School Admission Arrangements 2026/27

Overview

Warwickshire County Council is the admission authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools within Warwickshire.  As the admission authority, Warwickshire County Council is required to set the admission arrangements for its schools that clearly sets out how children will be admitted, including the criteria that will be applied if there are more applications than places.

The local authority is also required to formulate and publish a scheme to coordinate admission arrangements for the normal admissions round, and late applications, for all publicly funded schools within the area.  The scheme enables Warwickshire residents to make a single application for places at their preferred state funded school(s) regardless of whether it is in the local authority area in which they live. Offers are sent by the home local authority ensuring each child, for whom an application has been received, receives the offer of only one school place. This may not be at one of the schools listed as a preference if there are more applications than places available.

Warwickshire County Council also coordinates the in-year applications for the majority of schools in the area. The local authority is required to publish the process for making in-year applications and how these will be dealt with.

Warwickshire County Council is undertaking a consultation relating to the admission arrangements for the 2026/27 academic year. As required by the School Admissions Code (2021), admission authorities must consult on their proposed admissions arrangements for the 2026 academic year between 01 October 2024 and 31 January 2025 and it must last for a minimum of six weeks. 

The consultation period for Warwickshire County Council’s proposed admission arrangements, the coordinated scheme and in-year admissions for the 2026/27 academic year, will therefore operate between: 00:00 on Monday 25 November 2024 and 23:59 on Sunday 19 January 2025.

The proposed changes being consulted on for the 2026/27 academic year are: the reduction of the published admission number at a local authority maintained junior school; the inclusion of the process for dealing with applications where there is parental dispute; and who can apply for a school place.  Clarifications are proposed around the processing of applications for UK Service Personnel under the military covenant and other applications for children from overseas.  As well as updated information for education out of year group following an update to the LAs EOYG Guidance.

For more information see the consultation document below

What happens following the consultation period?

Following the consultation period, the arrangements will then be considered by Cabinet, before being determined by the deadline of 28 February 2025 (as required by the School Admissions Code). Once the arrangements have been determined, Warwickshire County Council will publish the final versions of the 2026/27 Coordinated Scheme, the relevant oversubscription criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools, and the in-year arrangements on the WCC website, by the deadline of 15 March 2025.

Give us your views

Any comments or feedback on Warwickshire County Council’s proposed admission arrangements for September 2026 entry, and the 2026/27 academic year, should be sent, in writing, for the attention of:

Nikki Daly - Commissioning Manager (Education Sufficiency)

via email:

schoolorganisation@warwickshire.gov.uk

or by post, using the following address:

Education Services, Warwickshire County Council, Shire Hall, Warwick, CV34 4RL