Apply for a primary school

Apply for your child to start reception class in September 2018

The online application process for your child to start in Reception at a Leeds Primary school or in Year 3 at a Leeds Junior school in September 2018 has now closed.

Any applications received after 15th January 2018 may not be considered until all the on time applications have been dealt with.

If you did not apply online before 15 January 2018 and wish your child to start in Reception in September 2018 or in Year 3 at a Junior school, please email education.annual.cycle@leeds.gov.uk or phone 0113 222 4414.

Important dates

Important dates for primary school applications
Date	Stage
1 November 2017 to 15 January 2018	Apply for a place
16 April 2018	Offers go out
30 April 2018	Waiting list deadline
16 May 2018	Deadline for accepting offers and appeals
April to July 2018	Places allocated from the waiting lists and appeals held
September 2018	Start primary school

Invitation to apply letters

If your child is due to start primary school in September 2018 you will have received a letter inviting you to apply before 1 November 2017.

Your address puts you in the priority catchment area for a particular school and the letter explained which school this is. It is the school at which your child has a higher priority for admission under the school admission policy, which might be the Leeds Primary Admissions Policy 2018/19 (PDF 65KB), or might be the school's own policy.

We recommend that you include this school as one of your five preferences, even if it is your fifth preference, although there is no guarantee that you will be offered a place there.

Before you apply

read the Leeds Primary Schools 2019/2020 Composite Prospectus for parents and carers (PDF 4.1MB) for all the information you require to guide you through the application process and to make an informed choice about your child’s future
view the Leeds Primary Schools map (PDF 2.8MB)
visit the schools you are considering applying for, information about primary open events is available on each school’s own website
use Find a school in Leeds for information about each school in Leeds, including their admissions policies. These will help you understand the criteria different schools use to offer places and therefore, which schools your child has a realistic chance of being offered a place at
speak to staff in the Admissions Team to clarify any issue you are not sure about, especially about the admissions policy. Please call 0113 222 4414, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Alternatively, you can email education.annual.cycle@leeds.gov.uk
consider how your child will get to school. Find out if your child is eligible for free transport or use generationM to find out details of school special bus services. These services are regularly reviewed – find out about the latest changes

How to apply

To apply online you will need a valid email address.

After completing your online application, you will receive an email confirming we have received it. If you don’t receive an email your application has not been completed properly. You should log back in and make sure the form is fully completed.

If you live outside Leeds and want your child to go to a school in Leeds, you must apply to your own local authority and they will inform us of your request.

Apply for a primary school

Supplementary information forms

Some schools require the completion of a supplementary information form (SIF). This should be completed in addition to your online application form. The SIF should be sent directly to the school.

You can check to see if a SIF is required by searching for the school you are applying for. If a SIF is required it will be available to download.

How places are offered		https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/SchoolsSearch.aspx, Find a school in Leeds			How places are offered		<div class="ExternalClass2D21F2557EE94875B3E4C51E381667E4"><p>The local authority is required to co-ordinate all applications for Reception and Year 7 places. This means we receive all the applications centrally, work with schools who determine their own admissions to gather information from them, and send out all the offer letters, making sure each child only receives one offer.</p><p>We consider all preferences at the same time, but whether we can offer you the place you want for your child will depend on your circumstances and the schools you have asked for.</p><p>We aim to offer your child a place at your first preference school, taking account of our admissions policy and admission arrangements, and any offers you get from Voluntary Aided, Foundation schools, Free Schools, academies or other authorities. Please note: Schools are not allowed to offer places on a ‘first preference first’ basis so your preference order only influences which offer is made where you could be offered more than one of your preferences.</p><p>We consider your preferences in the following stages:<br></p><ul class="list list-bullet"><li>you list your five preferences</li><li>we inform any Voluntary Aided schools, Foundation schools, Free schools, Academies, or other local authorities that you have preferenced their school. They apply their policy to decide who they can offer places to, and tell us</li><li>we apply the Leeds policy to see who we can offer places to at Community and Voluntary Controlled schools</li><li>if you meet the admission conditions for more than one school, we offer your highest preference school for which you qualify for a place</li><li>if we cannot offer your child a place at any of the schools you have preferenced we will allocate a place at the closest school to your home address that still has places available</li><li>this applies to all Community or Voluntary Controlled schools but may be a Voluntary Aided school, Foundation school, Free school or Academy if their governing body has given us permission to do so</li><li>if you live outside Leeds, we will not offer your child an alternative place<br></li></ul></div>
When will I find out what school my child has been offered?					When will I find out what school my child has been offered?		<div class="ExternalClass6ECC4C383C9C4D628FC429332790FA99"><p>If you applied online you will be sent an email with your offer letter attached on <strong>Monday 16 April 2017</strong>. If you applied using a paper form, offer letters will be sent out by second class post on <strong>Monday 16 April</strong>. </p><p>You should accept the school place you have been offered <strong> <a title="Link to Leeds City Council's school search" href="/residents/Pages/SchoolsSearch.aspx">directly with the school</a></strong>. This will not affect your position on a waiting list or your right to appeal. </p><p>If you don’t get offered a place at the school you want, you can ask to go on the <a title="Link to Leeds City Council's school waiting list web page" href="/residents/Pages/school-waiting-lists.aspx"> <strong>waiting list </strong></a>for other schools in Leeds. You can also <a title="Link to Leeds City Council's appeals web page" href="/residents/Pages/Admissions-Appeals.aspx"> <strong>appeal against the decision</strong></a>.<br></p><p>If you don't receive an email by the end of the day, please contact the Admissions Team on 0113 222 4414, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday or email: <a href="mailto:education.admissions@leeds.gov.uk"> education.admissions@leeds.gov.uk</a> </p></div>