2. Fint out who determines admissions to your choice of school
Admissions are handled either by the local authority, or by the school itself. If you have not applied, you have less chance of your child being offered a place at the school you want. This is true even if your child is at a nursery which is linked to an infant school, or at an infant school which is linked to a junior school. Make sure you know exactly how your school decides on admissions to get an idea of your chances of your child being admitted. 

Admissions to primary school: when to apply
An information booklet for parents about how to apply for a school place will be mailed out in October. Copies are made available for distribution to parents and they must also be made available at public libraries. The booklet informs parents about how admission arrangements work and when to make their application for a school place.

What is the 'admission authority'?
A school's admission authority is the body responsible for setting and applying a school's admission arrangements.  For community or voluntary controlled schools, the Local Authority is the admission authority; and for foundation or voluntary aided school, the governing body is the admission authority.

Primary admissions the process - the local authority has a common application form which only covers the primary schools in that area. If the primary schools you wish to apply for are situated in your local authority, you complete the authority's form; if you want to apply for schools in another local authority area, you must contact that local authority and apply using their application form. This means you may need to complete more than one form.

Once you have completed the form, the local authority passes your application the admission authorities of each school so that they can decide if your child should be offered a place, based on their published admission arrangements contained in their prospectuses or local authority booklet. If your child is eligible for a place at more than one of your preferred schools, you will be offered a place at the school you ranked as your highest preference.

If you have moved into a new area or want to change schools, your local authority should be able to advise you on how to apply for a new school.

It is important to read the local authority's instructions carefully before sending the application
All local authorities set a deadline for receiving applications, so you will need to send your form back to the correct address in good time. Make sure to find out whether you are expected to provide any extra information to support your application. For instance, if you are applying to a voluntary-aided church school, you may need a reference from your parish priest or minister. Boarding schools are permitted to interview to assess suitability for a boarding place. If you are applying to a grammar or partially selective school, or a school that adopts banding, your child may have to sit an entrance test.