I need to apply for DS primary school place in Sept 2010 - how do I go about it?

[sparkle1977]

Just having a few worries about the whole applying for a primary school place rigmarole that will begin in Sept 2010 for us.

I have heard from friends that you need to apply a year in advance but thats about it.

Will I be sent some forms to do this ? Do I need to go somewhere to get these forms ? Do I apply online ??

DS currently attends both a nursery and a pre-school so I am guessing I will get forms given to me from one of them ??

Heeeeelp!

You will be writen to by the local LEA once it is time to apply.

my advice is check out the lea website. if you can apply online, do so. once your application is in, you get an email confirmation (evidence should anything go wrong) and you get you place offer via email too instead of waiting for the post to arrive. above all else, check, and check again the deadline date. so many go wrong by not getting their application in by the deadline.

Check the LEA website now to see WHEN you have to apply by (varies wildly by LEAs). You should get the forms via your son's pre-school or nursery but chase up if you don't.

I think it is easier to apply on line (and no worries about forms going astray) but it is down to personal perference.

You should get forms from Nursery/Pre-school but don't rely on it! Go to the LEA website and find out what you can. Applying online is a very good idea, but keep copies of emails, forms etc. just in case.

Have you been to look around schools yet? If not try to go after a bout 1 week of term in September. Look at all possibles, don't rely on gossip or OFSTED.

Remember parents get very very emotionally involved in their school choices, and some make mad decisions (you will spot these later eventually). So don't be made to feel guilt because St Crispins seems the best for your Tarquin, and then everyone says how could you not send them to Roughsville or the Prep down the road.

Good luck!

you should have automatically been sent the forms by your local council's education dept - you need to be chasing this up urgently.

When is your ds due to start school? If its Sept 2011 then the deadline could be November 2010 or in some LEAs its January. Don't rely on automatically getting the forms, check with your local authority. You will usually need a birth certificate and evidence of your address. Most schools start doing open mornings for prospective parents between Sept and Dec so you could enquire about those at the schools you are interested in.

We never had forms sent to us automatically, but could have got them directly via the local schools when we looked around or from the local nursery. The online applications usually have the advantage that you get an email sent out the day before the offer letters go out so you will have a little less waiting for the offers.
Check our your LEA website as all the info about dates and procedures should all be on there. Go and see the schools in September to help make your decision.

To be clear no LA can automatically send parents the forms for admission in reception year. The reason is very simple they do not know where all the children are because they are not allowed to have access to the Health Service records.

All those who are attending a nursery will be known to the LA in theory but they rely on the nursery passing on the information.

So it is not an exact science and there are always many parents who do not get information on admissions which is why many LAs publicise it in health centres, libraries etc. Regretably I still do lots of appeals for school places where the parents did not fill the form in on time and most claim that they did not know. Different LAs are better or worse at getting to all the parents and I know one LA where they think that a 10% rate of late admissions is actually quite good - I think it is appalling.

So to all parents the time to apply is in September for starting the year after, then you will not be late or not get the forms.

If you don't apply online, send everything registered delivery. That way, if they lose your application you've got evidence that they actually got it.

It very much depends on where you live. The nest bet is to check with your local LEA.

Here you would have needed to apply by April 2010 for admission in September 2011, and the council doesn't send you the forms.

But all LEAs are different, so you need to check out the situation where you live.

yy agree, apply online is the best.

Takes two ticks.

Deadline for our LEA is mid-Dec but for some it is earlier, check website.

Not a rigmarole at all btw, at least not IME.

Don't worry about donnie's post - I think she thinks (as I did at first) that you needed a place for this Sept - but I think after reading yr post you mean for sept 2011, applying in sutumn 2010?

Our deadline is pretty early - October, for the following September. Forms come out pretty soon after the beginning of next term. Talk to your preschool leader; they will almost certainly have it in hand.

I would have had no idea about timing if I hadn't just happened to be on the ball and had checked the La's website. Dd1 was at a private nursery and they told us nothing about deadlines. ditto applying online for absolute proof

Thanks for your replies, looks like applying online is definitely the way to go then. I will check out the LEA website asap and also keep a look out for open day dates of the local schools.

Clary - yes my DS2 is due to start in Sept 2011, so applying in Sept 2010.

Goodness, don't expect anyone to tell you when you have to apply. I thought this would happen and thankfully found out in time.

I do know some mums who didn't know and ended up with late applications. Our LEA applications have to be in by October and we don't hear until March/April. Also, our LEA now no longer distributes paper forms to schools and nurseries so applications have to be online.