Finding a school place
in Newham
Information and forms to help you
find a school place for your child.
When your child reaches the age of five they must start
primary school in the school term following his or her fifth
birthday (unless a child is educated otherwise). They must continue
their education until year 11 and cannot leave until the last
Friday in the June even if they have secured a further education
placement.
Parents of children of compulsory school age (5 to 16) are
required to ensure that they receive a suitable education by
regular attendance at school or the approved alternative method
arranged by yourself. Failure to comply with this duty can lead to
prosecution.
If you are offered a place, you must accept it within a week
otherwise you might lose out. The school will give you a date and
time to see the head teacher. When you see the headteacher take
proof of:
1) Your child's date of birth (one of the
following):
- UK birth certificate (birth certificates from outside the UK
cannot be accepted)
- valid current passport (not expired)
- official documentation from the National Asylum Seeker
Service
Please note that European Economic Area identity cards must not be
accepted.
2) Your child's main address
Proof of address documents must be addressed to at
least one of the two parent/carers detailed on the common
application form (CAF) who must live at the same address as the
child. If the child has moved since the application form was
completed, proof of their new address and the address on the
application form must be provided.
If a child's parents are not living together and the child spends a
few days in both households on week days, as a minimum they must
provide proof of the address from which the child goes to school in
the morning most often on week days, which is also the address
supplied on the Common Application Form. Ideally proof of both
addresses should be supplied.
You must provide one of the following:
- Council Tax bill for the current financial year (residential
not commercial)
- current Housing Benefit entitlement letter
- tenancy agreement for council housing or housing association
property
- tenancy agreement for private accommodation from a Newham
accredited landlord (acceptable to December 2012) or a tenancy
agreement from a Newham licensed landlord (accepted from January
2013 onwards)
- letter from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) team
informing the family of the address of the accommodation being
provided for you and your family.
- letter from the Social Services Asylum Team informing the
family of the address of the accommodation being provided for you
and your family.
Please note that Tenancy Agreements from landlords who are not
accredited (licensed) by Newham and documents relating the
house/flat purchase must not be accepted.
AND one of the following utility bills (this is
not required for families supported by NASS or a Social Services
Asylum Team):
- recent gas bill
- recent electricity bill
- current water bill
- recent telephone bill
- recent mobile bill
3) Medical contact information
You must provide both your:
- child's doctor's name, surgery address and telephone
number
- child's Dentist's Name, Surgery Address and Telephone
Number
4) Emergency contact details
Details of at least two emergency
contacts aged 18 or over. If possible at least one of the contacts
should be able speak English.
The following information should be supplied:
- full name
- address
- language (if non English speaker)
- relationship to the child
- home number
- mobile number
The details supplied will be checked before admission and the named
persons must confirm they are happy to the named emergency
contacts.
5) Proof of parental responsibility
Documents must be provided by the person living with
child to confirm their parental responsibility and details of other
persons with parental responsibility for this child.
Having parental responsibility means assuming all the rights,
duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that a parent of a
child has by law.
If we cannot offer a place at any of your
preferred schools, we will allocate an alternative place at the
closest school to your home address that has a suitable
vacancy.
Your child will be automatically added to the waiting lists for any
school that you have named as your current preferences and you will
be offered your right to appeal for a place at the schools where
you have applied and been refused.
If we cannot offer your child the Newham school you want, we will
put them on the school's waiting list. Their names will stay on the
waiting list until the end of the current school term. Click on the
links below to find out more about the waiting list procedure:
You must contact us before the end of the current school term, if
you want your child to remain on the waiting list for the following
term. To remain on the waiting list you will need to complete a
transfer request form.
Call us on 020 8430 2000 for a transfer request form.
If you live outside Newham but want your
child to go to one of our schools, please contact the Local
Authority in which you live. They will pass your information on to
us.
We will treat your request in the same way as other people who live
in the borough. But we will not offer you another Newham school
place if we cannot offer you a place in one of your preferred
schools.
If the school is in another London
borough or one of the County Councils next to London (for example,
Essex) you should apply for that school by by naming it on the
Newham application form. Please say which borough or council the
school is in and we will pass on your information to them. You
cannot apply to those boroughs or councils direct.
We strongly recommend that apply for a Newham school as well, just
in case your child does not get a place at an out of borough
school.
It is advisable to think carefully before taking this step as it
has been shown changing school can affect your child's achievement.
It is particularly crucial to keep them in the same school whilst
they are studying for exams in Year 10/11.
Forms for requesting a transfer are available by calling us on 020
8430 2000.
If we can't offer your child a place at the school you would like
them to move to, we will put them on the school's
waiting list.