Skip to content
Build My Plan
Family & Community
Take careAbout 75 min✓ Official sources · reviewed 2026-07-26

School places and childcare help

Free schooling, funded childcare — how to claim what your children are entitled to.

Your progress0 of 5 steps done
  1. 1

    Apply for a school place through the council

    State schools are free for children aged 5-16 regardless of immigration status, and every application goes through your local council — never directly to the school. Mid-year arrivals use the council's "in-year admissions" process; for September starts there are national deadlines (mid-January for primary, end of October for secondary the year before). Apply promptly: schools legally can't hold places for late askers.

    Prepare

    Child's birth certificate/passport, your address proof, and preferred schools list.

    Watch out

    Waiting to apply until you've found the "perfect" school — apply now, join waiting lists after; an enrolled child can always transfer.

    This one is serious — get real help

    This step involves a high-risk area (legal, immigration, medical or benefits). We won't advise you here. Ask MyLife AI to prepare, or contact an official or appropriately regulated service before you act.

  2. Step 2

    Understand how places are decided

    When a school is oversubscribed, published criteria decide: siblings already there, distance from home, faith criteria at religious schools. Read each school's criteria before choosing your preference order, and always fill in ALL preference slots — naming only one dream school doesn't improve your odds, it just removes your say over the backup. Check Ofsted reports, but visit too: a school's feel matters more than its label.

    Prepare

    The council's admissions booklet for your area (free PDF on their site).

    Watch out

    Renting near a "good school" without checking its actual catchment history — last year's distance cutoffs are published; read them before moving.

  3. 3

    Claim funded childcare hours

    England funds significant free childcare hours for working parents of young children — the exact ages and hours have expanded repeatedly, so check the current offer on gov.uk/childcare-calculator. Crucial for newcomers: eligibility usually requires that your immigration status has no "no recourse to public funds" (NRPF) condition for some schemes — but 15 universal hours for 3-4 year olds apply regardless. Apply through your childcare account the term BEFORE you need it.

    Prepare

    Both parents' NI numbers, income details and your visa conditions.

    Watch out

    Missing the term deadline — funding starts the term AFTER approval, so a late application can cost three full months of paid childcare.

    This one is serious — get real help

    This step involves a high-risk area (legal, immigration, medical or benefits). We won't advise you here. Ask MyLife AI to prepare, or contact an official or appropriately regulated service before you act.

  4. Step 4

    Set up the school-life systems

    UK schools run on apps and small rituals: payment apps for lunches and trips, a parent-communication app, uniform rules (buy the used-uniform sale first — quality is fine, prices are tiny), packed-lunch norms, and term-date calendars that dictate when flights home are affordable. Ask the school office for the app list on day one, and put term dates in your family calendar immediately.

    Prepare

    The school's welcome pack and office email.

    Watch out

    Term-time holidays — taking children out of school for cheap flights can bring fines and, repeated, prosecution; plan around term dates.

  5. Step 5

    Support a child learning in English

    Children absorb English astonishingly fast at school — most are conversational within months. Two things help: tell the school your child is learning English as an additional language (EAL support is standard and free), and keep speaking rich Turkish at home. Bilingualism is an academic advantage, not a delay; the research is unambiguous. Reading together in either language builds both.

    Prepare

    A chat with the class teacher in the first fortnight.

    Watch out

    Switching the home to broken English "to help" — children end up with two shallow languages instead of two deep ones.

Need help? Ask MyLife

It already knows which playbook you're in. Answers come from official sources, with dates.