Information for Families

If you're bringing your family to the UK find out where to look for accommodation, where your children will go to school, what to do if you have a baby in the UK and support for Muslim families.

Accommodation for families

You'll need to find private accommodation off campus. Families aren't eligible to apply for University halls of residence. You must ensure that you book suitable accommodation for yourself and your family before you travel to the UK and that you budget for this.

For advice and support for students living in private accommodation, please contact the Student Housing team.

Babies born in the UK

If you have a baby while you're studying in the UK, you'll need to find out how this might affect your studies. Student mothers will need to seek an authorised absence from their course leader prior to their baby’s birth. Dates will need to be agreed by the course leader and Academic Services. This is particularly important if you have a Tier 4 or Student Route visa, as unauthorised leave from your course will affect the validity of your visa and you may incur extra NHS charges.

Once your baby is born, you'll need to arrange to get a passport for the baby with your own Embassy. The baby will require a passport before you can apply for a Dependant visa for them, if they are eligible. More information is available on UKCISA’s website.

Being born in the UK does not automatically make a baby a British citizen. Babies must have a parent with British citizenship or settled status in the UK in order to be born British.

Childcare

If you have children, it is likely that at some stage you will need to arrange childcare whilst you are studying at the University. Portsmouth City Council has information on nursery and pre-schools in the city.

Schools

If you have children between the ages of five and sixteen, you'll need to find out about the UK education system and plan where you'll send your children to school.

Please see UKCISA’s guide to schools for your children.

Schools in Portsmouth

Application forms and guidance are available on the Portsmouth City Council website using the link to In-year applications - Portsmouth City Council

The City Council will need confirmation of your home address (e.g. tenancy agreement) and evidence of your child’s date of birth (e.g. copy of passport or birth certificate).

The council are currently experiencing a high volume of in-year applications for Portsmouth Schools. This means that in some areas of the city, in certain year groups, there are limited places. This may mean your child has to be allocated to a school further from your home address which will require you to travel by public transport or car. They will try and a allocate places for siblings in the same school but this may not always be possible.

They recommend all applicants to put up to 6 preference schools on their application and include their catchment school to get the best chance of being allocated a school as near to home as possible.

They also recommend accepting any places offered, as these will be the nearest schools that have places available at the time your application is processed.

You can look up the catchment school for your home address using the link here: Find your school catchment area - Portsmouth City Council - Search - Section 1 - My Portsmouth

The City Council School Admissions team can be contacted for further information by calling 023 92 688 008 or by emailing admissions@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly during the school term otherwise can be fined for non-attendance. It is important that you make arrangements for your children to attend where the school term does not align with the university term dates. You must apply for a school place unless you are intending to make your own arrangements and these should be notified to the School Attendance Team - schoolattendanceteam@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Schools in Hampshire

Further information about applying for schools in the rest of Hampshire can be found on the Hampshire County Council website.

You can also apply from your home country.

State Schools

The UK state school system is divided into three types of schools

• Nursery (Kindergarten) school for children aged between three and five years
• Primary school for children aged between five and eleven years
• Secondary school for children aged between eleven and sixteen years

Your children will be placed at a school near to where you live, so think about this when you're looking for your accommodation.

You can find a helpful guide about Schools in England in this document.

Independent Schools

These are 'private' or 'public' schools. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) lists all schools in the country that charge fees.

School term dates and holidays

The academic year for state primary and secondary schools runs from early September to late July. Please visit the school’s website for exact term dates as this may vary.

Taking children out of school

In the UK, you do not have the automatic right to take your children out of school during term time. You can be prosecuted or fined if your children fail to attend school. Once your child is registered with a school, they will expect your child to attend throughout the term or you may face penalties.

You must obtain authorisation from the school in advance if:

• you need to travel abroad with your child during school term
• you wish to take your child out of school during religious festivals
• your child is unable to attend school for any reason.

Muslim families

We have put together this quick reference guide with useful information for you and your family while you are here in Portsmouth.