Important information about in-year applications

Information for service families being posted to Newcastle

If you are moving to Newcastle from somewhere else in England, you need to apply to the council where you currently live. Contact them for advice and information on how to apply.

If you live outside of England currently, apply directly to us. We will need a copy of an official Ministry of Defence, Foreign Commonwealth Office or Government Communication Head Quarters letter which confirms your relocation date and quartering area address.

What address should I use?

You must use the permanent address at the time of application where your child lives with a parent or person with parental responsibility. You can't use an address where they don't live, for example a childminder or grandparent's house.

We carry out address checks and may ask for proof of address. Using a false address is taken extremely seriously (it is committing fraud). If we don't believe your address is genuine, we will withdraw any offer of a school place and may take further action.

My child splits their time between my home and my ex-partner's, what address do we use?

• If your child lives at more than one address Monday to Friday (for example due to a separation) use the address where your child lives most of the time on school days.
• Only one address can be used. If the child lives at two addresses, the Local Authority will decide which address to use based on child benefit, child tax credit, Court Orders and/or GP registration.

It is the parent/carer’s responsibility to prove residency if requested.

If both you and your partner apply and provide different information or ask for different schools, we can only process one application.

What do I do if I’m moving house?

When you apply, you must use your child's permanent address at that point in time. If you move house after submitting the application, write to us with proof of your new address.

What supporting evidence do I need to provide and how?

If you want a school to consider your child as a priority for specific reasons, you need to provide supporting evidence. The admission criteria for each school explain what reasons they will consider, what evidence you need to provide and when it needs to be sent in by.

You can't attach supporting evidence to an online school application. You need to send it separately by email or post, including your child's name and date of birth. If you choose to hand evidence in you must get a receipt for this.

• If you want a faith school to consider your child on faith grounds, you need to provide proof of faith to the school by the date in their admission policy.
• If you want a school to take account of medical reasons why you feel your child needs to go there, you need to provide supporting evidence from a medical professional. You can send this to School Admissions at the council and we will share it with the relevant school. Only some schools include this criterion in their policy.
• If your child was previously looked after (in care) and immediately afterwards adopted or subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order, you need to send a copy of the legal paperwork that confirms (a) the order and (b) that the child was looked after immediately prior to the order being granted. Send this to School Admissions at the council and we will share it with the schools you have applied for.
• If we ask for evidence of your address you must provide it within the timescale provided

Schools can only consider information directly related to your application and their admission criteria. Any other information will not be taken into account.

Special educational needs

If your child has special educational needs and you want them to attend a certain mainstream school, you need to provide proof there is a medical need. The majority of children with special educational needs are able to have their needs met at any school and your case is unlikely to be upheld.