School Admissions: A Guide for Parents

This booklet aims to help you if your child is starting school for the first time, moving from primary to secondary education, transferring from one school to another or if you are new to the area. It describes admission arrangements for our primary and secondary schools.

The Guide contains general information on education in Middlesbrough and lists each of the schools in the Local Authority (LA), together with admission arrangements, including the type of school, the total number of pupils in the school, and the maximum number of places normally available in each school year.

Before deciding which school is right for your child, you should collect as much information as possible about the schools you are interested in.

All schools publish a prospectus, which should give information about the school, including subjects on offer, extra curricular activities, arrangements for school meals and school uniforms, policies on behaviour, discipline, special educational needs etc.

Visit the schools you are interested in. This will give you first hand experience of the facilities and teaching staff and allow you to ask any questions you may have. Open evenings are usually held for Secondary Schools and these will be in the autumn term. View the Schools Admissions Guide (right) for the dates.

View reports published by The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). This is the Central Government Office, which is responsible for carrying out inspections of all schools. OFSTED reports can be obtained from the school concerned (there may be a small charge to cover photocopying costs). They are also available on the Internet at www.ofsted.gov.uk/. Alternatively they should be available in your local library.

School Performance Tables can be obtained from the Department for Children, Schools and Families be telephoning 0370 000 2288. Alternatively they should be available in your local library. They are also available on the Internet at http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/ Please note that Attainment Tables should only be used as part of your overall decision about the school you feel is most appropriate for your child.

Further information on choosing a school is also available on School admissions: Choosing schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Page last reviewed: 28/07/2022

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