School admissions policies

Extract from Schemes for coordinated Primary, Secondary and Midyear Admissions for Walsall

The online portal will close for secondary applications on 31 October 2023.

The online portal will close for primary applications (reception and junior) on 15 January 2024.

Late applications and, where appropriate, schools’ own registration forms, received after the closing date, are processed as late applications. Any request to change the name or ranking of a school made after the closing date will be processed in accordance with the late application policy.

Late applications will be considered for places after all the applications that were received by the closing date therefore, it is very likely that late applicants will not be offered a place at one of their preferred schools. If all preferred schools have been filled with on-time applications the closest school to the home address with vacancies will be allocated.

Applications received after the closing date will be passed to the appropriate admission authority for consideration under its late application policy. Each admission authority is required to publish its own late application policy which explains how late applications will be dealt with.

Late applications received up to 4 weeks after the closing date

Late applications received up to four weeks after the closing date may be considered as being on-time but only where there are exceptional circumstances, including: 

• where the family were unable to submit their online application to Walsall Council on time because they moved into the Borough of Walsall after the closing date
• the family were unable to comply with the admission timetable because of exceptional circumstances which prevented them from submitting their online application
• when a single parent has been ill for some time

In these cases, the circumstances must be given in writing at the time of application they will be subject to verification by the Admissions & Education Sufficiency Manager.

For secondary schools, this applies to applications received between 1 November 2023 and 29 November 2023.

For primary schools, this applies to applications received between 16 January 2024 and 13 February 2024.

Late applications received more than 4 weeks after the closing date

Applications for schools received more than 4 weeks after the closing date but before the notification date will be processed as late applications and the applicant will receive notification of their offers as soon as possible after national offer day.

For secondary schools, this applies to applications received between 30 November 2023 and 29 February 2024.

For primary schools, this applies to applications received between 14 February 2024 and 15 April 2024.

Late applications received after the notification date (once places have been offered) 

Applications received after the notification date: a place will be offered at the highest ranked school if places are available.

For Walsall residents, if a place is not available at any of the preferred schools a place will be offered by Walsall Council at the nearest alternative Walsall school with vacant places, after consultation with the relevant admission authority and the child’s name will be added to the waiting list for schools listed as preferences in admission criteria order, for any schools out of borough contact will have to be made with that Local Authority to request for the child to remain on the waiting list.

Extract from Scheme for coordinated Primary, Secondary and Midyear Admissions for Walsall

Waiting lists for all Walsall schools, other than Walsall Academy, will be maintained by Walsall Council until 31 August 2023, at this point they will be sent to the necessary school for coordinating in line with their midyear applications. Parents may enquire about their child’s position on any waiting list by contacting the emailing the Admissions & Education Sufficiency Team SchoolAdmissionsAdvice@walsall.gov.uk

Children in care and previously children in care and those who are allocated to a school in accordance with Walsall’s Fair Access Protocol must take precedence over those children on the waiting list.

Waiting lists are kept of all children who have been refused a place at any school that was ranked higher than the school at which they have been offered a place, for example:

• if a child is offered a place at the school that was ranked 2nd on their application, then the child’s name will only be placed on the waiting list for the school that was ranked 1st
• if a child is offered a place at their parent’s first preference school the child’s name will not be added to any waiting list kept for lower ranked schools, unless requested in writing

After 1 March 2024 (or next working day) for secondary transfers, or 16 April 2024 (or next working day) for primary admissions, a parent may contact the Admissions & Education Sufficiency Team to apply for a place at an oversubscribed Walsall school. Their child’s name will be placed on the school’s waiting list in admission criteria order.

Any vacancies will be offered based on the admission criteria for the school. The local authority will continue to co-ordinate the phased primary and secondary rounds and will retain the secondary waiting list until 31 August 2024.

After this, the secondary waiting list will be held by the relevant admissions authority and waiting lists for phased primary rounds will be held by the local authority for a term only.

From 1 January 2025, parents who wish their child to be added to a new waiting list for a Walsall primary or secondary school should apply via either the primary or secondary mid-year admission application process.