In year admissions advice for UK service families
Advice for UK service personnel and Crown Servants relocating to Lancashire.
We recognise the support required by UK service personnel as a result of being subject to frequent movement within the UK and from abroad, often at relatively short notice.
Lancashire County Council has agreed to give priority access to schools for UK service families where the county council sets the admissions policy for the school.
Apply
Apply online where possible.
Paper forms can be provided on request, contact the area education office.
Send supporting information
Include a copy of the official MOD, FCO or GCHQ letter declaring your relocation date and future home address, unit postal address or quartering area address with your application.
Outcome
You'll receive the outcome of your application within 15 school days.
If your application is refused – you'll be added to the school waiting list and the team will provide advice about the next nearest school.
Appeals
If your child is refused a place, you can appeal against the decision. Find out about the appeals process.
The School Admissions Code
Our admission arrangements for service children are set in accordance with paragraph 2.21 of the School Admissions Code (September 2021), below:
For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting to their area, or crown servants returning from overseas to live in that area, admission authorities must:
a) allocate a place in advance of the family arriving in the area (as long as one is available) provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date. Admission authorities must not refuse to process an application and must not refuse a place solely because the family do not yet have an intended address or do not yet live in the area.
b) use the address at which the child will live when applying their oversubscription criteria, as long as the parents provide some evidence of their intended address. Admission authorities must use a Unit or quartering address as the child’s home address when considering the application against their oversubscription criteria, where a parent requests this.
c) not reserve blocks of places for these children.
d) ensure that arrangements in their area support the Government’s commitment to removing disadvantage for service children.