For parents and guardians of young children, the spring brings with it a bittersweet moment – shortly before the Easter holidays, families hear where their little ones will head off to school.
Primary school places are sent out in April each year, letting families know where their young children will be going to school.
When are primary school places announced and can you appeal if you don’t get your first choices?
When are primary school places announced?
Primary school places for the upcoming school year starting in September 2025 will be revealed today – Wednesday, April 16.
The quickest way to find out where your child has been placed is to visit the portal on your local council’s website.
You log on via the same site you filled out your application form on and results are available from midnight on April 16.
Parents will receive the decision either by letter or email from their council.
But exactly what time the results are released differs from area to area.
How to appeal your child’s primary school offer
Unfortunately, it is possible that your child won’t get their first choice for primary school.
If this does happen, firstly, you must not reject your first school offer. You cannot reject the first offer until you have secured another offer.
Your next steps, should you be unhappy, include:
Join a waiting list – you can check if your child can be added to a waiting list for the school, or another school nearby. This can be done using the ‘waiting lists’ page on your local council’s website.
Apply for a different school – you can contact your local School Admissions team if you want to apply for a school you didn’t apply for originally. You can do this to also be added to a waiting list for a school you named as a lower preference.
Appeal – you have the right to appeal to an independent panel for a place at any of your preferred schools that haven’t offered you a place.
But even if you are appealing a decision, you are advised to accept the offer your child received so that they have a school place in case the appeal is unsuccessful.
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Your offer letter will outline details on how to appeal, with parents allowed 20 days from when the offer was given to appeal an admission.
If you do appeal, you’ll need to submit evidence to support your claim, which will then be investigated by a panel.
Last year, 93.2% of families got an offer from their first choice of primary school, while 98.6% received an offer from one of their top three choices.
When does the new school year start?
For most children in the United Kingdom, the new school year will start on Monday, September 1.
However, there’s always the possibility of slight differences based on region, so it’s best to check school term dates through your local council’s website to be sure.
This article was first published on April 16, 2024.
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