Applying for early or late admission to primary school

Applying for early admission

In very exceptional circumstances, you can request for your child to start Reception early (for children born after 31 August 2019).

What evidence you need

In your application, you can include support from the headteacher of your child’s nursery or early years setting, or an educational psychologist providing evidence that your child is academically outstanding and sufficiently physically and emotionally mature to cope with the demands of primary school.

If we agree to let your child apply early

If we comply with your request to allow your child to participate in the admissions scheme early, you need to agree that your child will transfer to primary school with the earlier cohort, regardless of the outcome of your application, and you will not qualify to participate in the admissions scheme the following year.

Later admission

In very exceptional circumstances, you can request a delayed admission for your child to Reception (for children born before 1 September 2018).

What evidence you need

In your application, you can include support from the headteacher of your child’s nursery or early years setting, or an educational psychologist providing evidence that your child has learning delay or difficulty, and their social maturity is well below that of their peers.

If we agree to let your child apply late

If we comply with your request to allow your child to participate in the admissions scheme late, you need to agree that your child will transfer to primary school with the later cohort, regardless of the outcome of your application. You must not have participated in the transfer scheme the year before.

The implications of applying early or late

You must consider the implications of starting Reception early or late. Headteachers of primary schools are not required to continue to keep the child out of year group. This means they may decide to later educate your child in the correct year.

How to apply

If you want your child to start school at an older or younger age, you still need to apply through the normal admissions process, and include the additional evidence outlined above.