Polka - how was last night? Hope you all managed to get some more sleep!
Nazly - bye bye poo poo was my crazy child!
Schools start in the year (sept-sept) they turn from 4-5, so our September babies will be the oldest in the year. I guess they will start school September 2019? Although I seem to remember we have an August baby or two?
Some schools have a nursery or pre-school attached, so they can go earlier, but it isn't compulsory and you have to pay, if you send your child for more than the government funded free hours.
The "bad" side of this system is that they usually only do school hours and term time, so if you work ft across the whole year, it can be difficult. But the "good" thing is that they get a smoother transition into the school, if they end up going to that school.
In terms of applying, I think the way it works is that you apply nearly a year in advance, putting three local schools in order of preference. You then find out around this time of year which school they have been allocated to.
In terms of choosing a school, every school has an ofsted report, which you can read online. However some are very skeptical of them! I think most schools have open days to show parents around and answer questions. All schools have a sort or entrance criteria policy to help them allocate places fairly. This can be religion, distance you live from the school, siblings, children in foster care get priority, that kind of thing. It can be helpful to take a look at those of you can find them online. You can also sometimes find the stats on how over or under subscribed a school is, which can be helpful too.
Hope that all makes sense, is accurate and helps! Hopefully others (FATE?) will correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems to be the way things work around here!