Applications are now open for parents applying for their child to start primary school in September 2021. These can be completed through the council’s website where parents can also find a full guide on starting infant or primary schools.
This applies for children born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017. Applications must be completed before 15 January 2021. Any received after this date will be considered late and may affect the school we are able to offer to children.
When applications are made, parents can list up to four schools in order of preference. Every school has a set of rules known as admissions arrangements to help allocate places, you can find out more about these on the council’s website.
Due to COVID-19, schools have made different arrangements, to the usual open evenings or potential tours, to support parents with their decision making. Parents should contact individual schools for the latest information.
“Starting school is an important milestone in a child’s life and I’d urge parents to complete applications as soon as they can to help make this transition as easy as possible,” said Cllr UllaKarin Clark, executive member for children’s services. “There’s a wealth of excellent schools in the borough and parents may need time to assess all their options but applications must be completed by 15 January 2021 or parents risk their child not being able to go to a school of their preference.”
There are a number of other factors parents should remember when completing applications, these include:
- Every address in the borough has at least 1 designated area school. This school is given the highest priority for admissions and we recommend you include this as one of your choices.
- You can use our schools designated areas map to find out which designated or “catchment” area you live in.
- You can view all the infant and primary state schools in the borough in our directory.
- It’s important to remember that if your child attends a nursery or foundation unit which is part of a primary or infant school, there is no automatic transfer or guarantee you will get a place at the school.
- You can list any infant or primary state school as one of your preferences, even if it isn’t in our borough.
- If you want to apply to a private school you will need to apply to the school directly.
Notifications of children’s places will be confirmed on 16 April 2021 on national offer day. This can be viewed online for those who apply this way and sent out by letter for those who cannot apply on-line. Any parents of children with additional needs can find out more about information by visiting our Local Offer webpages.
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