Choosing a school

In these pages we hope to help you find useful information and advice on  issues about choosing a school. Also, we outline the services and facilities available in the Sunderland area.

Schools in Sunderland 

If you are new to the area or your child has not attended a school within Sunderland, Houghton le Spring, Hetton le Hole or Washington, you will need to complete a Moving into Authority Form ( 62kb).

If you are considering transferring your child between schools, please seek advice from the Education Social Work Service. If your child is attending a secondary school, you will be asked to complete a Request for Transfer of Secondary School form ( 57 kb)

Nursery Schools

Guide to choosing a nursery education place ( 149 kb). In addition to the nursery schools and classes offered by the LEA this also contains a full list of all private nurseries in Sunderland. If you want a place in an LEA nursery or nursery class you should arrange to meet the head teacher of your preferred school. You will be asked to complete a registration form ( 52 kb) and show a copy of your child's birth certificate to the school.

Primary Schools

• Admission to Primary Schools Booklet - Academic Year 2009/10 ( 397kb)
• Application Form for Admission to Infant/Junior/Primary School - Academic Year 2009/10 ( 38kb)

Secondary Schools

• Admission to Secondary Schools Booklet - Academic Year 2009/10 ( 233kb)
• Application Form for Admission to Secondary Schools - Academic Year 2009/10 ( 35kb)

Special Schools

• A list of Sunderland special schools are listed in the Children's Services Directory 2008/2009 ( 599kb)

On-line admissions - applying online for a school place

During the application preference period you will be able to apply for a school place online. If you have a child who is due to start a primary/infant/junior school in Reception or Year 3 in September 2009 or a secondary school in Year 7 in September 2009 you will be able to apply for that place from these web pages.

Application packs are being sent out to community nurseries, private nurseries, infant schools and primary schools during September and you will receive one shortly.  If you do not receive a pack please contact the school admissions team and we can arrange to send one out to you.

The dates of the preference periods are as follows:

• Applications for primary/infant/junior schools - 22 September 2008 to 31 October 2008

• Applications for secondary schools - 15 September 2008 to 24 October 2008

The online pages will be available during these dates and you will be able to apply for a place or change your preference up until the closing date.  Following the closing date you will be able to view your application only.

There are two different online application forms and you should choose the one appropriate to your own circumstance.  Your choice will depend on whether you wish to apply for a primary/infant/junior place for entry into Reception or Year 3 in September 2008 or a secondary school place for entry into Year 7 in September 2008.

Apply for a school place online

If you have any questions about this process or want some help or advice please telephone us on:

0191 561 1427/1447/1399/1425 or email school.admissions@sunderland.gov.uk

Other useful Information

• Sunderland LEA specialist schools  
• School Performance and Development
  Details of how Sunderland schools are performing and links to national sites.
• Independent Schools Information Service     

All Schools ( 223kb) or excel spreadsheet  (156kb)
(Updated 11th December 2006)
Includes wards, regeneration area, council wards and nursery classes.

Some of the documents above are in PDF () format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

For further details or enquiries you can e-mail childrens.services.info@sunderland.gov.uk or telephone us on 0191 520 5555.

The government offers the following advice and information on aspects of Choosing a School:

Knowing the system - Education and learning - Guide to qualifications - Types of school - Special educational needs (SEN) - Help with costs after 16 - Help with pre-school costs	Finding a school - Choosing a school - Finding a school to suit your child
Applying for a school - Applying for a school place - Parents rights in education	Starting school - Dealing with bullying - School discipline and exclusion

This advice can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm

The documents above are in PDF () format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If there are any other aspects of Choosing a School that you would like to see here,  please contact the webmaster.