school place if your child has SEN and is currently undergoing an EHCNA but has not yet had an EHC plan issued

Until your child’s EHCNA is complete, you must apply through the mainstream admissions process as outlined above.

If the outcome of the assessment is that an EHC plan is issued, your child’s school placement will then be overseen by the Family Services Team and the new school named in their EHC plan when it is finalised.

Applying for a school place if your child has an EHC plan

If your child has an EHC plan, then this will need to be amended to specify the name of their new school.

In order for the Local Authority to consider your preferences and understand what sort of provision might be most suitable to meet your child’s needs, a ‘Phase Transfer Review’ of their EHC plan must occur in the first half term of the year before they transfer (for example, Year 6), to allow plenty of time for everyone to plan what support your child will need when they transfer.

The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCo) at your child’s current school should invite to you a review meeting. You will have the opportunity to say, at that review meeting, what school you would like your child to transfer to.

After the review meeting, your child’s current school will send the review paperwork to the Family Services Team, who will then send you the proposed amendments to your child’s EHC plan for your consideration. The Family Services Team will then consider any representations you make, and they might need to consult with different potential schools and other placements.

When all required consultations are complete, the Family Services Team will then finalise and issue the new amended EHC plan.

Please contact your Family Services Team who will be able to advise and support if you have any questions about this process.

• Family Services Team South Suffolk and Ipswich: SENDSS@suffolk.gov.uk
• Family Services Team Lowestoft and Waveney: SENDLW@suffolk.gov.uk
• Family Services Team West Suffolk, Central Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds: SENDWS@suffolk.gov.uk

Further sources of information and support can also be found at:

• Suffolk SENDIASS: www.suffolksendiass.co.uk
• Suffolk Parent Carer Forum: suffolkpcf.co.uk

You can find information about the School and Post-16 Travel Policies by visiting Suffolk on Board.

You can find out more about applying for a school place in the normal year of entry by visiting one of the following pages:

• Apply for a primary school place 2024/2025
• Apply for a secondary school place 2024/2025

If you’ve recently moved, or you’re unhappy about your child’s current school you can apply for a school place during the current school year 2023/2024.