Admissions to Schools
Casual admissions
Your questions answered
Is my information protected?
We may pass the information you give on the common application form to schools either inside or outside the borough or to other local authorities as part of the admissions procedure.
We will also pass the information to the school your child finally goes to, where it will form part of the pupil database maintained by that school. We will deal with your personal information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Why are there 2 preferences? I want to choose 1 school
Under section 86 (1) of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998, we must make arrangements so that parents of children in our area can express a preference for the school(s) they would want their child to go to.
Every year, more people apply for places at our schools than we have places available. In that situation, not everybody will be given a place at the schools they have asked for.
The schools on your form are your preferences: they cannot be your choices because we cannot guarantee everyone a place at any school. If everybody named the same school, we would not be able to increase the number of places in our schools.
How are places distributed?
We process all application we receive in the order we receive them using the admissions criteria. If there are vacancies at our schools, we can accept all applications for that school. If there are more applications for a school than there are places available in that school, we use the admission criteria to decide which applications to accept and turn down.
Please see the relevant admission criteria that apply to your child:
How do I apply for a Barking and Dagenham voluntary aided school or a school outside the borough?
If you would like your child to go to a voluntary aided, foundation or community school in another borough, you must apply directly to that school or local authority concerned.
The contact details for all the local authorities can be found on the Department for Children, Schools and Families website.
Do I have to prove where I live?
We work hard to avoid fraudulent applications. To do this we need to check where you live. We accept the following documents to show the parent or carer's address:
- Council tax bill or council tax benefit dated within the last 3 months
- Tenancy agreement
- Letter of completion from Solicitors; or
- Medical Registration Card
Please check that the name and address of the child matches the information you give on your application form. If you change your address at any time in this process, you must give us proof of your new address by sending us the above documents.
What does guardianship mean?
If a child is not living with their natural parents and another adult is looking after the child, we need documentary evidence that you are the guardian and have parental responsibility for that child.
Evidence includes a will or a court order or a statutory declaration. Guardianship only applies if you can prove that you have full care and the normal, permanent home is not at their parents' address. Guardianship does not apply when picking up children to and from school, or looking after them until their parents collect them.
What if my child lives with both parents at 2 different addresses?
When a child lives with their natural parents, legal guardian or foster parent, we will consider that address to be the child's normal, permanent home.
However, when a child has parents who are separated, the parents may name only 1 address for the application process, but the other parent can be named and provided with copies of information we issue.
If 1 parent has parental responsibility, we must receive documents to prove this and that parent's address must be used. If both parents have parental responsibility, we must receive documents to prove this.
What happens if my child has a statement of special educational needs?
Applications for children with full statements of special needs are processed by the Special Educational Needs Assessment and Review Team and considered separately from other applications.
If your child has a full statement of special needs we will forward your application to the Special Educational Needs Assessment and Review Team team for processing. If you would like to talk to a member of the team, please telephone 020 8227 3540.
What happens if my child has a disability?
Most children with disabilities have their needs met in local mainstream schools.
If your child has a disability (this includes physical, sensory (sight, hearing or speech) and learning difficulties), please fill in the casual admission form, giving the disability.
What happens if my child is in the care of a local authority?
Children in the care of a local authority have priority. If your child is in the care of a local authority, you must also include with the application form a letter from the social worker confirming the legal status of the child and the local authority which the child is in the care of. The letter should also provide the reasons for the preferred schools listed.
If your child is in the care of a local authority and you would like to discuss your application with a member of the Looked After Children Health and Education Support (LACHES) Team, please telephone 020 8227 5919.
How do I return the forms?
Once all sections of the form have been filled in, the adult with parental responsibility must sign the declaration. You should then bring your form and documents to the Barking Learning Centre for processing. We are open Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. As we must see original documents, we can only accept postal applications that are sent by recorded delivery.
We accept no responsibility for lost documents.
If any information is missing on your form, it will delay your application. We will send you a reply within 10 days of receiving your application and the documents we ask for. If you do not hear from us after this time, please telephone us.
When will I know the result of my application?
We should send you a reply within 10 days of receiving your application and the documents we ask for. If you do not hear from us after this time, please telephone us.
Can I change the information on my application form?
You will need to send us a new form if you want to make changes to your application. The new details that you give us will replace those on your previous form. We should then reply within 10 days of receiving this new information.
What happens if my circumstances change?
You will need to contact the Admissions section if your circumstances change. We offer places based on the information available at the time of processing your form. If we have given your child a place, we will not withdraw it if your circumstances change (such as your address).
However, if we discover that we have given a place based on false, inaccurate or misleading information, we will withdraw it and may take legal action.
What happens after my child is given a place at the schools I have listed?
Once we have given your child a school place, we tell the relevant school.
You will need to contact the school so they may tell you about the admission arrangements and the uniform you need for your child. Some schools will want to interview your child. This is not part of the application process. It is to make sure your child can start school as easily as possible.
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