Applying for your child to be taught outside of their normal year group
Applying for your child to be taught outside of their normal year group
Transfer
If your child is currently being taught outside their normal year group this is called offset. Before you make an application to transfer, you must get agreement that the new school will accept your child's offset. We recommend you do this in a year in advance of making an application, see below for example timescales. Applying in advance gives you time to consider your options, such as, applying to other schools or moving back into the child's natural year group, as schools may not agree to offsetting your child.
Before a school can agree to an offset they must consider:
- Parent's views
- Information about the child's academic, social, emotional development
- Medical history (where relevant)
- The view of the headteacher of the school
- Example time frames
Child taught in Year 5 in a Secondary School - natural Year 6
- Complete offset form in September 2021
- Schools agree/ do not agree offset
- Complete application form between 1 September -31 October 2022 for a place in Year 7 in September 2023
Child taught in Year 3 in a First School - natural Year 4
- Complete offset form in September 2021
- Schools agree/ do not agree offset
- Complete application form between 1 September -31 October 2022 for a place in Year 5 in September 2023
Child taught in Year 7 in a Middle School - natural Year 8
- Complete offset form in September 2021
- Schools agree/ do not agree offset
- Complete application form between 1 September -31 October 2022 for a place in Year 9 in September 2023
In-year
You may want to consider an offset (your child to be taught outside their normal year group) when you apply for a school place in-year. This may be because:
- You are moving from a country which doesn’t have the same year groups as England
- Your child has been taught outside their year group in a previous school
- Other reasons such as missed school due to medical reasons etc.
You must have agreement from the school that they will accept an offset before you can apply to the school. This can delay getting your child into school initially.
To apply for an offset:
- Fill in the form below
- Attach supporting evidence from your current school – reports, supporting letters
- Attach any other supporting evidence, for example from a medical practitioner
If the school doesn’t agree to the offset, there is no right of appeal the decision, but you can:
- Apply to the school for a place in your child’s chronological year group
- Request an offset for alternative schools
We recommend you approach a number of schools to give yourself the most choice when it comes to applying for schools. List up to six schools on the form.