After you get your school offer

What to do next

1. Accept a school place

To accept a school place, email the school directly using the contact details shown in your offer day email. You will need to tell them:

• if you accept or refuse the place offered at the school
• your child's full name and date of birth
• your child's pupil ID (shown on your offer email)
• your name
• evidence of your address.

2. Supply proof of your address

Your address evidence should confirm that you and your child were living at the address on your application by the deadline date. You must provide at least 3 pieces of evidence.

First piece of evidence includes a copy of:

• Council Tax statement for 2023 to 2024 or 2024 to 2025, or
• a signed tenancy agreement or exchange of contracts with confirmed completion date.

Second piece of evidence should include a copy of at least one of the following:

• Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Job Seeker Allowance, Disability Benefit letter or statement
• a driving licence
• a schedule of motor insurance
• a utility bill, such as gas, water, electric or broadband
• a payslip.

Third piece of evidence includes proof your child lives with you, which can be a copy of a:

• doctor or hospital letter in their name
• savings account or bank account in their name
• Child Benefit statement.

This is not a full list of evidence. We or the school may ask for more evidence. We will do this if the current evidence does not prove you lived at the address on the application.

Your offer may be withdrawn if you fail to provide:

• sufficient address evidence or
• evidence that does not support your address at the final closing date for applications.

Read our admissions guides for the information we need:

• primary admissions guide %asset_summary 126774%(page 16)
• secondary admissions guide %asset_summary 125456% (page 11).

Can't send your documents via email? Let the school know.

If you are concerned you used an incorrect address on your application, or if your circumstances have changed unexpectedly, email:

• primaryadmissions@kent.gov.uk for primary applications
• kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk for secondary applications.

Children starting primary school in September

For September primary school children, the school will be in touch before the new term starts. Your new school may offer a part-time induction plan to help your child ease into school life.

If you prefer them to start full-time at the start of term, the school must offer this. We recommend your child starts full time as quickly as possible. If you prefer your child to start part-time, talk with your offered school to see what support is available.

Not offered the schools you applied for

This may be because:

• your child was not eligible for the school
• there were more applications than spaces available so the school used its oversubscription criteria to decide which children to offer places to.

In these cases we must offer your child a place at another school. This will usually be the next nearest school to your home with available places.

Unhappy with your school offer

Visit the school's website to learn more about the place your child has been offered.

If you still are still unhappy, you can put your child on the waiting list for the schools named on your application. You can also appeal for any of these schools.

We recommend that you still accept the place offered to your child. Accepting it will not affect your child’s waiting list position or any appeals you make for other schools. It will make sure your child has a school place for September if you are not offered another school.

If you are offered another school through the waiting list or a successful appeal, remember to tell the school you were originally offered that you no longer want the place.

Appeals

Make an appeal for any of the schools you applied for.

Please remember to join the school’s waiting list for any school you appeal to.