How to apply
You must apply through your home local authority. You can list any schools in any local authority on the application.
You can apply online, by phone or by requesting a paper form (telephone 01522 782030). Apply using one method only.
You will receive an email if you apply online and enter a valid email address. This email will confirm your preferences and state that your application is being considered.
If you apply by phone and provide a valid email address, you will receive confirmation of your application by email.
If you cannot provide a valid email address, we will send you a confirmation letter by post. You must then verify the details and return it to us.
Co-ordinated scheme
A co-ordinated scheme details how applications will be processed. Read the admissions schemes for Lincolnshire.
Parental preference
On the application form you can list three preferred schools. You are not guaranteed a place at a preferred school.
Consider the schools you list and how places are offered. Schools must outline in their admissions policy how they will offer places.
School offers are made in line with the school’s admission policy, which includes their oversubscription criteria. When considering applying for a place at a school, you should read their full admissions policy. These can be found on the school’s website. Oversubscription criteria are also listed in our find a school search. If you do not have access to the internet, contact us, and we will post paper copies to you.
When considering which schools to list on your application, you may wish to consider:
- how far away you live from each school, including your nearest school. You can search for your nearest school on our school finder
- how you would get your child to school
- eligibility for school transport
- the likelihood of being offered a place at the schools you list. The school’s oversubscription criteria will be used if the school is oversubscribed
- visiting the schools or finding more information about the school’s ethos from the website
- you are no more likely to be offered your first preference if you list one, two or three schools on your application. The schools do not see where they are listed on your application when they rank the students against the oversubscription criteria. We only use the order of preference to decide which place to offer if more than one school can offer a place
- the type of schools available
- places are allocated to children who express a preference for a school before other children. We will offer the nearest school to your home address that has an available place in your child's year group if none of your preferred schools can offer a place and you live in Lincolnshire
- listing your closest school on your application
Children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP)
There is a different procedure for children with an EHCP. If your child has an EHCP, you should speak to your child's caseworker or current school. A school admissions appeal panel cannot grant a place to a child with an EHCP.
Children with special educational needs or disabilities but do not have a care plan should apply in the usual way.
Foreign nationals
Foreign national children resident in the UK usually have the right to attend state-funded and independent schools in England. To lawfully enter the country to access a school, foreign national children resident outside the UK will normally need either:
- a right of abode
- an immigration status which otherwise permits them to enter the UK to study at a school
Parents of foreign national children must check that their children have a right to study at a school before applying for a place. Check UK entry conditions. It is not the role of state-funded schools or local authorities to ask for proof of eligibility before offering a place.
Read further advice from the government on school applications for foreign national children and children resident outside England.
Applications for those living oversees will be processed based on the child’s current address until the child is resident in the county.
Armed forces personnel and returning crown servants
The military covenant aims to remove any disadvantage that service personnel and crown servants’ families may face from military life.
This applies if the parent is a current serving member of the UK armed forces or is a crown servant returning from abroad.
We will co-ordinate applications if the family has either:
- a confirmed posting order or official letter with a unit or quartering address within Lincolnshire
- a confirmed posting order to the UK and confirmed address in Lincolnshire. They must be returning to the address before the end of October of the admitting year. The address accepted for implementing the oversubscription criteria may differ, as each school’s policy will be followed
If the move is not due to an official posting, you should apply to the child's current home local authority. To do this, you must reside in the UK.
If the move is due to an official posting, you will need to:
- note this on your application form
- provide evidence
Those with a posting order can usually use an intended address before moving for the school’s oversubscription criteria. You must provide some evidence of the intended address, but the policy does differ per school. A parent may request that we use a unit or quartering address as the child’s home address when we are considering the application.
Sometimes none of the schools listed on the application form can offer a place. Depending on where the accepted address on the application is:
- address in Lincolnshire - we will offer the closest Lincolnshire school, with a place in the year group required
- address not in Lincolnshire - no alternative school will be offered. It is for the child's home local authority to offer an alternative placement
We work not to disadvantage families of service personnel who apply after the initial allocation of places has occurred (late applicants). We will approach the schools listed on the application, if an official posting has been provided. We will ask the school whether they wish to offer a place to the child, even if the published admissions number has been met or the class is full.
Offer decisions will be made by the individual admissions authorities concerned. They will be in line with their admissions procedures for forces applicants and will be clearly communicated to parents. In all cases, if a place is refused, parents will be notified of their right of appeal.
Please contact us if you would like further information about forces moves and how applications will be considered.
Sometimes a current serving member of the armed forces without a posting order will make an application. In these cases, their current address will be used to process the application against the school’s oversubscription criteria.