Applying for primary school for September 2025

APPLYING FOR A PRIMARY SCHOOL PLACE FOR SEPTEMBER 2025

If your child turns 4 between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025, he or she will transfer to primary school in September 2025. From Monday 16 September the website www.sthelens.gov.uk/admissions is open for parents who wish to apply online.

You will be notified on 16 April 2025 confirming your child's school place.

The closing date for you to submit your application is 15 January 2025.

Before submitting your application, please read the Primary Parent Booklet (PDF) [20MB] which contains useful information about the application process, including: how places will be allocated, definition of home address and how late applications will be dealt with.

Deferred entry to primary school

Parents may request that their child's entry be deferred until later in the school year following their fourth birthday, providing they do not defer beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age.

Children born in the summer term are not required to start school until a full year after the point at which they could first have been admitted - the point at which other children in their age range are beginning Year 1. In all cases, parents will be advised to discuss any request for deferred entry with the relevant primary school.

Admission of children outside their normal age group

As a general principle, the local authority believes that children should be educated within their chronological peer group. The National Curriculum enables schools to modify both the curriculum offered and the assessment procedures in order to meet individual needs. Inclusion, therefore, should be promoted through curriculum differentiation within the classroom, rather than by moving the child into another year group.

The School Admissions Code makes it clear that it is school admission authorities who are responsible for making the decision on which year group a child should be admitted to but they should make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned.