Last updated: 8 December 2023

Next review: 6 November 2024

In-year admissions is when a child is looking for a school place during the academic year.

You can apply when:

  • you have moved to (or within) Waltham Forest and need a school place 
  • you want your child to move to another school in the same year group 

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and you want to change their school, contact the SEND Service on 020 8496 6503 or 020 8496 6505.

We aim to process all applications for an in-year transfer within 10 school days. The school admissions service remains open during the school holidays. Admissions applications and email enquiries will continue to be processed.

Application guidance

Please read the documents below before submitting your application, to avoid any errors or delays. For information on how in-year applications can be made and how they will be dealt with from 1 September 2023 until 31 August 2024 please see the In-year policy below:

Please note that if you are making an application between 1 July and 31 August and you require your child to start in the new academic year in September, please put the start date as 1 September. Your application will be processed as soon as possible for your child to start at the beginning of the academic year.

If you need assistance, please contact the Admissions Team on 020 8496 3000 or email admissions 

If you have any issues or receive an error message when completing your online application, please email admissions@walthamforest.gov.uk stating the issue with a copy of any error message so this can be dealt with as soon as possible.

PLEASE NOTE: We are only able to speak to the applicant regarding their admissions application, so please do not ask a family member or a friend to contact us on your behalf.  We will not be able to discuss an application with a family member or friend unless the applicant has given us their permission to do so in writing.

In-Year Common Application Form (iCAF) (PDF)

Schools who process their own In-year applications

Some Waltham Forest schools process their own in year application forms for children to be admitted to their school.  This means that you must apply directly to the school for a place and not to the Waltham Forest School Admissions Department.  If you wish to apply for one of these schools, please use the link below to go to their website, where you will find information on how to submit an application:

Primary schools

Secondary Schools

For all other schools in Waltham Forest, applications should be made using the local authority form.