For a list of the Secondary Schools available in Wolverhampton please view Secondary schools.

For further information about schools, we would recommend visiting school websites and social media.

Starting secondary education is a big step in a child's life so each setting will have their own transition arrangements which may include transition days, parental transition evenings, summer schools, visits to the current primary setting and sharing information between parents and the setting. All secondary schools in Wolverhampton offer an open day usually in September.

To find out the dates, please look on the individual school websites. This will give parents/carers as well as the child the opportunity to look around and ask any questions. If parents/carers or the child have further questions, they can contact the school directly to request an appointment.

Once a school place is allocated, it is likely that the secondary schools will request information from parents/carers either via a paper form or an online form. It is important that parents/carers share the information requested so that the appropriate transition can be planned for the child.

Important information for parents to share with the setting might include:

• Does your child have a health condition?
• Does your child have any dietary requirements?
• Does your child have religious beliefs?
• Does your child have a special educational need or disability?
• Are you or your child receiving support from other professionals (such as school nurse, GP)
• How does your child communicate? What language is spoken at home?

When considering a suitable school for the child, it will be helpful to understand:

• The admissions criteria for the school, including the over subscription criteria
• Distance and transport/travel to school
• When making the application for a school place, parents/carers must specify more than one preference of school because, if the first choice is oversubscribed, the local authority will allocate to the nearest local school

To get a place at a Secondary School, parents/carers must submit an application to the Local Authority via the Parents Portal. The Local Authority Admissions team co-ordinate the school places for all children starting Secondary School unless they have a finalised Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). For these children, school places are co-ordinated by SENSTART.

For further information please visit SEND - Education, Health and Care Plans. If you need support with completing the application, please speak to your child’s current school.

Parents/carers need to make a note of the closing date for these applications. These are normally the end of October before the child is due to start school in the following September.

On allocation day, usually March or April prior to the child starting school in September, parents/carers will be able to see the school that has been allocated by logging into the parent portal. Following this day, the allocated school will contact parents/carers to request further information so that they can plan a suitable transition for the child. If you are not satisfied with the place that has been allocated, you can make an appeal.

The local authority co-ordinates the use of the Universal Transition Form to support Primary schools in sharing relevant information with the allocated Secondary school to support a positive transition.

School staff understand the importance of transition and will want to work together in partnership with parents/carers, previous schools as well as other professionals to ensure this is positive for the child.

If a child is worried about their transition, here is a good resource from the Anna Freud Centre.

Secondary schools allocate a transition leader or key named person to coordinate transition between settings and communicate with parents.

Primary schools complete the Universal Transfer Form. This is a common form used across the city to effectively share information with the secondary school to support transition. This form allows Primary schools to identify any child or young person that might benefit form more support with their transition.

The child will benefit from the support offered to all children. However, where it is felt, by the parents/carers, professionals or the individual themselves, that the child will need a more personalised transition plan, these views should be shared with the current setting before the summer term.

The current setting can then share this on the Universal Transfer Form and then a transition meeting can be arranged. The current setting should arrange a meeting with the child, parents/carers as well as any relevant professionals such as school nurse or strengthening families advisor.

Where a child has an EHCP, SENSTART co-ordinate the educational placement and parents/carers do not need to apply through admissions. SENSTART will use parental preferences and then send consultations to appropriate settings.

For more information please visit SEND - Education, Health and Care Plans. It will be important that discussions about potential Secondary schools take place through the annual review of the EHCP during Year 5.

This will allow the child, their parents/carers as well as supporting professionals to share their views about appropriate settings.

Once a place has been allocated and where a child is being supported by an EHCP or by a team of professionals (such as speech and language therapy (SALT), paediatrician, consultant or social worker) a specialist transition may be needed.

A multi-agency meeting would need to be arranged so that parents/carers and all supporting professionals are clear about what support the child may need to make a smooth transition into the next setting following a person-centred approach.

If parents/carers are not sure whether their child needs a specialist transition, please talk to the current setting or any of the professionals that support the child or family and they will be able to advise.