Applying for a school WILL become an obsession at one point in your life if or when you become a parent – if you have more than one little human chances are their siblings are automatically accepted into school so horay! worry no longer, this is the general rule of thumb in the glorious world of school applications, then you have secondary school to think about – a completely different realm entirely.

Are you having sleepless nights about your child starting reception? don’t have a clue where to start and how to apply? what are the different calibre of schools? what to expect for the first year of their reception class? how to have them ready – and what do they need to already know? 

You may want to read this – I have you covered.

You are over-thinking about wanting to make the transition from nursery, childminders, and pre-school to reception class as smooth as possible. You will need to be inundated with how to prepare them, what to expect and along come the school office politics – worry about that aspect later! I may have a separate blog post for that topic *scrunches face* 

First, let’s breakdown of the ‘types’ of schools

There are four to five types of schools in the U.K, sometimes they can come in different ‘classifications’ and various headings but here is the general listicle:

• State schools also known as community schools sometimes called local authority maintained schools – You have both primary and secondary schools that are funded by the government. They offer free education to those who are from ages 3-18, they are funded solely by the government and anyone is offered a free place based on any circumstance, you need to fit the admissions criteria which is the usual you fit in the catchment area and are of required age. 
• Voluntary aided state schools often known as Faith schools, voluntary and foundation schools, one of the most desired for the majority – They differ from other maintained schools in that only 90% of their capital costs are met by the state, with the school’s foundation contributing the remaining 10%. Usually the buildings are owned by the religious organisation of governors. Offers are made if you are of practising faith, often your child needs to be baptised since they were born and have a priest referral, this is one of the few important factors required by the admissions criteria needed to be accepted to a faith school. The majority of faith schools have a outstandingly good ofsted reports. 
• Public schools a.k.a as a private school, this can be quite confusing the term public and it being a private school. You pay a substantial fee per term. It is exclusive and is expensive, these insituations can also be boarding schools. They are selective and and high requirements are needed. 
• Independent private schools – NOT funded by the government overseen by a government of board trustees and governors. There is a fee to pay per term and these type of schools and do not follow the National curriculum. They offer higher academic standards, better facilities and a greater choice of extracurricular activities. For most of the private schools, this is true. Parents often start applying for these schools as soon as they are born 

“The tedious part, checking the admissions criteria, don’t read too much between the lines. I think I spent a lot of time worrying about this part

So let’s start with the mundane dates, if your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they will be starting reception in primary school from September 2024.

For those applying this year, the application process opened on 1 September 2023 and closed on 15 January 2024. The national day offer is 16 April 2024. The admission site is open for you from 1 September 2023 to register your details and to make for a reception place)

When Lucas turned 2 years old I sent my best friend a hysterical and frantic whatsapp saying I realised I needed to start Lucas’s school applications! The whole process seemed so daunting, I already knew more or less what school I wanted Lucas to go to but when exactly do I apply? Have I maybe missed the cut-off date? and what are the requirements? I was two steps ahead of myself which gave me plenty of time to prep.

Whether you are a practising individual of religion or not, you can still get a good overview of what school to choose – then quite literally sweat it until National Offer Day. Fortunately, I had family and friends for the support of ‘how the system’ worked – I am aware that many people don’t know where to source their information apart from the glorious google search. Some pointers I wish I had known beforehand!

8 ‘in a nutshell’ guide into applying to reception:  

• Children in the UK will start reception class following their fourth birthday, so you need to be making the application a year prior. This is the compulsory age a child needs to be – HELPFUL NOTE: If your child is not ready for school and you think they are not ready to start school you can delay your admission, you can talk to the schools you apply with. Summer Birthdays are from 1st April – 31st August. So if you apply just at the cut-off date, say if your child’s Birthday is on September 1st and they turn 5 they can start reception instead of going straight to year 1. ‘Ideally’ they recommend a child to start reception with peers of the same age group other than limited circumstances, and if there is primary source that can back this circumstance. 
• All info like dates to apply and deadlines for admissions will be on your Local authority of the area/postcode you live in. So go to your council website, both the GOV and admissions websites are your main base for applications and information. The deadline for making an application is usually mid-January, late applications will not be ignored and still be considered but it is ideal to get the application on time. 
• The next step is to look at schools and you can find the list on the GOV website. I highly encourage you to go to open days – I emailed and called the school to book a spot. Because I was applying to faith schools I researched the faith schools in the ‘catchment area’ I was living in. 
• The tedious part, checking the admissions criteria, don’t read too much between the lines. I think I spent a lot of time worrying about this part I started googling ‘how many of the list of criteria would you need to check off in order to get into your school of choice’ and thinking the worst if I did not get our first choice – then why? how would I appeal even before it happened? trying to work out how how the the system worked and over thinking. If you are choosing a voluntary aided school which is usually a faith school you require a priest reference from your local priest, your child had to be of baptised as young as when they are born which was the case for Lucas so we decided on a faith school, probably the most desired of al schools for parents in the U.K but I guess everyone has their own personal preferences. If you are not of a religious background you may choose to apply for a fully state-funded school which receives funding from from local authorities or directly from the government, not influenced by religion or business. In short, the most important factors that you need to tick off from the criteria are; children who already have siblings attending the school will be automatically accepted, and you have to be in the catchment area. Children in forster care are also priortised. It also depends on how subscribed a school is, so they have a over subcription criteria What does over-subscribed mean? when there are too many children of the same age applications then there are places at the schools being applied to. 
• Read the OFSTED reports, I desired to read the reports and read what drives the school and how it is performing academically as well as in all other areas, what made the schools tick, what stood out as being the most important factors for me and choice for my child. Most people might skip this part, but it’s a good idea to get an insight if that is what is important for you as a parent. It can give you an overview of how the school is operating as a whole.
• How do the local authorities determine the acceptance of a child? Your child will be added to each list from each school and then ranked according to meeting the criteria, this will often determine a place being offered. The order in choice in which you have made an application will not be taken into consideration, so if you ranked a school first or second choice does is not taken into consideration in the application process. 
• There are waiting lists and you can APPEAL – The important is to visit the Child Low Advice Service website for info on lodging appeals. I guess what you want to know is do you stand a chance when you appeal? About 10% of appeals are heard there has to be an exceptional circumstance or there has been proof of a substantial error in the application. Or that a child’s well-being will be affected or suffer if they don’t go to the specific school. You can still win it so don’t stress over it there is alot of useful info online, if you have a solid argument and solid references you can win anything so don’t feel discouraged.  
• National offer day is usually on April 16th – you may be sweating up until this point, but trust me all the worry can be for nothing. I remember getting the news via an email and thought I had been way too tough on myself worrying over nothing – and remember you can always appeal the decision or you can be put on waiting lists for the first school choice or any of your other choices and in most cases depending on your place Childs name is on the list you still have a good chance in getting allocated a spot – you will be surprised in how much movement goes on in the start of the school year. Also, any school you have picked as your 3-4 choices will be great for your child so don’t beat yourself up about it! You get 5-6 amount of choices and just a note if you get your first choice always or not to ACCEPT the offer right away or you end up missing out completely, but nothing to worry about. Don’t sweat the process – trust me which ever school you are allocated will always be the best option for your child and good luck! 

