The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is now delivering its school admissions service through Achieving for Children, a community interest company set up in partnership with the Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Richmond.
The Admissions Team is now operating a call back service only. Priority will be given to calls where the information is not available on the website or in the relevant guides.
Applications for overseas pupils are considered in accordance with guidance received from the Department for Education (DfE) and in consultation with the Home Office.
All parents residing in the UK, other than for a short period of time, have a legal duty to ensure their child receives education.
Freedom of movement into the UK for EEA and Swiss citizens ended at the end of 2020. EEA (Irish citizens aside) and Swiss national children entering the UK after the end of 2020 are now treated the same as other foreign nationals. This means they will no longer have the right to enter the country to access a state-funded school unless they fall within the immigration categories listed on the Department for Education website.
Parents in any doubt about whether their child’s immigration status precludes access to state-funded education, must seek independent legal advice on their individual circumstances. In most cases, children arriving from overseas have the right to attend state-funded schools in England, however, it is the responsibility of the parents to check that their children have a right, under their visa entry conditions, to study at a school.
Check that you have a right of abode or that the conditions of your immigration status otherwise permits your child to access a state-funded school.
School Admissions Process in Response to Ukraine Crisis
The Secretary of State for Education wrote to all local authority Directors of Children's Services and Chief Executive Officers to outline the Department's expectation that, if there are school places available in the local area, even if not in the immediate vicinity of the bridging hotel, the local authority will work with families arriving from Ukraine to enable the children to attend school as soon as possible.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is working closely with all schools to ensure that any children of compulsory school age arriving from Ukraine are placed into the most appropriate school within a timely manner. The school application process (also known as in-year transfer admissions) will be centralised and coordinated by the local authority to ensure that all applications are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Schools' admission arrangements apply in the normal way. When parents apply for a school place, the School Admissions Code states that admission authorities should aim to notify parents of the outcome of an application for a school within 10 school days and that they must do so within 15 school days. Where there are no school places within a reasonable distance of a child's home, the local authority should use its fair access protocol to place them within 20 school days.
There is a Welcome pack for refugees from Ukraine and annex A to that pack provides advice for parents on navigating the English school admissions system.
Applying from abroad
Parents who are not UK or Irish nationals should check they, and their children, have a right to reside in the UK before applying for a school place in England. It is not the responsibility of the admission authority or co-ordinated local authority to check.
You can apply for a school place ahead of your arrival, however, your application will be considered from your current overseas address with the lowest criterion and distance, unless you are returning to a home that you own, and which has previously been used as the family home and you can provide evidence that the property will be available for you to return to. If you are not returning to a property that you own, and which has previously been used as your family home, we will only update your address, criteria, and distance when you are habitually resident in the UK at a permanent address. We will not accept a temporary address or an address of friends or relatives.
If you are a crown servant or military family, we will process your application with evidence from your employer or commanding officer that you are returning or moving to the area ahead of your move. We will accept any posting or quartering address as a ‘home’ address in the absence of any actual home address.
Withdrawing offers of places
We will ask for evidence before the school year or term begins to confirm that your child now lives in the area. If your child does not attend school on the first day of term, we will remove the offer and allocate the place to a child on the waiting list. We will contact you first, before this action is taken to give you the opportunity to explain why there has been a delay in taking up the place and to find out when your child might begin attending.
Information about Applying for School Places
If your child is already of statutory school age, you will need to apply for a school place now by completing an in-year transfer application form. Applications for Voluntary Controlled and Community schools are processed by the Local Authority, and applications for Voluntary Aided, Academies and Free Schools are processed directly by the schools.
Information about how to apply for an in-year transfer application can be found on our Changing Schools Mid-Year website. Please ensure you read our Guide to In Year Admissions published on the Changing Schools Mid-Year website before submitting your application.
Please contact the School Admissions team if you require any further information - rbwm.admissions@achievingforchildren.org.uk.
If your child is born between the following dates, you will also need to apply for a school place for September 2023. Please visit Starting School or Moving up to Junior School for more information about how to apply:
- Born between 01/09/2018 to 31/08/2019 - Primary or First school at the beginning of Reception;
- Born between 01/09/2015 to 31/08/2016 - Junior school at the beginning of Year 3 (if your child is currently at year 2 at an infant school).
If your child is born between the following dates, you will also need to apply for a school place for September 2023. Please visit Moving up to Secondary, Middle or Upper School for more information about how to apply:
- Born between 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2014 - Middle school at the beginning of Year 5 (if your child is currently in year 4 at a first school)
- Born between 01/09/2011 to 31/08/2012 - Secondary school at the beginning of Year 7 (if your child is currently in year 6 at a primary school)
- Born between 01/09/2009 to 31/08/2010 - Upper school at the beginning of Year 9 (if your child is currently in year 8 at a middle school).
Entries during the normal admissions are coordinated by the Local Authority and you must submit your application to the School Admissions team.
The School Admissions team does not process nursery school applications. If your child requires a nursery school place then you must apply directly to the schools.