Primary schools admissions information

Posted by Now Cardiff on Aug 13, 2012

The first day at school is a key milestone in all children’s lives so Cardiff Council is reminding parents of the need to register their preferred options for primary schools for their child to attend in 2013/14.

Children born between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009 should start primary school in September 2013.

The Council wants to make the process of applying for a school place as easy as possible for parents and carers and is targeting parents and carers of pre-school children who are not currently attending any community nursery or who do not have a nursery place funded by Cardiff Council in a private or voluntary sector nursery. The Council is encouraging these parents to provide their children’s details to Cardiff Council’s Education Service by the September 3 deadline in order for them to receive a preference form for primary schools when they are issued in October.

Parents of children already attending a community nursery, or who have a Council funded place in other nurseries, do not need to contact the Council as their child’s details are already held and a preference form will be sent out automatically.

Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Julia Magill, said: “It’s extremely important that parents whose child was born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 but whose child does not attend a community nursery, or have a place in another nursery funded by Cardiff Council contacts the Council’s Education Service by 3 September to request a preference form for primary school admission.

When the preference forms for primary schools are sent out in October it is crucial that all parents and carers of children born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009, complete and return the preference forms to indicate the preferred school for their child to attend. There are strict deadlines in place for applications so parents must ensure that the Council receives details of their preference by noon on 3 December 2012. Some parents have been very distressed over the last year to find that their child could not attend the primary school of their choice because they missed the deadline for applications”

There are three easy ways to make sure you receive a preference form – call the Admissions office on 029 2087 3816, email your child’s name, address and date of birth to admissions@cardiff.gov.uk or write to Schools Admissions, Education Service, County Hall, Cardiff CF10 4UW.

For the first time in Cardiff, parents will also have the opportunity to submit applications online using Cardiff’s online Application Service which will be available in October at www.cardiff.gov.uk

The published closing date for receipt of preference forms and online applications for all applications to primary and secondary schools is December 3, 2012 (12 noon). If parents do not submit their forms by this date, their application will not be considered in the first round of applications.

For more information on school admissions, visit www.cardiff.gov.uk/schooladmissions