stupid question.... school signing up!

[user1465146157]

Hi all
this may sound stupid but I've got one child and have never done this before!

How do we sign up for school?

LO is only 1 year old and cant find anything to help online as shes not starting this year - am i to put my name down somewhere now? Will I be contacted about this?

Just wasn't sure where to start!

Thanks!

If it's a state school you can't "put her name down". You apply in the autumn term before she starts school through your council.

Hi you will be contacted via post hen your DC is school age, little way off but I think you normally apply around 6 months before they start.

You apply by the January before they start school, which will be the academic year they turn 5. Online, to the lea. You can’t do it before. And no, they won’t contact you. You need to remember to do it!

All this talk of putting names down for schools when babies are tiny doesn’t help. I can only assume it’s done at private schools. You can apply via your council from the autumn before the year they will start - this is the school year they turn 5.

Also being in a school nursery does not guarantee a place at that school so don’t fall into that trap either.

If your 1 year old has turned 1 since September they will start school September 2021, before September then September 2020 so you’ll apply the autumn-winter before that.

Look at you local council's website to find out how to apply.

Just google "user1465146157 Council school Admissions" and it will probably come up first.

There will almost certainly be information which shows the various admission areas of local schools over the past few years. That doesn't mean that there is a set 'catchment area' but it will give you an idea as to whether you child has a chance of getting into any given school.

Not all areas will send you information about when/how to apply, so you do have to think about it. But if you look on your county council website you'll find all the information. Ours is all done online

You can register your interest in a school (or at least you can where I am) and they will write to you when it's time to apply. That's what I've done for DS2.
I took his birth certificate in when he was 2. They wrote to me last week to say nursery admissions were open. Nursery admissions are changing from next year in my authority so you have to apply direct to the school but reception is still through the council.
Places are not allocated on a first come first served basis so it doesn't matter if you're the first or last applicant as long as you don't miss the deadline.

They won’t necessarily contact you, they certainly don’t in my area. So make sure you know how to apply and when - check on your council’s website.

I’m so glad you posted this question op.

I’m currently searching frantically for a part time nursery place for my Daughter. I say ‘frantically,’ as I was under the illusion that ‘free’ nursery places meant that they’re ‘free,’ and I’ve had a hard slap in the face this week, as I’ve been quoted several figures in the thousands for lunch, snacks, sessions etc that are actually compulsory to pay! We can’t really stretch to the amounts quoted, but have limited state options in our area of London.

I’ve now today felt forced to make an application to a heavily oversubscribed state Catholic school nursery, as free there means ‘free.’ We’re not Catholic or Christian, so I don’t have much hope. One other state nursery in our catchment is also Catholic & oversubscribed, and have told me that I’ve missed their open days and application deadline! Another nursery here ‘requires improvement,’ and is too far away, leaving the last state and non-religious nursery here, which have only a few places left, and not over 3 days as I’d wanted.

Aside from the issue of ‘freeness,’ I find it terrible that the government or local council have not contacted me to inform me as to when to apply. If that’s too costly for them, surely they could do a tv advert or similar to inform everyone? They seem to be able to do this regarding the paying of tax - funny that! It would also be bloody helpful if all state schools and nurseries had to have the same closing dates for applications. I know of another country that operates in this sensible manner, and it makes perfect sense.

All state primaries do have the same closing date for reception applications - Jan 15.

Nursery is not a compulsory requirement either for the child to attend or the school to provide, so local admissions authorities are at liberty to set their own criteria and dates. Annoying for many reasons not least because it means it is hard for sites like this to give useful information as it will differ by area, but that's the situation.

It would be impossible for a local authority to tell every parent of a rising 3 about nursery directly as they don't know the child exists in many cases! There is no central list of children in a local authority. Usually there are posters up in libraries, parent groups, ads in local press, etc, but ultimately it's down to the parent to investigate.

In terms of deferral to the year below, it is entirely possible but the ease differs by local authority. Some will just say yes, others will ask for medical evidence of the need.

The transition to secondary school may also be an issue if a child is deferred, as most secondaries in England are now academies, and as such are their own admissions authorities. They could therefore potentially refuse to take a child out of year. It's worth exploring this with likely secondaries when making a decision.

Sorry the deferral comments were meant for the other thread!