School application dates

[Rubbishdaughter]

I need to brain pick please for primary planning/moving home.

I've checked the dates for September 2021 starters and they were September 2020 - January 2021. Is it always up to the January every year for application to reception/primary, or does this vary by area? Is there any benefit to applying in September vs in January, or are they all judged equally as long as you meet the deadline?

We need to move house in 2022 (possibly moving areas), and start looking once I've recovered from next c section. But my ds will have to apply to reception (I think?) also in 2022, since he turns 4 early 2023 - do I have that right?!

Thanks in advance!

Your Ds will start school in September 2023 so the application deadline is January 15th 2023 (double check the exact date in case they change this in the next 18 months!) Some boroughs open in September (ours is November 1st) and there is no benefit to applying early, only disadvantage to apply after the deadline.

And just to confirm it's a national deadline day, it won't vary by area.

@Shapesorted that is amazing, thank you so much! That gives us more wiggle room then, I'd hate to move ds so early in his education if it could be avoided.

Some LAs will also have a slightly later date for amendments to your application (eg for house moves). Ours will let you amend your application up until mid-Feb - but you still need to get your original application in by mid Jan. After that, there's a process for submitting late applications, with a second offer date, but those will be dealt with after all the original places have been offered out. Definitely aim to move by the original Jan deadline if you can - lots of people intend to, but then miss it because moves fall through or take mich longer than expected.