Primary school

Following cus sameee its stressing me out!!

You will apply between November 2025- Jan 26 I just googled it

Depends when you want them to start. I'll be applying this winter for Molly to start September 25 but they don't legally have to start until they're 5 (usually the September after their 4th birthday for reception) Depends what's important to you. Class size? How much indoor/outdoor time? Religious views? Class mix? Teaching methods? How their standard day is set out? I personally liked that my older girls school did a lot of outdoor stuff and hands on fun learning stuff. Molly on the other hand, will go to a different primary school as the one I've chosen is better with children who have extra needs x

@Corinne we have a Molly too! When I first skimmed over your comment I was like BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW 😂🙈 I thought it would be Sept 26 our Molly would start, so she would be 4 years and 10 months old right? If so, when would we start applying from your experience? I realise this is all obvious maths, and I have also tried to read online but we have a 13 week old baby who is yet to sleep without multiple night feeds so my poor brain is struggling! I need someone to explain it to me like I'm 5 years old 😂😭 usually I'm really organised and on it with everything and I don't like the fact that my brain is refusing to comprehend this..

@Rhiannon thank you! I'm not sure why but I was even more confused after googling. I think I'm just sleep deprived and tieing myself in knots 🙈

@Katie it's properly giving me anxiety at the moment. Think it's also because we are adjusting to life with a 3 month old baby so I feel all out of routine and where I'd usually be organised I'm just absolutely not and then I realised that term starts soon for Sept and that I've no idea what to do about applying!

Teacher and toddler mummy here. The schools near you will do open mornings in October/November so, if you can, get booked in them. You can obviously do it the year you’re applying but equally you can have a look around the year before too. Check out the school’s website/facebook pages as they normally give a good idea of what’s happening there. If you have a SEND need, you can ask for A tour with the SENco to talk through the provision that the school can give your child.

@Rachel lack of sleep is a killer isn't it So if you want your child to go to nursery school. It's the September after they turn 3 years old, so September 2025. This is usually half day sessions If waiting until the legal start age for school. They will start reception class the September after they turn 4, so September 26 The applications open from the September before I think. So you'd apply through your council website September to December 2025 (I think) for a September 2026 start I just called all the schools I was interested in and asked if possible to go and view them. They were all very accommodating and answered all questions I had. You tend to get a feel for what you like/don't like and the atmosphere and layout of the school x

@Sarah thank you so much this is great! I'll have to make a Facebook account I think, so much stuff seems to be on there now! Will call around mid Sept once the back to school rush is settled x

@Corinne thank you soo much! This makes sense now, honestly not sure why I've been struggling so much x

Teacher here as well. Best thing to do is go and have a look around. I also look on their progress scores to show whether children have made decent progress in between their assessments. Also have a look if there is a relatively recent ofsted report (take it with a pinch of salt and if it’s old then it’s pointless) I’ve ruled out my local school for now because their progress scores doesn’t make sense based on when the new curriculum came in so it looks like something weird is going on there. Their sats pass rate was only 30% for their pre-covid scores which is very low (I’d be looking for 60% and above). https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk I’d also think about the size of the school. In single form entry schools the teacher has to do all planning independently whereas there is more collaboration and support in larger schools.

@Steph thats really helpful thankyou!!