When to apply for reception/primary school?

[LaDY]

When are you supposed to start applying for receptions and primary schools? It is all so confusing! And how do you apply? If you want your child to start reception do you approch the school itself? LO's 2 1/2...so many people have been telling me to get his name down for reception next year if i want him to go xx

 

[Scally]

Here in essex u get a form through from county when the child is 3 to ask u your first choice, second choice etc- once that comes through, i would recommend visiting the schools and then deciding from that. Unless its a private school then its best to get on the waiting list as they can sometimes be oversubscribed. x

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I applied for school the year before he started x

 

[Lightworker]

I didn't think you could apply at anytime I thought you had to wait for the Schools department to send you forms the year preceding the intended start date. We got the forms through the September after she turned 3. I would ring up your local council schools svs and ask when you get the forms.

 

[coccyx]

No waiting lists at schools in lincolnshire. Places not decided by school, think its county council who send out forms and then allocate accordingly. priority for siblings, medical need, distance from school etc. worth looking around schools you are interested in

 

[Reedy]

Finley has his form already x The school I want him to go to is out of our cachment area so my sister told me that to have the best possible chance of him getting in is to apply as early as possible because after cachment & siblings it goes on a first come first serve basis x
I wont hear anything until the march before he starts school but I really want him to go to this primary school & not the one in our cachment area as its a horrible school x I cant believe I'm worrying about this already & his not long turned 1 x
By the time Finley goes to school I'm hoping we'll be moved to nearer this achool anyway but its just a safety net incase we're still in this current house x

 

[Jchihuahua]

I am a reception teacher in West Yorks and deal with all the admissions for nursery and reception in my school. They are entitled to 15 hours in nursery once they are 3. I'd go to your local school and say you want to put his name down for nursery if you want him to go. We get parents to fill in their details in a book then I go through it termly and every child who will be three the following term gets sent out a letter with a vist date and a starting date. So if he was 3 in May he wouldn't start nursery until the following term, so in September. Then they don't start reception until they are 4. They get forms to fill in from the authority asking which school they'd like their child to go to for Reception and the council allocate the places. In ours most who went to our nursery stay at our reception too unless they've requested to go somewhere else then when the council send us the list of pupils I have to compile the class lists and starting dates.

 

[WW1]

You'll need to check with your local authority as it varies from authority to authority. I work in Oldham and they deal with all admissions centrally (have done since September). That means schools no longer have waiting lists of their own and places are filled centrally. If you give your council a ring they'll be able to tell you the procedures (or your local school should be able to point you in the right direction).

Prior to the authority taking over, our system ran exactly the same way as Jchihuahua's.

 

[jane99]

Go on your county council website for all the info you need about school admissions.

The admissions policy for primary schools in Kent:

1st priority - Children in care
2nd priority - Special Educational Needs
3rd priority - Siblings
4th priority - Distance (measured in a straight line distance from home address to school)

Faith schools have their own admissions policy.

You should find all the statistics for last year's admissions on council website, they publish how many applications received & a breakdown of how places were allocated (ie. no. of siblings etc) & finally, the distance of last child to be offered a place.

Also, Kent strongly advise you to put 3 schools down. If you only put 1 school down & its over-subscribed & you dont get a place, then the authorities will allocate you a school, wherever there happens to be spare places, which could be miles away.

 

[isil]

all local authorities differ and have different procedures. My son is due to start getting his free hours in September and I have to apply by March for them. You can do it online with ours.

 

[Jchihuahua]

Wow, I wish my authority would take charge of allocating the nursery places. That job takes me hours and hours. My life would be SOOOOOO much easier if they did that!

 

[LaDY]

Thanks ladies for your replies!...i feel less panicked now! Lol...think i shall definatly contact my local authority xx