Admission to Primary Schools

• Autumn Term - 1 September to 31 December;
• Spring Term - 1 January to 30 April;
• Summer Term - 1 May to 31 August

Types of school. These are all funded on the same basis but have different responsibilities. The differences in terms of pupil admissions are shown below:
• Community schools and voluntary controlled schools (VC) – The Local Authority (LA) is the admission authority and is responsible for all aspects of pupil admissions and appeals.
• Foundation schools – The school’s governing body is the admission authority and is
responsible for all aspects of pupil admissions and appeals.
• Voluntary aided schools (VA) – These schools have a religious character often Church of England, Roman Catholic or Jewish. The school’s governing body is the admission authority and is responsible for all aspects of pupil admissions and appeals.
Nursery classes and pre-school education. Nursery education, for children from the age of three, is available in some schools. There are a range of other options open to parents for‘early years’ education for their child. For information and advice on early years education and registered childcare see the Childcare link web site.
Siblings. Differing types of schools, and different LAs may have different definitions of siblings. If you are in any doubt about this, you should contact the school.
Admission appeals. For more information, please see our page on Admission appeals.
Key Stage 1 class size legislation. The Law requires all primary and infant schools to ensure that there are no more than 30 pupils in an infant class with one qualified teacher.
Medical circumstances. Exceptional medical reasons may override other
admission criteria if supported by medical evidence.
Co-ordinated admission arrangements. The Education Act 2002 requires a Local Authority (LA) to co-ordinate admissions to all primary schools (except private or special schools) in their area from September 2006 onwards. From September 2006, you can apply for a school place online.
Admissions criteria. These will vary from county to county - some examples of criteria that might be used are whether:

• your child has a brother or sister who will be at the school when they start there
• you live in the area served by the school
• (for religious or faith schools), your child or family is of the particular religion/faith served by the school
• (for secondary schools) your child attends a linked primary school
• your home is close to the school 

In certain cases some schools apply other admission criteria:

• church or faith schools may ask for confirmation of attendance at a relevant place of worship
• grammar schools and schools that select a proportion of their pupils on the basis of academic ability award places on the basis of an entrance exam or selection test
• schools that award a percentage of their places by aptitude for certain subjects may use some form of assessment or audition where appropriate
• boarding schools may interview your child to assess their suitability to be a boarder

Additional information.Make sure to find out whether you are expected to provide any extra information to support your application. For instance, if you are applying to a voluntary-aided church school, you may need a letter from your parish priest or minister.
Published Admissions Number (PAN). This is the maximum number of children a school can admit each year.
Admissions Area. You will find details of the admissions area for each school in your LAs Admission booklet.
Home to school transport. General guidelines are that free school transport may be offered for:
• children up to the age of 8 (until the end of year 3) who live at least 2 miles away from, and attend, their designated local infant, junior, primary or denominational school of the child’s faith;
• children over the age of 8 (year 4 onward) who live at least 3 miles away from, and attend, their designated local junior, primary or denominational school of the child’s faith.
It is measured by the shortest route a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk with reasonable safety. If there is no such route, then your child will also be entitled to free transport.
Indicated Admission Number (IAN). This is the capacity divided by the number of year groups in the school. For example if the capacity of an 4-11 primary school is 210 places then with seven year groups the IAN would be 30. This indicates the number of pupils that can be admitted each year. The Published Admission Number (PAN) will, in most cases, be the same or higher than the IAN. If the PAN is lower then a notice has to be published in the local press explaining why.