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Get a place for your child at a primary or secondary school - applications, deadlines, admission criteria, appeals and complaints.

• Choosing schools

  If you live in England contact your local council to find: state-funded…

• Admission criteria

  All schools have admission criteria to decide which children get places.…

• School starting age

  Most children start reception full-time in September after their fourth…

• How to apply

  Follow your local council’s application process to: apply for a primary…

• School waiting lists

  If your child does not have a place, contact your local council for…

• Appealing a school's decision

  You’ll be sent a letter with the decision about your child’s school. If…

• Complain about the appeals process

  You can complain about the way the appeal was carried out, but you can not…

Types of school and how they're run - community schools, academies, free schools, faith schools, state boarding schools.

• Overview

  All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are entitled to a…

• Faith schools

  Faith schools have to follow the national curriculum, but they can choose…

• Free schools

  Free schools are funded by the government but are not run by the local…

• Academies

  Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an…

• City technology colleges

  City technology colleges and ‘ the city college for the technology of the…

• State boarding schools

  State boarding schools provide free education but charge fees for…

• Private schools

  Private schools (also known as ‘independent schools’) charge fees to…

Apply for a state secondary school place through your local council

Apply for a state primary school place through your local council

Check school performance tables (‘league tables’), Ofsted reports and financial information.

You can be prosecuted if your child has unauthorised absence from school - truancy, help with getting your child to school, and legal action to enforce school attendance

Complain about a school - complaints process, when to complain to the Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency or Ofsted.

Schools can sanction pupils or exclude them - find out what schools are allowed to do, like search pupils for knives or drugs

School closures happen because of an emergency like severe weather - check whether your child's school is closed on your local council website.

Advice for state-funded school admission authorities, independent schools, local authorities and parents.

• Updated: 28 March 2024

Set up a free school - find out what you need to do and how to increase your chance of success

The age you can leave school in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Schools are responsible for your child's safety while they're at school or on a school trip

Schools set school uniform policy and must make their uniform policy. You should talk to the school if you think your child is being discriminated against.

The information that schools maintained by their local authorities must or should publish on their websites.

• Updated: 25 April 2023

Get support with teacher training and professional development from school-led centres of excellence.

• Updated: 29 February 2024

Guidance to help schools and local authorities understand their obligations in relation to the School Premises Regulations 2012

• Updated: 28 June 2018

Free transport from your local council - eligibility, rules for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), how to apply

How schools can share daily attendance data.

• Updated: 11 April 2024

Apply for a place in a nursery school for children under 5 through your local council