Proposed Co-ordinated Scheme for Secondary School Admissions for 2025/26

70. Early or Delayed Transfer

a. Early Transfer

Children may only transfer early to a secondary school in exceptional circumstances such as if they have previously been educated out of cohort or if it can be shown that not to do so would be detrimental to their academic progress or social wellbeing. All requests will involve consultation with the current school, the school to which the child wishes to transfer to. It would also be the case that the Local Authority's professional adviser would be involved with any decision-making. In addition to this, there must be clear evidence from the child's current primary school confirming that the child is exceeding age related expectations and that it would be detrimental for the child to remain in the current setting. As with any request for admission out of cohort, clear evidence will need to be provided as to why this would be in the child's best interest.

b. Delayed transfer

All requests must be submitted to the Local Authority by 31 October in the year in which the child would have chronologically transferred to secondary school.

Children may remain for a further year in a primary school if it can be shown that not to do so would be detrimental to their academic progress or social wellbeing, The presence of special educational needs or underachievement are not in themselves sufficient reasons to delay transfer.

Children for whom a delayed entry to school or year group retention has already been agreed by the relevant parties, will continue in the lower year group unless it can be shown that it is in their best interests to rejoin their chronological year group. The continuation of this arrangement will continue on transfer to secondary school unless the parent/carer, the current school, the school to which the child would otherwise wish to transfer and, where appropriate, the LA's professional adviser, consider it in the child's best interest to rejoin the chronological year group. An application for transfer to secondary school must still be made in the same way as expected of other children in the year group in which they are working (rather than their chronological age group).

If a child is currently on a roll at a school and a delayed entry is submitted and cannot be agreed, then no alternative school will be offered.

Applications for delayed entry to out of county schools

Parents who wish to apply for a main round delayed entry to an out of county school should submit the request to Wiltshire Council. Wiltshire Council will pass this on to the other Local Authority for consideration. Wiltshire Council will then inform the parent of the decision of the request.

Parents who wish to apply for a delayed entry as an in-year transfer should contact the Local Authority where the preferred school is situated for details of how to apply.

Right of Appeal for the Admission of children outside their normal age group

Parents who are refused a place at a school for which they have applied have the right of appeal to an independent Admission Appeal panel. They do not have a right of appeal if they have been offered a place and it is not in the year group they would like. However, if parents are dissatisfied with the outcome of the request for delayed entry, they have the right to complain against the decision through the Council's complaints procedure for decisions made by council officers. Where the school is its own admissions authority, parents can complain using the school's complaints procedure.