You can apply for a school place for your child online.
If you would like a form instead, please email ed-admissions@sheffield.gov.uk.
If you've been refused a place at any of the schools on your application and want to appeal, you can do this by going to Appeal your child's school place.
In year applications
School entry applications are usually for Reception, Junior and Year 7. You can apply for up to three schools.
If you want to apply for a school place outside normal school entry years you can apply for a transfer to another school.
Any parent wishing to apply for a transfer must obtain a Common Transfer Form from their current school.
The current school must complete Section 2 and send the application to the Admissions Team by email at
ed-admissions@sheffield.gov.uk or by post:
School Admissions
Floor 5
Howden House
Union Street
S1 2SH
We will manage your application on your behalf, and we aim to inform you of the decision for the school you have applied for within 15 school days.
If it is not possible to offer a place at any of your preferred schools, we will give you advice on the statutory appeal procedure.
If you are new to Sheffield and would like a school place, please call the Pupil Admissions Team on 01142735790 or email ed-admissions@sheffield.gov.uk.
Secondary school 2025
If your child was born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014, they will transfer to secondary school in September 2025.
Online applications are closed at midday on 14 October 2024. You can download a form from this page.
Reception 2025
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that they apply for a school place for their children when entering Reception for the first time.
Applications are invited every Autumn term (mid-September to early October), and the closing date for submitting applications is 15 January each year.
Authorities must enable pupils to enter Reception for the first time from the September after their 4th birthday.
2025 to 2026 application refusals
If you’ve been refused admission to your preferred school(s), it’s because the school was oversubscribed. This means it received more applications than places.
We have a list of the oversubscribed infant and primary schools for this year that you can download.
Schools that have refused applications will have different reasons for doing so:
When will my child start reception
Most parents will apply for reception this year if their child was born in-between:
Reception 2024
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that they apply for a school place for their children when entering Reception for the first time.
Applications are invited every Autumn term (mid-September to early October), and the closing date for submitting applications is 15 January each year.
Authorities must enable pupils to enter Reception for the first time from the September after their 4th birthday.
Some parents may have concerns about their child beginning school so young and not feel they are ready for full time education.
There are options for parents to consider as long as they comply with the law. This requires pupils to be in full time education at the beginning of the statutory school age, which is the term after their 5th birthday (the following September, which is the beginning of a new academic year).
Other options
Defer entry
You can request to defer entry until later in the academic year, such as January or after Easter, but your child must be attending full time education from the beginning of the statutory school age.
Parents wishing to defer entry until later in the academic year should discuss this with their child’s allocated school after allocations are confirmed each year.
Attend school part time
Your child could attend school part time for a period before going full time or reaching compulsory school age. The pattern of any part-time attendance is at the discretion of the Headteacher.
Delay entry
You can request to delay admission into school until the term after their 5th birthday. This option is only available for summer children.
Entry into Sheffield sixth form schools for September 2025
Before starting the Sixth Form application process, students are strongly advised to discuss all post 16 options with their careers advisors and check individual school websites for information regarding open events, GCSE grade requirements and subject availability.
Applications open on 1 December 2024. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2025.
Applications are made using Sheffield Progress. Students will be issued with a login and password by their current school. Students attending schools that are not signed up to Sheffield Progress may self-register. See Appendix 1 in the Sixth Form Application Information Document for details.
Students are invited to list up to three Sheffield school Sixth Forms in order of preference in their application.
Students requiring any additional support, such as extra time in exams, (not Education Health Care Plans) during their time at a Sheffield Sixth Form school should state this clearly within the personal statement/supporting evidence.
If you are eligible for one or more of your choices, you will only be made one offer of a school place, and this will be the highest ranked school for which you are eligible.
Students will be notified of their offer via Sheffield Progress 27 and 28 of February 2025.
Students should accept or decline a conditional offer by 14 March 2025 through Sheffield Progress.
Tie breakers
All Sixth Form schools have a tie breaker to determine who to allocate a place to in the event that the school reaches its admission limit. The tie breaker at non-faith Sheffield Sixth Form schools is distance from home to school. This is measured in a straight line.
Faith schools
The tie breaker for faith schools (All Saints and Notre Dame) is based on random selection of all eligible students.
All applicants for All Saints and Notre Dame Sixth Forms should indicate if they are baptised in the Catholic faith on their application within the personal statement/supporting evidence. These schools give higher priority for Sixth Form places to Catholic students.
You can find out more in the Sixth Form application information document. Alternatively, contact your careers advisor or our 6th Form Admissions Officer, tracey.senior@sheffield.gov.uk.
Special educational needs and disabilities
Most children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) attend a mainstream school or college.
You should apply through the admissions process described above, unless your child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. It will be helpful to give information about your child’s needs when applying.
Admissions for oversubscribed schools are prioritised using a set of categories. These include living within the school catchment or having siblings at the school. Medical, social or special educational needs are not a priority category, but they can be used as a tiebreaker in a priority category if needed.
Such needs will only be considered if you give supporting evidence from a professional. This could be a letter or report from the hospital or your doctor. You must do this before the closing date for applications.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan
Children and young people with EHC Plans attend mainstream schools and colleges, integrated resources (specialist units in mainstream schools) or special schools.
You can only apply for a special school or integrated resource if your child has an EHC Plan.
Your child’s school place will be arranged by our SEND Statutory Assessment and Review Service (SENDSARS), not through the general admission process.
SENDSARS will contact you when it is time to apply to discuss your preferred education setting. They will do this when your child is due to move from nursery to primary; primary to junior; junior to secondary; and secondary to Post 16.
If you would like your child to move to a different school mid-year or outside standard admission times, you should ask for an emergency review of their EHC Plan. You can ask your child’s current school or SENDSARS for this.
If your child is being assessed for an EHC Plan
If you are undergoing an assessment but we have not yet agreed to issue a plan, you should apply for your child's school place through the normal admissions process.
Find out more information about EHC Plans on the Sheffield Directory.
Admission for children outside their normal age group
You can ask for your child to be educated with a different age group. This could be because they are gifted and talented or have experienced problems such as ill-health.
If your child already attends school, you can ask their head teacher about this. If your child is not yet on a school role, please contact us for information and advice.
We're responsible for determining admission arrangements for all our Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools.
The admission arrangements for 2025 to 2026 were determined on 26 February 2024 by the Education, Children and Families Committee.
The final report and all other documents, including the co-ordinated admission schemes, are available on request by getting in touch with us.