Families will find out today April 17) the primary schools where their children have been offered places from September 2023. For the second consecutive year, nine out of ten are being offered their first preference.
Of the 16,978 Kent applicants, 16,709 (98.42%) will receive one of their three named schools and 15,295 (90.07%) will be offered their first preference.
KCC Director of Education, Christine McInnes, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer first preference places to 90 per cent of our children, which shows the broad selection of schools that Kent offers.
“The number of children who did not receive any of their preferences is under 1.6 per cent and, in many cases, this is because parents named fewer than three schools, which limited the options KCC could consider before assigning them an alternative.
“For those who are disappointed not to be offered any of their preferences, we appreciate this will be a concerning time, but we would remind them that this is only the first stage in the applications process.
“Many pupils will secure places through waiting lists in reallocation, and a specialist KCC team is on hand to help them make the most of the options available.
“We encourage those in that situation to visit the school where they have been offered a place and speak to the staff, so they can then make an informed decision about whether or not it is appropriate for their child.”
Parents and carers who applied online will receive an email after 4pm today (Monday, 17 April), indicating which school they have been offered; the timing of the email will depend on the email service provider.
Parents and carers who applied at www.kent.gov.uk/ola can also log in after 5pm to view the offer online. Those who did not provide KCC with an email address will be sent notification by first class post today.
Details of what to do if a family is not happy with their offer can be found in the correspondence from KCC or for more information go to www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions or email [email protected]
Parents and carers will have until Monday, 1 May, to accept or refuse their offer and request to join waiting lists. Further information is available at www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions and within offer emails or letters.
Any appeal should be lodged using the relevant appeal form by Tuesday, 16 May. More details on how to lodge an appeal can be found at www.kent.gov.uk/schoolappeals
KCC will reallocate places from schools’ waiting lists, sending out a second round of offers, on Wednesday, 7 June.
From Thursday, 8 June, schools will maintain their own waiting lists and parents can apply to schools directly after this date to ask to be placed on the waiting list. Parents and carers are advised to contact schools via phone or email to discuss whether site visits are possible.