When do people start looking at/visiting private primary schools?

[ReaganSomerset]

Just that, really. How old were your dc when you started going to open mornings etc?

For my first born (winter born), when she was about six months old. DS is summer born, so I went before he was born so the applications could go straight in (SW London madness!).

Depends on the school. NW london boys often have to have an application in before first birthday whereas girls usually just the year before they start.

Very interesting, thank you. We're nowhere near London and DD is still a baby, I just wondered if going to an upcoming open morning would be premature.

the information will be on the schools' websites

For a first-come first-served (ie non-selective) school, you need to get applications in early.

What 'early' means in practice depends on where you live.

Otherwise, you simply need to be before the guillotine falls for schools which have a ceiling to registration numbers, or before the deadline for those which assess all applicants.

I suggest you register at just about every school that works for where you live, then it's one and you don't have to think about it again for yonks (and registration fees only ever increase, so it's better value to do it soon).

Then look round when your DC is a bit older and you have more of an idea of what they are like, what features you value most in a school, and what the school is like a bit nearer to the time your DC might join it.

Thanks @AnotherNewt, that's really helpful.

I live in the West Midlands and I went to look at a range of independent schools when my child was about a year old, put their name down for 3 (deposits only up to £100) to secure a place. I got places in 2 of them and waiting list for 1. We then visited them all again when child was 3 1/2 before making final decision as I knew which one would fit them best by then. No one raised an eyebrow when we turned up at an open day with a 1yr old and my other children’s names went down at the chosen school by 6mths just to be sure.
Even though independent school was our preference, I viewed the local state schools in Oct and November of the year before child started school to ensure the choice of school was correct. For our state schools applications close in January and how quickly you at in the application has no bearing on the offer of a school place.

@Chocolateandcarbs

That's so useful, thank you very much. Looks like we'll be going to some open mornings soon then!

We are in W Midlands. We went to see a 2ndry school when our daughter was 18 months.
We went to view a very selective 13+ school when our daughter was 6 as I wanted to start from the end point and work backwards! When she was 6 we realised the state primary was not working for us and we needed to move do I went 1st to the 2ndry school we would like her to attend and asked them about feeder schools. We then went to see a prep school and she started there a year later in year 3 and is very happy.

A lot of how important it is to look round early will depend on how popular the private schools are in your area.

We started looking at private schools in April / May of DC1’s preschool year, after we didn’t get offered a Reception place in any state school we liked. We live in one of the poorer parts of the UK, so all the private schools within a reasonable drive of us still had spaces for that September’s Reception intake.

However if they are oversubscribed then the private schools near us give priority to who’s been first on the waiting list - all the ones near us are non-selective for nursery and Reception entry - so if having the option of going to a particular private school is important to you, then it’s best to register early to secure the place. Registering for a place on the waiting list doesn’t commit you to taking up a place at the school, so as a pp says, no harm in registering with several schools and deciding which you like the look of best later.

Our youngest DC was registered at their sibling’s private school within a month of birth, not strictly necessary as the private schools round here don’t fill up that quickly, but the registration fee was only £50 and it secures the school place.

Also, I’ve helped out with teas / coffees at school open mornings before, and it’s not at all unusual for families to come for a look around with babies or young toddlers. Lots of people like to get it sorted out early.

Thank you for the help, everyone. We've got a few booked in. The one I rang most recently said that there are five on roll for dd's year (she's only nine months old!) and the older years are wait-list only, so it's a good job we've started the process now! Now I just need to figure out what to dress her in for the visits...

it's not uncommon to go to open days with your bump. I have seen many of those.....

I come from abroad where people do it while pregnant. We visited a few schools around age one.

Are you lookjng for reception, or do the schools you are lookjng at have nursery classes? If the school's pre-prep department includes a nursery, they will take dc from 2.5 years, some schools where we live even offer mums and toddler groups for registered children from 24ms. One local all through school takes them from 6ms into their nursery, so parents are looking around open mornings with babies or bumps. I went around looking at schools when dd was 1, and when ds was still a bump. DD then started at 30ms at her prep, DS started at 20ms at his. DC who start in the nursery have a guaranteed reception place in almost all schools around here, so it takes away the worry about whether they will get in or not.

Sooner the better I would say. We visit the preps we were considering when child was 6 months. Chose and applied. The waiting list for that school and her year was already at capacity. We were lucky one dropped off pre early years so we got that place. Our child is year 4 and no one else has come or gone so if you were on the list after us you would not have a place.

If you know what you want no harm in getting registered and a place agreed.. if you change your mind it's just a deposit you loose