Last day for Nottinghamshire parents to submit application for reception and junior school places to be considered ahead of National Offer Day
Today (January 15) is the last day for parents to submit an application for their child’s reception or junior school place.
With just a few hours left until applications for reception and year three places close, there may still be families who have not applied — and it is important that parents make sure they have submitted their application on time and use all four preferences, as this will give them the best chance of being offered a school they are happy for their child to attend.
Applying late significantly reduces the chances of children being allocated to one of their parents’ preferred schools, as most places will have been allocated on National Offer Day (Tuesday, April 16) to people who applied on time.
Parents of children who live in Nottinghamshire need to apply through Nottinghamshire County Council, even if they’re applying for schools in other local authority areas such as Derbyshire or Nottingham City.
For the best chance of a place in a school of choice, use all four preferences in the application.
Parents should also include at least one school within the four preferences where the child will have high priority within the admission oversubscription criteria. Information about the criteria for Nottinghamshire schools can be found on the council’s website.
Any information which may affect how the admission oversubscription criteria are applied should also be included, as well as telling the council if you are moving house, as this may affect how the application is considered.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s cabinet member for education and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Sam Smith, said: “Applying for your child’s first school place can be a daunting time and we want to make sure that parents have all the information they need to help make an informed decision. The council’s website has a variety of information that will be useful for parents making applications and I would encourage them to use it.
“Last year, over 97% of parents in Nottinghamshire who applied for their school place on time, were offered one of their preferred infant or junior schools.
“We want to ensure that parents receive a place at one of their preferred schools and using all four preferences will help give them the best chance of this”.
The easiest way to apply for a place is online, but parents who do not have internet access can telephone 0300 500 80 80 to apply. Those who apply online will receive email confirmation that the application has been received.
Parents who apply online will be able to log in to their account on National Offer Day to view the outcome of their application.
If parents provide an email address, the outcome will be sent by email. All other applications will be mailed by second class post on National Offer Day.
Applications received after the closing date are considered as late applications and will be processed once all on-time applications have been offered.
