Tag Archive for: reception year

Primary School Offer Day - a Guide for Parents

In April each year, parents of 3- and 4-year-olds get to find out which primary school has been offered to their child for the academic year they leave nursery/preschool. Starting school is a huge milestone for both child and parent and many parents will be anxious to secure their first choice. Today, we take a closer look at Primary School Offer Day. We’ll look to see how it works, what the likelihood of securing your first school choice is, and what to do if the school offer is disappointing.

When do Children in England Start School?

Although the compulsory school age in England is no later than the school term following their fifth birthday, most children in England begin Primary School at the start of the academic year following their fourth. That means a September start for most, with those children reaching the age of five during their first school year.

What is Primary School Offer Day?

Primary School Offer Day is the day that parents get to find out which primary school has offered their child a place for the next academic year.

When is Primary School Offer Day?

Primary school offer day normally occurs in England around mid-April (circa the 16th) each year. For 2023, it falls on Monday 17th April. The confirmation is announced by the family’s local council, by letter, email, or both. Some councils also allow parents access to an online admissions portal to view offers, sometimes a little earlier, although it varies from council to council.

How Likely Are You to Get Your First Choice of School?

Figures for 2023 are not available at the time of writing, but figures for 2022 suggest that over 92% of children were offered a place at their family’s first choice of school, and over 98% achieved an offer for one of their top 3 choices.

How Are Offers Decided?

Schools or local councils decide on offers for primary school places. Rules vary around the criteria they use for offers and these can be obtained from your local council. However, as a rule of thumb, the following are usually given priority:

  • Children in care, or who have been in care;
  • Children living close to the primary school in question;
  • Those with a sibling already attending the school;
  • Children with a specific religion if the school is a faith school;
  • Children who are eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium (this is special funding aimed at improving outcomes for disadvantaged children);
  • Children whose parents have worked for 2 years at the chosen school.

It’s worth bearing in mind that some schools are more popular than others, whether that’s because they have better reputations, are in more densely populated areas, or for any other reason. Some primary schools will therefore receive more applications than capacity allows, which will inevitably lead to some disappointed families. In such cases, the types of criteria above will steer the final choices for applicants. For those families that do not get an offer of a place with their first choice, local authorities must make an offer of a place at an alternative school.

Accepting or Declining Offers

Parents, or the child’s carer if applicable, must accept or decline the offer formally, by a specific deadline that will be confirmed with the offer along with details of any next steps.

What if You Don’t Like the Choice You Are Offered?

If you are a parent/carer and are not happy with the school choice being offered to your child, you have two options…

  1. Ask to be put on the waiting list for your preferred primary school choice.
  2. Appeal the decision in the hope that your original first choice becomes available after your case has been presented. An appeal would need to be submitted by contacting the school’s admission authority (find yours here). They would in turn provide an independent appeal panel, whose final decision would be binding on the authority. Learn more about the appeals process for parents here.

In both cases, you are advised to accept your initial offer first, so you have something to fall back on should your attempts to get your child into your preferred school prove unsuccessful. Accepting the original offer will not detrimentally affect an appeal or waiting list application in any way.

We hope that you have found this guide useful for when your child approaches the time to leave nursery or preschool and transition to primary school.

Nursery & Preschool Places in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery is in Edgbaston, near Birmingham, Ladywood, Bearwood & Harborne B16If you have a baby, toddler, or child under 5 and are looking for a good nursery/preschool in Edgbaston, or near Birmingham, do get in touch with Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery. We’d love to give you and your little one a guided tour and that’s by far the best way to see how well your child will fit in. All Government funded childcare schemes are supported. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of sending your child to Leaps & Bounds, please select an option below to get started and our childcare professionals will be delighted to show you around, answer any questions or indeed progress your application for a nursery/preschool place.

By the way, as well as being close to Edgbaston and Birmingham, we’re also located near families living in Ladywood, Bearwood, Harborne and Smethwick.

How to Prepare Children For School

Preparing will ensure that the transition from pre-school to school goes as smoothly and stress-free as possible.In today’s article, we take a look at the best ways to prepare children for starting school. Leaving pre-school and starting Reception Year at primary school is a huge step for them. It’s also a big step for parents/carers, of course. So, it’s wise for everyone to be as prepared as possible for the first day and week in particular. Preparing well will ensure that the transition goes as smoothly and as stress-free as possible. So, how do we go about preparing children for starting at school? Let’s take a look …

Nurturing School-Readiness at Pre-School

The good news is that a good nursery or pre-school like Leaps & Bounds will help children prepare for school by default. It’s one of the key goals of any good pre-school, in fact. Decent pre-schools will nurture “preschoolers” (aged from about 3 to 5 years of age) in all aspects of their learning and development. This includes academically, physically, socially, emotionally, in terms of communication and language and also, of course, in terms of introducing them to A good pre-school will teach children everything they need to know in order to be ‘school-ready’ by the time they start in Reception Year.everything they need to know in order to be ‘school-ready’ by the time they leave and start school. As well as encouraging independence and a level of self-confidence, the preparation at pre-school will also include introducing them to reading and writing and a good grounding in understanding the world. These and many other aspects of early eduction will all stand children in good stead, so they can hit the ground running from the moment they begin Reception Year at school.

