The person applying should be the person with parental responsibility for the child.

If you are unsure of your status, you should submit your application with a covering letter explaining your situation.

• We will only accept one application for each child. If multiple applications are made by different individuals with parental responsibility and no court order is provided stipulating who should apply, we will accept the application of the person with whom the child lives the majority of the time.
• Where a child spends their time equally between their parents and they cannot agree on who should make the application, we will accept an application from the parent who is registered for child benefit (where applicable). If neither parent is registered for child benefit we will accept the application from the parent whose address is registered with the child's current school or nursery as the main address.
• We urge parents to work together in the best interests of their child and they should inform all other persons with parental responsibility before submitting an application.
• If parents believe that there may be disagreements over which school preferences should be named, we recommend starting discussions as early as possible so they might be resolved before making an application
• We will not mediate between parents if there is a dispute or when multiple applications are submitted. If parents are unable to reach agreement, then both parents should seek their own legal advice or recourse through the Family Court.
• The final decision on which application to accept will rest with the local authority after all submitted evidence has been considered.

You can apply for in-year admission up to four school weeks before the place is needed. We won't usually process applications earlier than this except for:

• Members of the Armed Services and Crown Servants who are being relocated to the area: You can apply up to four months in advance of a move.
• Applicants who are seeking a school place for a child from the beginning of the autumn term (September): You can apply from the beginning of July.

The address on the application must be the child's current permanent place of residence, usually the parents' address.

• Where the child is subject to a child arrangements order and that order stipulates that the child will live with one parent/carer more than the other, the address to be used will be the one where the child is expected to live for the majority of the time.
• In other cases where the parents do not live together, the address is where the child spends most of their time. In cases, where the child spends an equal time between their parents/carers, it will be up to the parent/carers to agree which address to use.
• Where a child spends their time equally between their parents/carers and they cannot agree on who should make the application, we will accept an application from the parent/carer who is registered for child benefit (where applicable). If neither parent/carer is registered for child benefit we will accept the application from the parent/carer whose address is registered with the child's current school or nursery as the child's main address.
• You must not use a business or childminder's address.
• You must also not use a relative's address unless the child lives at that address as their normal place of residence.
• We will not normally accept a temporary address if the main carer of the child still owns or rents a property that has previously been used as a home address, nor if we believe it has been used to obtain a school place when an alternative address is still available to that child.
• Where a temporary address is used to secure a school place and the agreement to reside there is due to expire before the allocation of places, we may contact you for an update on your plans to secure a more permanent address.

We will need two pieces of evidence of where your child lives. Please provide either two pieces of evidence from group A, or one from group A and one from group B. If you are unable to provide any of the documents listed, please contact us for further advice.

Group A

• Council tax statement for current financial year
• Tenancy agreement signed by both tenant and landlord
• Solicitor's letter on completion of purchase
• Solicitor's letter on exchange with completion date stated (address will not be updated until child is resident in the property)
• Benefits statement for the current financial year

Group B

• Current utility bill (less than 3 months old) - excludes mobile phone
• Driving licence
• Bank statement (less than 3 months old)
• GP or medical letter (less than 3 months old)

We will check the address on your application against the records we hold for your child's current school and we may also check council tax records or write to ask you to provide further proof of your address.

Any offer of a school place based on where your child lives, is conditional on your child living at that address on the date the offer is made.

We will investigate any applications where there is doubt about the address being given. Use of false information may lead us to withdraw an offer of a place.

More information on how we will investigate applications is available in our Address of Convenience Assessment Protocol (PDF) and if you wish to made a referral please use the Address of Convenience Referral Form (PDF).

Please do not forget to include proof of your child's address (see above) and any other supporting evidence that we might need to see, for example, medical/social evidence that you want us to consider in relation to a request for priority on the basis of medical or social need. Please do not send original documents as we will be unable to return them.

Failure to complete the application fully or to attach required evidence may result in a delay in processing your application. If you are unable to provide the required documents, please contact us for further advice (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Your reasons for preference

The application has space for you to give a reason for naming a school as a preference but you do not have to complete this. Any information included will be considered, but reasons given will not usually affect how places are prioritised.

