When and how to apply for your child to start in the reception year at a primary or infant school or in year 3 at a junior school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The date that all allocations of school places are announced in England is known as \u2018offer day\u2019. For September 2026 primary school starters this will be on 16 April 2026<\/strong>. More information can be found in the offer day section below.<\/p>\n\n\n Please note that the Local Authority will no longer send out letters to parent or carers of children inviting them to apply. If you have a child who is going to be starting school in September 2026 or transferring into a junior school in September 2026, register to receive a reminder by completing this form<\/a>\u00a0once the system goes live on the 15 November.<\/p>\n Before you apply we encourage you to:<\/p>\n You should apply to the local authority\u00a0where your child lives. For example, if Devon County Council is your local authority, you should apply on this site, but residents of\u00a0Plymouth, Torbay, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset should apply to their local authority<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please note: if your child currently attends a pre school or nursery setting attached to a school, or you have previously registered interest with a particular school, you will still need to complete this application form.<\/p>\n We will not\u00a0assume that you want a place at a particular school \u2013 even if you have an older child who already attends\u00a0or you live nearby.<\/p>\n Parents of summer-born children \u2013 with birthdays between 1 April and 31 August \u2013 can read guidance about delayed admission to reception here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Admissions Team can be contacted at admissions@devon.gov.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> The application system to apply for the new Reception Intake (Primary\/Infant School) in September 2026 or year 3 (Junior) in September 2026 is now closed.<\/p>\n The\u00a0closing date was 15 January<\/strong>\u00a02026<\/strong>. You can apply after this date but applications will be considered late and may be at a disadvantage. Please see the \u2018Late applications\u2019 tab for more information.<\/p>\n You cannot apply online after the closing date, so please contact the Education helpline on\u00a00345 155 1019<\/a>\u00a0and ask for a paper copy of the form to be sent to you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Applications close on 15 January<\/strong> each year. If you apply after this date, the application will be considered late unless you can demonstrate that you were unable to apply on time, for example, because of illness or a house move. For illness to be taken into account, it must have prevented an application being made.<\/p>\n If the reason you give is accepted and you are able to apply by the date when applications are processed by us, your application will be considered to have been made on time.<\/p>\n Please remember that:<\/p>\n We will email your child\u2019s offer of a school place on Thursday 16 April 2026<\/strong>. Please make sure your email address is kept up to date.<\/p>\n If you applied online, you can also\u00a0log into your online account<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a016 April\u00a0<\/strong>to find out which school has been offered.<\/p>\n We will offer your child one\u00a0primary school place. If a place was available at more than one of your preferences, the offer will be for the\u00a0school that can offer a place which was your highest preference.<\/p>\n If none of your preferred\u00a0schools could offer a place, we\u00a0will make an offer at another school. This may be the school designated for your address if it has a vacancy remaining or the closest school to your child\u2019s home with a vacancy.<\/p>\n The \u2018allocation breakdown\u2019 \u2013 information outlining the number of places available for each school, how many places were offered and whether the school is over-subscribed \u2013 is available:<\/p>\n\n
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