Parents urged to apply for school places by Derbyshire County Council

Applications for children who were born between 1 September 2009 and 31 August 2010 will open on Monday (11 November).

Applying online is the easiest method. Just visit the school admissions section of our website at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/admissions. The deadline to submit applications is midnight on Wednesday 15 January 2014.

Applying online is quicker and allows parents to make changes to their application at any point up to the closing date. Anyone who applies online also receives an email to confirm their application has been received.

Parents who do not have access to a computer can Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190 between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and 9.30am and 4pm on Saturdays, and we will fill it in on their behalf.

When completing the application form parents will be asked to list, in order of preference, the three schools they would most like their child to go to.

Although parents have a legal right to express preferences they have no automatic right to a place at any particular school.

CounJim Coyle, Derbyshire County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “The early years of school are very important in a child’s life. We want parents to carefully consider which school they would like their child to go to and get their application in before the deadline to give themselves the best chance of success.

“If they miss the deadline they risk not getting a place for their child at their preferred school and that could mean them having to travel further or not getting in to the same school as their friends.”

Parents who don’t want to apply online or through Call Derbyshire can still choose to complete the paper form, which they can get by emailing [email protected] or ringing 01629 537499.

Applications submitted to Derbyshire County Council after the deadline will not be considered until places have been allocated to those children whose parents did return their form on time.

Parents who fail to meet the deadline may find that the school they want their child to go to is full.

Any parents who are a refused a place for their child have a right of appeal to an independent panel.

Apply for your child’s place online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/admissions