We believe it is in the best interest for children to be admitted into their chronological year group. Schools are able to differentiate their teaching within classes and provide support to children to make sure they integrate with their peers. You can check the year group of your child on our where to start page.
Parents can request for their child to be admitted outside of their chronological age group. For example, this could be because their child is gifted and talented or they have experienced problems such as ill health.
Children educated in education systems outside England
Only in exceptional circumstances will admission out of chronological year group be agreed for children who have been educated in different educational systems to England.
Before submitting your request
Before you submit your request to admit your child outside their chronological year group, it is important to consider the following.
Your request for admission out of chronological year group only relates to the schools listed as a preference on your original request. The headteacher of each school will inform the council of their decision.
If your request is agreed and you apply for different schools or amend your application to those listed on your original request, these schools may not agree to admit your child outside their chronological year group. This could result in your child being admitted into their chronological year group.
A school agreeing to your request does not guarantee you a school place at your preferred schools. This is simply the school agreeing to admit your child outside of their chronological year group, should an offer be made.
If your child does not get a place at your preferred schools then it is the duty of the council to allocate an alternative school place. However, the alternative school may not have been consulted and so may not agree with admitting your child outside their chronological year group. This could result in your child being admitted into their chronological year group.
Admitting your child outside of their chronological year group does not carry through with every school move or transition. If your child moves schools at any time, this could be an in-year admission or transfer to Junior or Secondary School you must again request that they are admitted outside of their chronological year group. There is no guarantee that these schools will agree to admit your child outside of their chronological year group which could result in your child missing a year of education. Such as transferring from Year 6 to Year 8.
Agreement to admit your child outside their chronological year group does not transfer across local authorities. If another council has agreed to your request this does not mean it will be agreed within Bracknell Forest or by Bracknell Forest Schools.
By admitting your child outside their chronological year group, they will be able to leave school before completing examination courses. Although the participation age is now 18, the statutory school age ends on the last Friday in June in the school year when a child becomes 16.
Applications to admit your child outside their chronological year group may not be agreed if it is seen that the request is being made solely for the intention of gaining a school place at a preferred school. Admitting your child outside of their chronological year group can have future implications on your child and submitting such a request is not a decision that should be taken lightly.
All decisions by admission authorities will be on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.
This will include taking into account:
- the views of the parent
- information about the child’s academic, social, and emotional development
- information about the child’s medical history and the views of a medical professional, where relevant
- whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group
- whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely
They must also take into account the views of the headteacher of the school concerned.
How your request is processed
Once you have completed the Admission Out of Chronological Year Group Request form, your request and all supporting documents submitted will be sent to the headteachers of the schools you have listed as a preference to consider your request.
All the information provided may also be exchanged with other departments within the council, as well as other councils, admission authorities, schools, and government agencies where relevant.
Once a response has been received from all relevant parties, you will be contacted with the outcome to your request. We will also confirm which application process you will be required to follow.
Submitting a request is not an application for school.
If your request is agreed by your preferred schools but none of these schools have available places for your child, then it is the duty of the local authority to offer an alternative school place to our residents.
If you do not consent to your information being shared with other schools, then the alternative school place offered will be for your child’s chronological year group.
Once a response has been received from all relevant parties, you will be contacted and informed of which application process to follow.
Requests to admit your child outside their chronological year group must be considered by the school headteacher. We are unable to process late requests over the course of term breaks. You will be required to wait until the school returns for your request to be processed. This includes the 6-week summer break.
This will delay the outcome to your application.
How to request admission outside of your child’s chronological year group
If you wish to request that your child is admitted outside their chronological year group, follow the steps below.
- Make sure you have read and understood all of the information on this page.
- Complete the Admission out of chronological year group request form below.
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Requests for schools outside Bracknell Forest
You will need to name the school on your request form.
We will notify the council of the school that we have received a request for. However, different processes apply within different areas and Bracknell Forest cannot process your request for schools outside Bracknell Forest. You will need to contact the admission authority directly regarding your request, follow their relevant procedures and then inform us of the outcome that has been provided to you.
Follow these steps:
- Complete the Admission out of chronological year group request form with Bracknell Forest.
- Approach the relevant Admission Authority for any school outside Bracknell Forest that you have named.
- Provide the outcome to your request to Bracknell Forest.
- Follow the instructions provided in your outcome letter on how to make an application.
Transferring to secondary school
There is no automatic transfer for your child to be taught outside their chronological year group. Even if they have previously been taught out of year or this has previously been agreed by another council, as confirmed above.
If it has previously been agreed for your child to be admitted outside their chronological year group, you will need to make this request again in preparation for your child to transfer to secondary school.
This request should be made at the time that you should normally be applying for a secondary school place. You will need to make this request when your child reaches Year 5 and this must be submitted before the national closing date. See our secondary school key dates page.
To make this request complete the admission out of chronological year group request form above and refer to the information provided under the heading ‘How to request admission outside your child’s chronological year group’.
The outcome of your request will be provided along with more information on how to proceed with your application.
If your request is refused
If your request is refused, your child will be admitted to their chronological year group.