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Starting and Changing School

Starting and Changing School

Starting and changing school can be exciting, but it can also sometimes be difficult for children, young people and their parents and carers. Here we have explained what you need to know about starting or changing school.

For most children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), starting, changing, and choosing school will be the same as other children and young people.

However, if your child has an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), goes to Alternative Provision, or needs certain kinds of reasonable adjustments, the process can be different and there are certain things you need to consider. You can find more information about this in our SEND Section.

If your child is starting school and you are moving from abroad, there is useful advice from the government about applying for a school place if your child is a foreign national or a resident outside of the UK. If you are moving from abroad, some of the questions in school admissions or transfer forms may not always apply to you. Answer as many of the questions as you can, and if you aren’t sure what to say you can contact the School Admissions Department to ask for advice.

Information about starting or changing school if your child has been home educated is in the Elective Home Education Section.

If you have a question about starting and changing school that is not answered here, you can contact the School Admissions Department.

Starting Primary School

Every year, a Starting Primary School in Tower Hamlets Booklet is released. This guide will include key dates for applications, commonly asked questions, how to apply, changing your application, what happens when schools are oversubscribed, waiting lists, deferring entry, how you can appeal any decision, catchment areas and more.

Starting Secondary School

Every year, a Ready for Secondary School in Tower Hamlets Booklet is released. This guide will include key dates for applications, commonly asked questions, how to apply, admissions policies, what schools you can apply to, changing your application, what happens when schools are oversubscribed, waiting lists, deferring entry, how you can appeal any decision, catchment areas and more.

Starting Post-16 Education

Every year, there is a Progressing to Post-16 in Tower Hamlets guide for year 11 students and their parents and carers. This guide includes information including which courses might be right for you based on your grades, what the most common qualifications involve, apprenticeships, financial support, what sixth forms and colleges you can go to, how to apply, key dates and where to get advice.

Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and moving between phases of education

When a child or young person moves from one stage of education to another, this is called a phase transfer or a transition.

Phase transfers include moving:

  • from early years to infant or primary school
  • from infant to junior school
  • from junior or primary to secondary school
  • from secondary school to a further or higher education setting, such as college or university
  • between further education settings or to a traineeship, apprenticeship or supported internship.

A big part of the transition process is deciding which schools you may like your child to go to, find out more about choosing a setting here.

Transition can also be a difficult time for children and young people with SEND, we have some advice for dealing with problems with transition here.


The Transition Support Service run workshops annually to give parents advice about the transition to secondary school. Schools often run similar workshops. The Transition Support Service also offer advice about transitions in education by phone and email.


Here, we will just explain how the process of transition works and advice about what to do. More information about SEND Phase Transfers and the Law is on the IPSEA website.

The School Run also has some useful advice about transition between phases of education for children with SEND.


If my child has SEND, but does not have an EHCP

If a child or young person has special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) but not an EHCP plan, the normal admissions process applies for all stages of education. 

If your child has SEN, or you think they have SEN and are not on SEN Support, talk to the new setting and see what they can do.

If they are on SEN support, you can talk to the previous school or nursery and ask them to send information about your child’s needs and the support they have given to the new nursery, school or college. You can also ask the new nursery, school, or college for a meeting to make a plan for supporting your child.

Young people with SEND can read advice from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on applying to mainstream colleges and universities.

If my child has an EHCP

If a child or young person has an EHC plan, they do not need to apply for a place at an education provider through the normal admissions process.

Their requested school or college will be named in their EHC plan.

The phase transfer process for children with an EHC plan begins when they are in:

  • their last year at their early years setting (such as a nursery or preschool)
  • year 2 if they are transferring to junior school
  • year 5 if they are transferring to secondary school
  • year 10 when thinking about post 16 options

Timing of phase transfers

A child or young person’s education provider will hold a phase transfer review, which is also an EHC plan annual review, during either the:

  • summer term of their second last year
  • autumn term of their last year

As well as reviewing a child or young person’s EHC plan, the aim of this review is to talk about moving between education providers and the next phase of independence.

As a part of this review, parents, carers and young people should discuss their request for the education provider they want to go to next.

The council will then talk to the education provider named in the EHC plan, and potentially other providers that may be able to meet a child or young person’s needs.

There are workshops each year provided by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Service (SENDIASS) which give more advice about transitions in education if your child has an EHCP.

Changing or starting school outside of the usual times

Changing school outside of the usual times (for example, in April or between year 8 and year 9) is called an in-year transfer. There are many reasons why someone might want to change school outside of the usual times, including moving house.

The Tower Hamlets School Admissions Department has an in-year admissions page with all the details you need, and the online application form. This web page has information including:

  • when you should or not not apply for an in-year admission (and what to do instead)
  • the timelines for starting school with an in-year admission
  • what to do before you apply
  • how to apply
  • what you need to know if your child has an EHCP, is looked after or in kinship care, is living abroad, you are looking at a religious school or your child has a sibling at the school
  • how to make changes to an application
  • how to appeal a decision
  • contact details

If your child is already in a school in Tower Hamlets, then you will be applying for a transfer between schools and you should first discuss the matter with the head teacher at your child’s current school. You will need the headteachers permission to transfer schools.

If there are things that you are not happy about, it might be possible to solve the problems and avoid disrupting your child’s education. You can find out how to deal with common problems you might have (like Behaviour, Bullying, Academic Progress, Attendance, and SEND) on our Local Offer.

Sometimes, changing schools in the middle of the year or outside of standard transfers can cause disruption for a child or young person’s education or wellbeing. If your child is having to move school and is experiencing disruption (for example, because they have exams coming up or are having social difficulties) you can ask the new school for help or speak to the Transition Support Service for advice.

If you are struggling to get your child into school or the delay is long, you can also contact the Transition Support Service for support and advice about this.