Priority access to schools for UK service families 

Lancashire County Council has agreed to include children eligible for services premium as third priority for school places where the county council sets the admissions policy for the school.

School admission policies set out the criteria for who is given priority for places in each school. They are applied when a school is oversubscribed (has more requests than there are places available).

Different types of publicly funded schools and academies have different admission arrangements.

Community and voluntary controlled schools

Lancashire County Council sets the admissions policy for community and voluntary controlled schools.

Effective for September 2025 admissions, category 3 priority is now given to children eligible for services premium.

You can view the full admissions criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools on our website:

• Primary community and voluntary controlled schools 2025/26
• Secondary community and voluntary controlled schools 2025/26

Other publicly funded schools

For the following types of schools, it is the governing body that sets the admissions policy:

• voluntary aided schools
• foundation schools
• academies
• free schools

For these schools, admission policies will vary. You can view a summary of the admission policy for each school on our website and the full policy on the school's website.

Independent schools

Lancashire County Council does not co-ordinate admissions for independent (fee paying) schools and these schools set their own admissions policy. To find out more about admission to an independent school, visit the school's website.