So, placing your child into a good local pre-school by the time they’re 3 or 4 can pay huge dividends for your child — but don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what the Department for Education has to say about sending children to nursery/pre-school for ‘early years education’:

“Early childhood education benefits the educational, cognitive, behavioural and social outcomes of children in both the short and long term.”

The Government helps with free funded childcare hours at nursery/pre-school for 3 and 4-year-olds in England — and Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery in Edgbaston supports the scheme. (Learn more about free childcare funding for 3 and 4-year-olds here).

Nurturing School-Readiness at Home

Parents, carers or guardians of preschoolers can also do many simple things to help them become school-ready by the time they’re five …

Working in Partnership with Pre-School

Children will benefit if parents help them work towards the same learning and development goals as the pre-school.One very obvious way to help is to ensure that, even when at home, parents/carers work in partnership with the child’s pre-school, i.e. work towards the same learning and development goals for the child. Working on any weaker areas at home will help the child in terms of school preparedness.

Encouraging children to have a built-in desire to learn will help them in both the short and long term.

Visit the School

Visiting the school with the child will also help them be more prepared as they will know better what to expect when the time comes. Familiarity and knowing their way around, ahead of time, is also a very practical benefit of taking them for a school visit. Obtaining a school brochure or prospectus for the child will also help with this.

Find a Friendly Face

Finding out which friends are also going to the school will give children moral support.Finding out which friends are also going to the school will benefit them. If there are none, then a play date can be set up if you can get to know another family whose child is starting on the same day. Knowing one or more friends, who are going at the same time, will be good moral support for all parties. It’ll also stop them feeling isolated, alone or even abandoned, particularly in the first couple of days once they start.

Nurture Independence

Encouraging independence will greatly help children. If they learn to look after their own personal needs before they start school, it’ll help them once they begin. Toilet training, personal hygiene, dressing, tying laces, packing backpacks, eating and tidiness are all good examples of things they can learn at home before beginning school.

Personal & Social Skills

Encouraging independence will greatly help children once they begin school.Similarly, social skills like having good manners, being polite, knowing the difference between right and wrong, empathy for others and, of course, good communication skills will all help children thrive more easily once they’re at school. Parents/carers can help them with this.

Answer & Reassure

Answering questions or finding answers to questions that the child may have will also help to reassure them and allay any fears that they may have.

The Power of Positivity

Being positive with your answers will also help. Encourage children to feel excited about all the wonderful things they will be able to do and learn once at school. There might be new sports, new exciting topics, new equipment, wonderful games and opportunities — so encourage positivity. This is one of life’s big adventures, so don’t forget to remind them.

Prepare

Ensure that both you and your child know the drill for dropping off and picking up at each end of the school day.Nearer the start date, run through what’s likely to happen on the first day with your child, so they’re mentally prepared. Again, be positive about it all.

In the week or two before they start, ensure they get used to an appropriate bedtime and get sufficient sleep. Ideally, their body clocks should have adjusted fully to ‘school time’ before they actually start. So, even breakfast time may need an adjustment in the weeks preceding the start of school. This will all help them get through the day with good concentration and energy levels.

Another good tip is to ensure that both you and your child know the drill for dropping off and picking up at each end of the school day. Where is it done? What time? What is the best approach from a safety perspective? What security precautions does the school have in place should you unexpectedly need to send someone else to collect your child. The answers to all these types of questions will need to be known before the first day.

On the First Day of School

Ensure that the child's backpack is pre-packed with everything they'll need.When the big day comes, ensure that you are both fully prepared so that the start of school is stress-free for both you and your child. This includes:

  • Ensuring that the child’s backpack is pre-packed with everything they’ll need including any sports or P.E. clothes/footwear (suitably labelled with their name), any stationery, a calculator if needed and so on;
  • Ensuring they have sufficient food, snacks and drink should the school not be supplying them;
  • Making sure that the uniform fits, is clean, ironed and ready for the child;
  • Knowing the journey times and parking/dropping-off arrangements, because you don’t want to make your child late — especially on their first day;
  • Making sure that you have the contact details of the school and form tutor — and that they have yours — in case of any problems.

Just before you wave goodbye to your child, ensure they know who is picking them up and when. This will reassure them and is also for safety. Make sure you have agreed security arrangements for pick-up between yourselves and, of course, don’t be late when picking them up when the time comes.

A Wonderful Nursery & Pre-School in Birmingham, Near Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood & Smethwick

Leaps & Bounds nursery & pre-school is in Edgbaston, Birmingham B16, near Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood & Smethwick

Leaps & Bounds Nursery is rated as a Good Provider of childcare by Ofsted.Leaps & Bounds is an excellent pre-school and nursery in Edgbaston, Birmingham (B16). As such, it’s also ideally located if you are searching for pre-schools or childcare nurseries near Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood or Smethwick. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers absolutely thrive at the setting and we even have our own Forest School, where children get to benefit and learn from nature. One of our most important goals for every child is also to ensure they are school-ready by the time they leave us around the age of 5. If you have any questions, would like to bring your child for a visit or would simply like to apply for a place, please get in touch: