Apply for a reception or junior place for September 2024
Our telephone lines will be answered during the followings times:
Week commencing 4 September from 8.30am to 5pm
Week commencing 11 September from 8.30am to 5pm
Week commencing 18 September from 9am to 4pm
Week commencing 25 September onwards from 9.30am to 3.30pm
Alternatively, you can email admissions@derby.gov.uk, we will respond to you within 2 to 3 working days.
How to apply
If:
- your child is starting school for the first time in September 2024 and
- you live in Derby.
or
- your child is in year 2 at an infant school and will be transferring to junior school in September 2024 and
- you live in Derby.
Follow these steps to apply for a school place:
- Find your nearest primary schools.
- Read how primary school places are decided in the Primary schools admissions handbook. (If you require this document in an accessible format, please email admissions@derby.gov.uk)
- Apply for a place.
If you live outside of Derby and need a place here, you should still apply to your current local council.
If you want a place at an independent school or private school, contact the school directly.
When to apply
You can make an application from 3 November 2023 until 15 January 2024.
Supplementary information forms
If you apply on grounds of religious faith, you will need to request a supplementary information form direct from the school.
Completed supplementary information forms must be returned direct to the schools by you.
These forms are not application forms but are important. They are required by the schools so that they can assess which criteria your application falls into, for example, if your child is baptized Catholic.
New school: Oak Grange Primary School
We are pleased to announce the opening of a new school within the Snelsmoor Housing project at Boulton Moor. The school is called Oak Grange Primary and it opened in September 2023.
The intake will be staggered to minimise any possible detrimental effects on neighbouring schools.
You can now apply for a Reception place at Oak Grange online.
For more information contact the School Admissions team, email admissions@derby.gov.uk or telephone 01332 642730.
Junior transfers
When applying for a junior transfer place, only three primary schools take in extra pupils.
- Dale Community Primary School
- Hardwick Primary School
- St. John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy.
If any other schools are named as a preference they will be withdrawn.
If you are applying for a place in a Roman Catholic school, you will also need to fill out a Roman Catholic supplementary information form.
Late applications
Applying late means you have less chance of getting your preferred school because we offer places to on-time applications first.
Places at your preferred school may have already been taken by on-time applicants.
National Offer Day
We will send offers of places on National Offer Day – 16 April 2024.
Separated parents
If the child’s parents are separated or divorced, there are various things that need to be considered depending on the situation.
What if the child’s parents live at separate addresses?
If the residency of your child is split between both parents, we consider the home address to be the address where the child lives for the majority of the school week (Monday to Friday).
If the child spends equal amounts of time at both addresses, you will be asked to nominate which address you wish to use for the purpose of allocating a school place.
If you fail to do so, we have the right to nominate the address that we consider appropriate, which will normally be that at which Child Benefit is received.
We may ask for evidence of your child's place of permanent residence.
What happens if both parents cannot agree on the choice of schools?
You are advised to reach an agreement with any other person who may submit an application for your child, such as another parent.
If one parent has parental responsibility (as evidenced by documentation), that parent's application is the one that will be accepted.
If parents are separated and both have parental responsibility, then they must determine between them who will make the application. If they cannot agree, then either parent may seek to have that determined by a Court.
In the event of a dispute between parents who do not have this matter resolved by the Court by the closing date, we will accept the application by the parent with whom the child resides the majority of the school week. Where that is equal we will determine whose application is progressed with reference to the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit.
If no one is in receipt of Child Benefit we will consider all of the circumstances and make a determination as to the application which will be accepted and provide our reasons for doing so. This will ensure the child has an active application for a school place.
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