“Talk to your child about their first day, I recommend weeks before to give them a heads up so they are mentally prepared and you don’t take them by surprise“

Some small little pointers before you stand at the door and let your little cargo’s go start a new journey… 

• Talk to your child about their first day, I recommend weeks before to give them a heads up so they are mentally prepared and you don’t take them by surprise, can you imagine how terrifying it maybe to take them off guard and them not knowing anything about their new school, the more they know the better and they’ll feel much better on the day. It all boils down to having a positive and upbeat language between you and your child, avoid any negative words –  I can recommend a good almost God send resource I found on instagram called the biglifejournal, it’s a cool little corner on the inter webs where it gives you science based tools to raise confidence in your child, their little grid is great for resources in how to phrase certain things to your child, it is handy and I use it all the time – obviously there is no wrong or right way to talk to a child but some can be rephrased as like your tone of voice, it gives you examples of instead of saying: x try: y. 
• Also really important, validate their feelings ask them how they are feeling? Once they know they have their feelings validated they will feel more confident about starting school with no worries. The best thing you can do for your child his to listen to them, encourage them to feel what they need to feel. Also, a little trick I learnt is when I child is feeling particular self sabotaging to themselves or you can use this method regardless is turn it around, revert it back to yourself mirror them say you understand how they feel and you feel the same way to, that way they feel better and it is like validating their feelings and reassuring them.
• Make them aware that they can approach their teacher about absolutely anything – the sooner they get used to their teacher and classmates they settle in quicker.
• Get aquatinted with other parents, you will see them for a long time in most cases for the next 5 years – remember often you make friends with parents to create friendships for your child and also if your lucky you may find your new best Mummy friend from the crowd. 
• Ideally make sure they are toilet trained, that they can put on their shoes (laces can come later no pressure on this) use cutlery – teaching them how to dress themselves can ignite their independence, often not the best when you are running late but it be great if they could get started early – personally these were all things Lucas learned when he started childminders, we followed it through to when he started reception. 
• If your child went to pre-nursery or childminders chances are that they have learnt the basic Phonics, Synthetic phonics is a method of teaching reading. While the English language is one of the most complex languages in the world, Phonics breaks it up into simple, manageable chunks. So it be great if they can already recognise certain letters and numbers. If they can recognise their own name, then great! if they can just about write their name or at least recognise letters this will be beneficial, but you have to remember that there is no pressure for them to know this, there are all elements they WIIL learn at reception. 
• Don’t forget WATER BOTTLES and school uniform (if they are wearing uniform) to ALL be labelled – remember not all parents have all their marbles together and are lastminute.com is that is O.K too. Spare clothes and underwear; check, water bottle with name on it, you can order on amazon and have sticker letters provided with the water bottle, time-saver! The best water bottles for us have been from the Disney store, they are stainless steel they are not too heavy regardless it being stainless steel, and have lasted longer for us so we don’t end up purchasing water bottle after water bottle and they keep the water at a cool temperature for in the spring/summer. 
• Create a folder for all the loose paper and art stuff that looks like trash that the kids will bring home – trust me the influx was real when Lucas started reception although guilty of being a bit of a harder I found it hard to throw away some. Muji do some good folders with pockets, where Lucas can keep what he loves and look back on with pride. We have held onto an array of Lucas’s little dioramas from school, even his book themed diorama that Mummy helped him with and won best Diorama on children book day 🙂
• Don’t be on the phone when dropping them off – it’s OK to take a little snap but put your phone away!
• Say goodbye properly – look them in their eyes and let them know that you are returning later to pick them up. 
• Lastly, make it fun be psyched up on the first day your child will feel your good energy. It can be very over-whelming moment in both yours and your child’s life – rest assured all the things you were worrying about become a distant memory and your kids always settle in and thrive, it’s one of the most memorable and best times of their lifes – trust in the process. You will be stunned by how MUCH they actually learn in the first year of reception, they develop their own little personalties, likes and dislikes it is really cute. 

Lucas thrived quickly and has come a long way they all will do, and remember all kids learn on different levels so don’t beat yourself or compare your child to their peers, good luck!

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