You must not withdraw your child from their current school until you have secured a place for them at another school. If we become aware of any child without a school place, we will notify our Inclusion Service.

A school cannot ask you to withdraw your child from school or withdraw your child from the school roll without your permission, without first knowing that your child has a new school place. However, if a school believes a change of school may be in your child's best interests, the head teacher can discuss with you about arranging a managed move to another school or a referral to alternative education provision.

If you believe your child is eligible for sibling priority at one of your preferred schools, you must include their details on your application.

Community and voluntary controlled schools

For community and voluntary controlled schools, we define a sibling as:

• a brother or sister (with the same parents) whether living at the same address or not, or
• a half brother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address.
• a stepbrother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address.
• an adopted or fostered brother or sister living as part of the same family unit at the same address.

If you fail to tell us about an eligible sibling in your application this could result in your child receiving a lower priority for a school place.

Siblings must already be on roll at the school you are applying for (or another school which operates a shared sibling priority) and be expected to still be on roll at that school on the date of the child's admission.

A child will not be eligible for sibling priority if their sibling is attending or due to attend a nursery that is attached to the school.

Academies and foundation, free, trust and voluntary aided schools

Academies and foundation, free, trust and voluntary aided schools may have different definitions of siblings and also different criteria regarding them. You should contact these schools directly for details.

You can find the contact details for Surrey schools on our Directory of Surrey schools.

If you wish to apply under a school's exceptional medical or social criteria, you must indicate which school you are requesting this for on the application form and provide relevant information, including medical evidence where appropriate, to support your case at the time of your application.

However please first check whether the school does have this criteria as part of its published admission arrangements, because not all schools give priority on this basis.

Complete a supplementary form

If you are applying for a community or voluntary controlled school, you should also complete a supplementary information form to confirm that you wish to be considered under the exceptional medical or social criterion and to help you provide all the information that is needed to consider a request.

A supplementary information form may also apply to some academies and foundation, free, trust and voluntary aided schools..

Please ensure you complete the form and submit it with your evidence when completing your application.

Evidence to support your application

The exceptional social or medical circumstances might relate to either the child or the parent/carer.

Supporting evidence from a professional is required such as:

• a doctor and/or consultant for medical cases
• social worker
• health visitor
• housing officer
• the police or,
• probation officer for other social circumstances.

This evidence must confirm the circumstances of the case and must set out why the child should attend a particular school and why no other school could meet the child's needs. If you are applying for exceptional priority for a school that is not your nearest, you must explain why nearer schools cannot meet your child's needs.

Providing evidence does not guarantee that a child will be given priority at a particular school and in each case a decision will be made based on the merits of the case and whether the evidence demonstrates that a placement should be made at one particular school above any other.

Common medical conditions and allergies can usually be supported in all mainstream schools, therefore priority under a school's exceptional medical criteria would not normally be given for these. Some mainstream schools have units attached which provide specialist provision for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school. The facilities in these units are not normally available to children in the mainstream school and as such priority under a school's exceptional social or medical criteria would not normally be agreed for a mainstream place on the basis of a specialist unit being attached to the school.

In addition, routine childminding arrangements would not normally be considered to be an exceptional social reason for placement at a particular school.

Children who are looked after or previously looked after by a local authority, receive top priority for a school place. Looked after and previously looked after children will be considered to be:

• children who are in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time an application for a school is made, for example, children who are fostered or living in a children's home.
• children who have previously been in the care of a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and who have left that care through adoption, a child arrangement order (in accordance with section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014) or special guardianship order (in accordance with section 14A of the Children Act 1989).
• children who appear (to the local authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child will be regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society. The parent/carer will need to provide evidence to demonstrate that the child was in state care outside of England and left that care as a result of being adopted.

If a child is currently looked after by a local authority you should not complete the in-year application form. Instead, their social worker should contact Admissions to request an in-year application form for children in care to apply for a school place. If an in-year admission is needed, for a child currently in care, we will arrange a place at the school most appropriate to the child's needs, in line with our protocol for the processing of in year admissions for children in care (PDF).

If the child was previously in care but left through adoption, a child arrangement order or special guardianship order or was adopted from state care outside England, you must indicate this on your application form and provide supporting evidence.

