Primary School Admissions 2025
The primary school admissions process for children starting school in September 2025 commenced in October with a deadline in January for completing the application. For parents considering private education, the application window may be even shorter and each school will have their own timetable.
For many children the allocation of a primary school place is dictated by their location or other admission criteria, but for parents who have a choice between schools, deciding and agreeing which schools to select and which order to place them on the application can be a stressful process, which can become heightened if the parents are separated and cannot agree.
For children with an education, health and care plan a school might be named as part of the plan and a place would be allocated at that school. However, many children who are diagnosed with ADHD or ASD do not have or need a plan, but the choice of school can be critical. Parents should consider how any prospective school might support a child, both in the classroom and outside it and use a visit or tour of the school to ask the relevant questions and understand the school's SEN report.
For parents who do not necessarily share the same view about their child's needs, the situation and choice of school can become more complex. The choice of school is an issue of parental responsibility and to avoid conflict or assist to resolve disputes, parents should be fully informed about the schools by visiting them and ensuring that they have the facilities and resources to meet a child's needs. Any dispute should be considered in two stages - first the need to agree on the schools to which the parents wish to apply and then, once a place is allocated, a decision about whether the place should be accepted.
Mediation provides an ideal way to discuss and resolve these issues, but for parents for whom that is not an appropriate dispute method, they should take early advice about the ways in which they can narrow the ambit of any dispute and then seek to resolve it and the timing of doing so.
