National Offer Day: What to do if your child doesn't get a place at their top-choice primary school
Thousands of young children and their families across England find out on Tuesday which primary school they have been offered a place at from this September.
Many will be hoping to have secured a spot at their preferred choice, but there is no guarantee as many schools are significantly oversubscribed.
If you are not happy with the offer your child has received, what choices do you have and can you appeal a decision? ITV News explains.
How are primary school places decided?
All schools have admission criteria to decide which children get places. This criteria is set by the school or local council.
While all state-funded schools must give top priority to admitting children who are in care or have been in care, admission criteria is different for each school.
They may choose to give priority to children:
who live close to the school
who have a brother or sister at the school already
from a particular religion (for faith schools)
who are eligible for the pupil premium
whose parent has worked at the school for two years or more
Your local council can give you more information about a school's criteria.
How likely am I to get my first choice of primary school?
The gov.uk website states that in 2023, 92.5% of families received an offer from their first choice of primary school and 98.3% received an offer from one of their top three choices.
They added that over one million additional school places have been created between May 2010 and May 2023, with many more in the pipeline.
If your child does receive an offer from your first choice of school, a parent or carer must formally accept the offer by the given deadline.
Can I appeal a primary school placement decision if we don't get our first choice?
You can. However, the Department for Education (DfE) urges that even if you're appealing a decision, you should still accept the offer your child did receive so that they have a school place if the appeal is unsuccessful.
Accepting another offer won't affect the other options available.
Parents or carers who want to appeal a decision should first contact the school's admission authority, which is responsible for organising the appeal panel.
You can find your school's admission authority by visiting your local council website.
The panel is independent and will look at the case presented by both the admission authority and the parent before making a decision.
And this decision of the appeal panel is binding - if the appeal is upheld, the admission authority must offer your child a place at the school.
Why has my child not been offered a place at one of their preferred schools?
Unfortunately, this comes down to capacity - some schools will simply receive more applications than places it has available.
Priority must be given to those who most closely meet the school's specific admission arrangements, according to the DfE.
If the local authority is unable to offer a place at one of the parents' preferred schools, it must offer a place at another school.
And if a parent does not receive an offer of a place by April 17, parents should contact their local authority for further advice.
Can I join a waiting list for my top-choice primary school?
You can add your child's name to the waiting list for any school that you've applied for.
You should still accept the offer you received and this won't affect where you stand in the waiting list.
Schools must keep a waiting list for at least one term, and the list is ordered by the school's oversubscription criteria.
In some areas, your child will be automatically added to the waiting lists of the schools you ranked more highly.
In others, you must ask to be put on the waiting list. Check the school admissions section of your local authority website to find out how it works in your area.
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