We treat applications for children with disabilities or special educational needs in the same way as all other applications, unless they have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

If your child has an EHCP and you want them to change school, please do not complete the mainstream application, as you must liaise with your child's case officer. Please also see our web page: Applying for a school place for a child with an EHCP.

If your child has special educational needs and/or disabilities but no EHCP, you are not required to send us copies of any assessment reports as part of your mainstream application, unless you wish to apply for a place under a school's exceptional medical or social criteria (see above). It is expected that all schools can provide the necessary support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities who do not have an EHCP.

A summary of our advice is given below. For more information please read our guidance on admission of children overseas (PDF).

Children who live abroad

If you and/or your child live abroad you may apply for an in-year school place, up to four weeks before the place is needed, but only if you can provide evidence of your child's likely return/arrival to the UK.

You must provide evidence that your child is arriving in the United Kingdom within four weeks of the application (usually a copy of your child's flight ticket).

You must also confirm, with your application, where your child will be living and when they intend to return. We will initially consider your application according to your child's address abroad and any subsequent change of address will only be considered once the move has taken place.

If an offer is made on the basis of an anticipated move to the United Kingdom, it will be on the condition that the child will be available to take up the place on the date previously specified by the parent.

When making an application for a school place, it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child has a right, under their visa entry conditions, to study at a school and that they will not be contravening the conditions of any visa or United Kingdom immigration law if they take up the school place. School admission authorities must not refuse to accept an application or refuse to admit a child on the basis of their nationality or immigration status, nor remove them from the school roll on this basis.

Children from abroad already living in the United Kingdom

Legally all parents living in the United Kingdom, other than for a short period of time, must make sure their children receive education. Once in the United Kingdom, most children will be provided with a school place on request, but applicants will need to provide evidence that the child is in the United Kingdom.

However, unaccompanied children of compulsory school age without right of residence in the United Kingdom whose entry has been agreed so they can receive education cannot take up places at state funded schools. It will be a condition of their entry that they take up a place at an independent or private educational establishment.

Children who are temporarily visiting the United Kingdom

Children who do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom and who have arrived as a short term visitor, with or without their families, are not entitled to a state education and will not normally be provided with a school place.

In other cases where children do have the right of abode, a school place will normally only be provided where it is expected that the child will remain in the United Kingdom for three months or more.

In all cases it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure they are not contravening the conditions of any visa or United Kingdom immigration law if they take up a school place for their child.

Members of His Majesty's (HM) Armed Forces and Crown Servants may apply for a school place ahead of a move if the following circumstances are met:

• Members of HM Armed Forces who are able to provide official evidence of a confirmed posting
• Crown Servants with automatic right of entry to the United Kingdom, who are able to provide evidence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that they are returning from overseas

In each case, an application can be made up to four calendar months ahead of a relocation.

Address to use

• For HM Armed Forces applications we will use the unit posting address when considering the application, unless the child's new address is known, and the parent wishes us to use this.
• For Crown Servants returning from overseas, the child's new address will be used when considering the application, but only once evidence has been received of the address. Until that time, the overseas address will be used.

If the unit or postal address is not yet known, you may use the following address to apply online, but you will be asked to provide evidence of the unit or postal address when it is known: Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, RH2 8EF.

There is no guarantee that a place will be available at a preferred school. Each application will be considered in line with the school's admissions criteria.

If you would like your child to be educated outside their normal age group the admission authority for each school will consider your request according to your child's circumstances and what is in their best interests.

You must state clearly why you feel admission to a different year group is in your child's best interest and if you wish provide evidence to support this. Parents are advised to contact the local authority at the earliest opportunity for advice. Please also see Surrey's guidance on the education of children out of their chronological year group (PDF).

Our Fair Access Protocol (PDF) ensures that, outside the normal admissions round, unplaced and vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. It also ensures that, when seeking to place a child under this Protocol, no school – including those with places available will be asked to take a disproportionate number of children who have been permanently excluded from other schools, who display challenging behaviour, or who meet one of the other categories of the Protocol. Applicants are asked to answer the questions on fair access admissions honestly and accurately to ensure that qualifying children can be identified quickly.

You must contact the relevant local authority to find out how you apply.