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Original poster

What age were your kids when you booked them into a primary school?

21 replies

Ironmaiden · 10/03/2006 11:09

My dd is nearly 10 months old and I have no school preparations done yet. Am I leaving it too late or worrying about nothing?

OP posts:
roosmum · 10/03/2006 11:10

worrying about nothing - i hope!

ds is 13m & school hasn't even crossed my mind yet

LIZS · 10/03/2006 11:17

If you are thinking of a private school look now (ours recommends at 6 months!) as there may be a waiting list. Otherwise even if you go on a list earlier you can only apply for a place at a state primary during the school year before the September they are due to start and you may find theat there are open days adn tours during the previous summer term. Your Local Education Authority will have a website showing you their timescales and deadlines.

JanH · 10/03/2006 11:18

lol at "booked them in"! (Just like a nice hotel!)

I don't think you can book them in until the year they turn 3 - in state schools anyway (prob wrong though, they keep changing the rules and I haven't had a 3-year-old for 10 years!)

blueshoes · 10/03/2006 11:19

The local state school won't consider any application until dd is approaching 4 years.

But ... the private prep schools have parents putting their children on the wait lists for their nursery (which feed into the primary schools) from birth! And I thought I was quick off the mark when I put dd down at 2 years old Shock. By then, these schools were already oversubscribed. But entry is a combination of interviews, assessment and first-come-first-served, depending on the school. This is London - you can't guarantee a good school for love or money.

waterfalls · 10/03/2006 11:20

You can't sign them up til they are 21/2.

roosmum · 10/03/2006 11:22

good news then!

coppertop · 10/03/2006 11:27

For state schools in this area the closing date is the December before they are due to start school. Ds2, for example, is due to start school in September 2007. We will be putting his name down for the local primary in November 2006.

No idea about the private schools though.

OLIVEBRANCH · 10/03/2006 11:28

Every state primary has its own system what Liz has said is very true re the entry system. However, if the school you may be interested in has a good reputation like my childrens' then the school make their own list and I guess at the time of entry they compare who is on the list against the LEA list for that school. My daughter was already at the school (put her name down at 1 year) and when one day I was visiting the school secretary she asked if I had put my son's name down (he was 18 mths) and that I should!! I was under the impression that as my daughter was already there he would automatically get a place.

OLIVEBRANCH · 10/03/2006 11:31

However, I forgot to add that my childrens' school is catholic which may differ to the rules of the LEA schools.

Auntymandy · 10/03/2006 11:35

you get sent a letter. maybe ab idea to look at schools the year before tey start so you have an idea where you want them to go!!

Bugsy2 · 10/03/2006 11:55

If it is the state sector you are looking at Ironmaiden, you can't actually book your child in. As far as I know, although I think it varies slightly from LEA to LEA, you have to apply for schools in the autumn/winter term of the year before they are due to attend. Usually, the LEA will give you a deadline date that you have to get applications in before. You can usually choose 4 schools you would prefer your child to go to.
However within each LEA you will find that some of the primary schools have additional application criteria, particularly the faith schools. So any schools you think you may be interested in, it is probably worth contacting them directly to check their own specific criteria.
Probably don't need to worry about it as such at the moment, but well worth bearing in mind if you are planning to move home in the next couple of years.

Original poster
Ironmaiden · 10/03/2006 12:00

Thanks everyone. I'll chill for a few years then!

OP posts:
LunarSea · 10/03/2006 13:35

coppertop - here the deadline is the SEPTEMBER almost whole year before they actually start. It means that all the schools have to do their open days in the first 2 weeks of term.

cod · 10/03/2006 13:36

i dont bleiev it

10 montsh old?
is it eton your kid is going to?

fimbo · 10/03/2006 13:39

Cod to get into my school's nursery you have to get their names on the list very very early. My ds's name has been on the list since he was 10 days old. Places are like gold dust.

WickedViperWitch · 10/03/2006 13:39

You are joking, 10 months?

cod · 10/03/2006 13:39

this is state?

cod · 10/03/2006 13:39

but shcool places it makes no odds
you all apply the autumn before they go

figroll · 10/03/2006 16:35

Two years old

Orinoco · 10/03/2006 21:00

dd1 was 11 months - and she got the last place available!
However, the rules have changed and dd2 will be 3 1/2 before we can apply.. and then have to wait 6m to see whether we've been sucessful.

MaloryTowers · 10/03/2006 21:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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