Admission to schools in Pembrokeshire - Information for Parents (next academic year)
Part 3 - Transfers between schools (2024-2025)
i) What is the procedure if I want to move my child to another school?
The Council is prepared to consider requests for transfers between schools other than at normal admission times. However, if you are seeking to transfer your child, you must first discuss this with your child’s present headteacher, or head of year in secondary school. You should also contact the headteacher of the school you wish your child to attend. As term time transfers are discouraged, they are normally made only at the beginning of every half term, except where they arise due to a change of family address. An application must be completed online in all cases, and this is available on the County Council's website. Please note - the application form will be shared with both the current and proposed school when a child is transferring from one Pembrokeshire school to another.
Applications to transfer will not normally be considered more than 1 term in advance of the transfer. If an application is submitted more than a term in advance, you will receive an email confirming receipt of the application along with notification that the application will be put on hold until the term before your requested start date. Your application will be processed within 15 school days of the start of that school term. Applications should also be submitted at least 1 month prior to the requested transfer date in order for it to be processed on time.
Changing schools can be unsettling for pupils and can disturb class organisation. It should be a last resort and considered only when all other options for resolving problems have been explored. If your request for a transfer is due to concerns about your child’s progress or there are any problems at your child’s school, you should, as a first step, discuss the matter with the headteacher of the present school.
When a school transfer has been agreed parents will be notified in writing by the Admissions Officer normally in the form of an automated e-mail (please check your junk mail box if not received in your inbox). Parents will need to follow a link in the e-mail to accept or refuse the place. If circumstances change after the place has been accepted and a place at a different school, or the previous school is required, a new application must be made. Parents should note that the place in the school their child is leaving may already have been allocated to someone else.
At its meeting on 13th June 2019, the Admissions Forum agreed that in all cases of admissions to Community and Voluntary Controlled secondary schools with effect from September 2019, the Admission Number could be breached in the case of applications received from in-catchment pupils. However the Admissions Officer is required to discuss each case with the relevant Head Teacher and can only do this in cases where there is not already a waiting list for the year group. The same arrangements apply for primary aged pupils and the Admission Authority use their normal act of discretion to consider each application.
ii) How do I add my child’s name to the Waiting List?
Once the allocation process has been completed and your preferred school has been refused (see Part 2x Rights of Appeal) your child's name will be automatically added to the waiting list until the end of the half term for which they have applied. Thereafter the parents should be expected to make a fresh application for admission into the school. The priority for any places which become available will be given according to the above oversubscription criteria and not according to the date on which the application for a place was originally submitted.
iii) How do I arrange for my child to transfer to secondary school?
Secondary schools in Pembrokeshire offer comprehensive education for pupils of all abilities. The transfer from primary to secondary education normally takes place in the September following a child’s eleventh birthday. For 3-16 schools the pupils will automatically transition to key stage 3, however parents do have parental choice and may choose to apply for another secondary school during the normal admission round process. The headteacher of your child’s primary school can give you information regarding the secondary school that your child should normally attend. There are educational benefits in your child attending the secondary school linked to his or her primary school as part of the ‘Cluster of Schools’, see Part 1xii.
Information on secondary school transfer will be distributed during the Autumn term via the primary schools, before your child is due to go to secondary school. You will be asked to express a preference for a secondary school by the end of the Autumn term by submitting an online application form via the Pembrokeshire County Council website. All applications received on time will be considered together and you will be informed of the outcome on the common offer date.
If there are more applications for places than there are places available the oversubscription criteria in Part1viii will be applied.
You should not assume that attendance at any open day or evening for prospective secondary pupils will result in admission or the provision of transport.
At its meeting on 13th June 2019, the Admissions Forum agreed that in all cases of admissions to Community and Voluntary Controlled secondary schools with effect from September 2019, the Admission Number could be breached in the case of applications received from in-catchment pupils. However the Admissions Officer is required to discuss each case with the relevant Head Teacher.