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Determined Admission Arrangements for Community and Voluntary Controlled Secondary Schools for 2025/26

2. 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, 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 re-join their chronological year group. To enable the child to transfer back to their chronological year group then, a place must be available in the relevant year group.

The continuation of this arrangement will continue on transfer to secondary school unless the parent/carer, 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 re-join the chronological year group. An application for delayed 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).

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