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Cardiff Council

www.cardiff.gov.uk

Changing school during academic year

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​You can request a change of school for your child at any stage of their education.

It may be because you are:

  • moving into Cardiff, or
  • having problems at your current school.




Discuss the situation with your child's head teacher if you are considering a school change for reasons other than moving house.

Consider the disruption 









A change of school can be disruptive to your child’s education. Especially if they are year 10 or 11.

If you are requesting a school transfer for your child, you should consider if the new school can offer the courses and subjects that your child was taking.

Once GCSE courses start, it is not always possible to continue studying the same subjects in another school.

This can impact on the number of GCSEs exam passes that your child might achieve.

Even if the new school offers the courses, they may be full already.

Discuss with the schools before making any final decisions or arrangement.​​


Before considering a school change, talk to your child and the staff at their school to try and find a solution to the problem.​


You may consider requesting a school change for your child for reasons other than moving house, including:

missing school, bullying, exclusion, additional learning needs, and other issues.


Most of these issues can be resolved without changing schools.

Consider carefully if a transfer is the best option for your child.​​

Missing school

Talk with your child and try to find out the reasons why they are not attending school.

You can also talk to their teachers.

Bu​llying

Contact your school and ask for a copy of their safeguarding, bullying or emotional wellbeing policies.
 
Let the school know if you think they are not following these policies.

Schools are equipped to deal with bullying and responsible for addressing it.

Contact the head teacher or the board of governors if you think they are not dealing with it appropriately.

Exclusion

Talk to your child’s teacher, head of year or head teacher.

Check if the school identified your child as having special educational needs, or if they have a pastoral support plan.

If they do, ask for a review of their pastoral support plan.

Additional learning needs

If you think your child has additional learning needs, talk to the teacher in charge of additional needs (ALNCO) at the school.
 
You can contact the ALN casework team on 029 2233 0711.

Other issues

Discuss your concerns with the head of year, class teacher or head teacher.

You can raise the issue with the board of governors if you think the school does not respond appropriately.

These complaints must be taken seriously.

Apply for a change of school

If you would like your child to change schools within Cardiff, we will inform your child's current school of your transfer request.​​​

​ ​Apply for a change of school

Read our guidance on applying for a sc​​hool place​ for help with your application.


​​​Welsh-medium education is available to everyone, whatever language you speak at home. All kinds of families take advantage of Welsh-medium education: families who don’t speak Welsh and those who do, families from all kinds of ethnic and religious backgrounds, families from Wales and those who’ve moved here from elsewhere.

Welsh-medium education enables children to become fully fluent in both English and Welsh. It can give your child additional opportunities, experiences and skills. You can find further information in respect of Welsh-medium education here.
 
If you are considering a faith school, contact the school directly to ask about availability.



​ ​
Following consultation, the Council has determined admissions arrangements for the 2023/2024 school year which an increase in the Published Admission Number at Radyr Comprehensive School from 210 places to 240 places.

The Council has also agreed with the Governing Body of Radyr Comprehensive School to implement the increase to the admission number in Years 7-10, for the 2022/2023 school year.​


Contact us

Contact us online for more information or if you have any questions.​

Contact us


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© 2022 Cardiff Council