In-year admissions

Some parents have difficulty in finding a school place for their child. That is why all local authorities are required to have a Fair Access Protocol. (FAP) 

Not all children for whom it is hard to find a school place will be challenging, but they will be vulnerable as long as a school place has not been found for them. Our protocol establishes a fair system for the admission of children who are genuinely ‘hard to place’ as well as minimising the number of children in Waltham Forest at risk of underachievement through being out of school. 

This Protocol is designed to: 

• acknowledge the needs of vulnerable children not on the school roll of any school to be dealt with quickly and sympathetically 
• reduce the time these children spend out of school. The FAP Protocol plays a key role in helping to keep children safe by ensuring the most vulnerable children can access education as quickly as possible. 
• ensure all schools admit children with challenging needs on a fair and transparent basis, FAP provides a fair and transparent system to ensure that all schools share the collective responsibility of helping the most vulnerable, by admitting their fair share of children being placed via the FAP. This includes supporting those children who have been permanently excluded from other schools and those who display challenging behaviour.