In May 2014, new guidance was issued to school admission authorities asking them to give the highest priority to all children who were previously looked after children but who ceased to be so because they were adopted or became subject to a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (formally known as a residence order).
A new School Admissions Code came into force on 19 December 2014 which now makes it a statutory requirement for school admission authorities to give the highest priority to these children. To be eligible, the child must have been in care in either England or Wales and now living in England. The new Code can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2
