Finding the right school for you and your child is one of the most important milestones in their education – whether they are just starting out or embarking on the next phase of their classroom career.
And that means that National Offer Day, when secondary school places are announced across the country, is a big deal for those families with a child moving to that next level in the coming months.
National Offer Day sees parents or guardians should receive a letter or email from their local council telling them which school their secondary school age child has received a place at.
By September, new year groups of children will be entering secondary and primary schools – but while secondary school children will be finding out their allocated school on March 1, when are primary school places confirmed?
When do parents find out about primary school places?
If you are applying for a place at primary school for your child, you should expect to receive a letter, or email from the council on Tuesday April 19.
Offers are normally sent out on April 16 – but as this date falls on a weekend, they will be sent out on the next working day,
In this instance that is April 19, as Monday April 18 is Easter Monday.
The letter or email will confirm whether your child has been offered a place at any of the schools you chose in your original application.
Once you receive this, you will have two options – you can either accept the offer you have been given, or you can appeal the decision if you are unhappy with the choice of school.
Details of how to accept the offer will be given in the letter or email – you’ll be given a deadline by which time to do this, and you must make sure you have responded by then otherwise your child’s place may be given to someone else.
What should I do if my child isn’t given a place?
Every child will be given a place at a school – your local council must provide an offer for a local school.
If your child is not offered a place at any of the schools you’ve applied for, you’ll likely be offered a place at your nearest school with places still available.
However, if you want to appeal the decision based on the schools you did apply for, you will be given the opportunity to do that.
The admission authority for the school must allow you at least 20 school days to appeal from when they send the decision letter.
You must submit evidence to support your appeal by a set deadline, and you will then be granted an appeal.
You can also put your child’s name down on a wait list for your preferred school – while this does not guarantee you will get in, places sometimes become available if families’ circumstances change or they decide on an alternative school for their child.
MORE : All children deserve free milk in school – why aren’t they getting it?
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
