The way the school year is organised is different across the UK, but in each case, applications are made to the local council. The UK government site can help you find the council you need for your application here for England and Wales.
England
When can I apply?
In England, applications for primary school places usually open in September and close in January. Places are offered in April for the next school year starting in the September after your child turns 4.
Even if you want to defer or delay your child’s primary school place, you should still apply as if your child will be starting within their age group.
Primary schools will offer open mornings or tours to parents and carers who are interested in sending their child there. Visit the schools and speak with the headteacher or SENDCo to understand how they can support your child. You can ask them about deferring or delaying a place based on your child’s premature birth.
How does it work?
The process for requesting a school place outside of the normal age group will be on your local council or admission authority’s website. This will outline how to request your child’s place is delayed or deferred.
Only list the schools that have indicated they will support your decision to delay or defer your child’s school start. Without the support of the school, you are unlikely to have your request approved.
When applying for a place, the council may ask you to fill in an additional form outlining why you wish your child to have their place delayed. In some cases this application for delay needs to go to the school itself.
The council/authority will consider the parent’ or carers’ views, as well as social, academic, and medical information about the child. They will also consider what the headteacher of the school thinks.
In the case of premature birth, admission authorities must also think about the age group that the child would have been in if they were born at full term. Each decision should be considered individually and made in the best interests of the child. See our checklist for suggestions of the documents you can include to support your request.
The Department for Education has published a guide called Summer-born children starting school: advice for parents, which provides a step-by-step guide to making an application.
What happens next?
If your application to delay is accepted, you will need to go through the primary school application process again the following year. Please be aware that there is no guarantee that your child will receive a place at your chosen school.
If your request to delay is refused, you can make an in-year application for them to start school in Year 1. Or, you can accept the Reception space you’ve been offered and discuss options with the school itself - perhaps starting later in the year or part-time attendance.
There is no right to appeal the authority’s decision, but you can make a complaint. Once the complaints procedure has been completed, you can refer it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the Education and Skills Funding Agency if the school is an academy.
Wales
When can I apply?
In Wales, the school year starts in September. The local authority can help you understand what primary schools there are in your area and advise you on the best way to apply. The My Local School website also provides parents/carers with school data.
The admissions period usually opens during September and October and lasts for six weeks. Offers of primary school places are made in mid-April.
How does it work?
Applications for places in community schools and voluntary controlled schools go to the local authority, which makes the decision about offering places. Applications for places in voluntary aided and foundation schools go to the schools directly, and the governing body decides on admissions.
Because children do not have to be in school until they reach compulsory school age (the term after they turn 5), the admissions authorities in Wales must offer parents the chance to defer entry until later in the school year.
What happens next?
The place is held for that child so they can join later in the Reception year. They will need to start before the end of Reception. Or, they will lose their place and will have to reapply for a start in Year 1 (they would not usually join the next Reception class).
See our checklist for suggestions of the documents you can include to support your request to delay or defer your child’s start at school.
Scotland
When can I apply?
In Scotland, the school year runs from mid-August to around the end of June. Year groups are typically split based on birthdays that fall between the start of March and the end of February the following year. Children born in January and February are therefore often the youngest in the school year, and the phrase “summer-born” is not used.
Each council in Scotland has its own process for primary school enrolment. Details are provided on council websites. Enrolment dates vary and are usually between early November and the end of February. Contact your local council to see the details for your area.
How does it work?
Places at primary school are allocated according to catchment areas – a place is generally offered at the school closest to where you live.
If you write to a council and request a place in a particular school, this is known as a placing request. The council has a duty to grant such a request wherever possible.
The Scottish Government has published a guide to help you select a school. It recommends visiting your local schools and meeting with headteachers. The Scottish Government’s Parentclub website also provides useful information about starting school.
Delaying entry to primary school:
If your child is still age 4 on the day they would usually start Primary 1, you have the right to delay (or defer) when they start primary school. This means they can start school the following August when they’re 5, even if they were not born premature. (There is no option to start school part-way through the year.)
What happens next?
All children who defer are automatically entitled to an additional year of funded early learning and childcare before they start school.
Children who defer entry to school will not miss any years of primary education. However, when a young person is legally allowed to leave school depends on when their 16th birthday falls. This means that young people who have deferred entry to primary school are able to leave secondary school at an earlier stage than their younger classmates.
The Scottish Government’s Parentclub website provides helpful information if you are thinking about delaying your child’s entry to school.
Northern Ireland
When can I apply?
The school year in Northern Ireland starts in September. Children aged 4 years old on or before 1 July start their primary education from the following September. This means that the oldest children in the year are those with birthdays from 2 July onwards. The youngest have their birthday in April/May/June and on 1 July. They are known as “young for year”.
How does it work?
Applications for places are made through the online Education Authority system. The Education Authority’s step-by-step guide can help parents through the application process.
Under current laws, children must start school at the age of 4, meaning that there is no way of delaying or deferring unless there is a Statement of Special Educational Needs.
However, with the support of TinyLife premature baby charity, the Department of Education has been petitioned to change this to allow premature summer-born children (in this case those born between 1 April and 1 July)[1] to start school in the year that they were due to be born.
What happens next?
The School Age Bill passed its Final Stage in the Assembly in February 2022 and the Department for Education will be working with the Education Authority to give the option of deferral to parents and carers from September 2022.
This means premature children born “young for year” will have the option to start primary education in the September following their fifth birthday, instead of a year earlier.
See our checklist for suggestions of the documents you could submit to support your request to delay or defer your child’s start at school.
