Parents of three and four-year-olds
will soon find out what primary school has offered their child a
place for the next academic year.
The majority of pupils will be offered
a place at one of their preferred primary schools, while most
will be offered their top
choice.
Here, we explain everything you need
to know about primary school offer day, from when you can expect
to find out, to how to appeal a
decision.
When is primary school offer
day and what time are school places
released?
Parents will find out which primary
school has offered their child a place for September 2023 on
Monday 17
April.
The decision will be sent by the local
council by either letter or email. Some councils allow parents to
view their results through the admissions portal or system.
Exactly what time the offers will be released varies by
council.
How likely am I to get my
first-choice primary school?
We want parents to feel reassured when
it comes to getting one of their top choice primary
schools.
In 2022, 92.2% of families received an
offer from their first choice of primary school
and 98.1% received an offer from one of their top three
choices.
At the same time, over one million
additional school places have been created between May 2010 and
May 2022.
What happens after I receive
an offer of a school place?
A parent or carer must formally accept
the offer by the given deadline. This is usually set through the
local authority’s admissions portal or system. You’ll receive
details of next steps with the offer.
Can I appeal a primary school
placement decision?
If you’re not offered your
first-choice school, you can appeal the
decision.However, even if
you're appealing a decision, we recommend accepting the offer
your child did receive so that they have a school place if the
appeal is unsuccessful. Accepting another offer won’t affect your
appeal or limit other options available to
you.
Parents or carers who want to appeal a
decision should first contact the school’s admission authority,
which is responsible for organising the appeal panel. Parents and
carers can find their school’s admission authority by visiting
their local council website: Find
your local council - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk).
The panel is independent and will look
at the case presented by both the admission authority and the
parent before coming to a decision.
The decision of the appeal panel is
binding – if the appeal is upheld, the admission authority must
offer the child a place at the
school.
Admission authorities and appeal
panels must comply with the statutory School Admission Appeals
Code, which is available here. Guidance for
parents on the admission appeals process can also be
found here.
How are primary school places
decided?
All schools have admission criteria to
decide which children get places. This criteria is set by the
school or local council.
While all state-funded schools must
give top priority to admitting children who are in care or have
been in care, admission criteria is different for each
school. They may choose to give priority to
children:
-
who live close to the
school
-
who have a brother or sister at the
school already
-
from a particular religion (for
faith schools)
-
who are eligible for the pupil
premium
-
whose parent has worked at the
school for two years or more
Your local
council can give you
information about a school’s
criteria.
Why has my child not been
offered a place at one of their preferred
schools?
Some schools will receive more
applications than places it has available and unfortunately not
every parent will be successful. Priority must be given to those
who most closely meet the school’s specific admission
arrangements.
If the local authority is unable to
offer a place at one of the parents’ preferred schools, it must
offer a place at another school.
In the unlikely event that a parent
does not receive an offer of a place on 17 April, parents should
contact their local authority for further
advice.
Can I join a waiting list for
my top-choice primary school?
You can add your child’s name to the
waiting list for any school that you’ve applied for. You should
still accept the offer you received and this won’t affect where
you stand in the waiting list.
Schools must keep a waiting list for
at least one term. The waiting list will be ordered by the
school’s oversubscription
criteria.
In some areas, your child will be
automatically added to the waiting lists of the schools you
ranked more highly. In others, you must ask to be put on the
waiting list. Check the school admissions section of your local
authority website to find out how it works in your
area.
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