Local authority admissions link: what to publish on your school website
If your council runs your school's admissions, your website needs a link to the council's admission arrangements, saying which admission year they cover.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Only applies to
- Schools whose admissions are run by the local authority
- Does not apply to
- Nursery schools, sixth-form only providers and alternative provision
When it's due
By 15 March each year
For entry in September of the following year.
What's needed
Link from the admissions page on your website to the local authority's admission arrangements, and to its in-year co-ordination scheme where it runs one, stating the admission year covered, and update the link each admission year.
What it must contain
4 parts- Links to the local authority's admission arrangementsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Links to the in-year co-ordination scheme, if the local authority manages in-year applicationsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- States the admission year the information relates toMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives the date the arrangements were correct as of, with a warning they may changeMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 2 official sources:
What maintained schools must publish online
If the local authority manages those applications, the school must publish a link to the in-year co-ordination scheme.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > In-year admissions
Community and voluntary-controlled schools must publish a link to the local authority’s website for parents and carers who wish to find out about the school’s admission and appeal arrangements. It is the local authority that manages both processes.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > What community and voluntary-controlled schools must publish
Show 6 more from this source
By 15 March each year, the school must publish on its website the admission arrangements for children who will be starting school at the normal point of entry in September of the following year. It must retain them there for the whole of the academic year in which offers for places are made.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > What foundation and voluntary-aided schools must publish > September admissions – normal point of entry
Foundation and voluntary-aided schools must publish their admission arrangements to comply with the: – school admissions code – school admission appeals code
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > What foundation and voluntary-aided schools must publish
The admission arrangements must explain: – how the school considers applications for places in each relevant age group (that is, the age group in which children are normally admitted) – how many children the school intends to admit in each relevant age group (known as the published admission number, or PAN)
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > September admissions – normal point of entry
– what a parent or carer needs to do if they want to apply for their child to attend the school
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > September admissions – normal point of entry
– how the school allocates places, if there are more applicants than places available
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > September admissions – normal point of entry
Where applicable, schools must also explain how: – children are selected for a place, if the school is selective – a parent or carer of a primary-age child can request that the school delay or defer their child’s entry to reception, and the process for requesting admission outside the normal age group
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Admission arrangements > September admissions – normal point of entry
The School Information (England) Regulations 2008 (as made)
11 1 This regulation applies in relation to any document which contains such information or particulars as are mentioned in the preceding provisions of these Regulations and which is published in accordance with them. 2 Such a document must state the admission year to which the information or particulars in it relate and contain a warning that, although they were correct in relation to that year at a date specified in the document (not being earlier than six months before that of its publication), it should not be assumed that there will be no change affecting the relevant arrangements or some matters particularised— a before the start of, or during, the academic year in question; or b in relation to subsequent academic years.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Part 5, regulation 11(1)-(2)
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to link to the council's admission arrangements?
Maintained schools must. The official sources we check set nothing for academies. It only applies to schools whose admissions are run by the local authority.
What does the admissions link need to include?
Links to the local authority's admission arrangements; Links to the in-year co-ordination scheme, if the local authority manages in-year applications; States the admission year the information relates to; date the arrangements were correct as of, with a warning they may change.
When do we need to update the admissions link?
By 15 March each year. For entry in September of the following year.
Where does the requirement for the local authority admissions link come from?
It is set out in What maintained schools must publish online and The School Information (England) Regulations 2008 (as made).
Recent changes to the official guidance
None of the published updates to the official sources change this requirement.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4