Choosing A School For Your Child
School admission applications and placing requests for session 2023-2024 Applying for a P1 primary school place for your child
East Renfrewshire Council invites you to apply for a P1 catchment place for your child at your local primary school for school academic year 2023-24.
You must apply for a place at your catchment school even if you intend to make a placing request to another school; if you intend to educate your child privately or at home you should still inform your local catchment school of your intention.
You may choose to apply for a catchment place for your child in either the local denominational or non-denominational school. Furthermore, the Council is proceeding with plans to introduce Gaelic Medium Primary Education (GMPE), commencing with P1 children only from August 2023, and applications for this provision can also be submitted.The Council has recently consulted on the proposal for GMPE to be located atThornliebank Primary School, and a decision on this will be made by the Education Committee on 8 December 2022. If making an application for GMPE you will also be asked to record the preferred English medium catchment school also. Further details on the planned GMPE service including school admissions process, is available in the Council's recent public consultation on the location of the service: https://bit.ly/ERCGMPE
For P1 catchment school applications you can apply online via our online application form. The application form will be available on the Council's website at
https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/apply-for-p1 where you will also find a copy of the Council's school admissions policy. If you are unable to access the form online please contact Admissions on 0141 577 3246.
Online applications should be made from 1 December 2022 until 20 January 2023. Any catchment applications after 20 January 2023 should continue to be submitted using the online form. However, it is advisable, where possible, to make your application by this date as this provides you with the optimum chance of securing a place in your preferred school.
Catchment applicants must submit documentary evidence to validate the catchment application, including the child's birth certificate, a child benefit statement where appropriate, the most recent copy of Council Tax Notice, most recent mortgage statement or tenancy agreement and recent utility bill. If you are not in receipt of child benefit the Council will also accept a driving licence or bank statement (with transactions in the last 3 months). If your child is of Roman Catholic faith, as evidenced by a Roman Catholic baptismal certificate, and you are applying for a place in a Roman Catholic denominational school, you should also provide the Roman Catholic baptismal certificate.
Parents/carers will be required to submit their documentary evidence digitally via an online portal. Guidance advising how evidence can be submitted will be provided in the automated response email which parents/carers will receive only once a catchment application has been submitted. Should any parent/carer not be able to apply for a catchment school place online or submit digital versions of the required documentary evidence, please contact the School Admissions Team as detailed below for further guidance.
Placing requests
Most school children attend their local primary or secondary school, but parents/ carers can choose to apply for a place for their child in another school.
If you are interested in making a placing request for a school in East Renfrewshire, visit the Council's website at https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/placing-requests where you will find information on the processing of placing requests (including the criteria used for prioritising placing requests when there are more requests received than places available) and can apply online. If you are unable to access the form online please contact Admissions on 0141 577 3246. Placing request applications for the school session beginning August 2023 should be received by the Education Department between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2023 by:
• applying online, via the Council's website;
• or sending a completed paper copy of the application form where you are unable to access the online form to:
PLACING REQUESTS, East Renfrewshire Council Offices, Education Department, 211 Main Street, Barrhead, East Renfrewshire G78 1SY.
Applications received after 31 January 2023 will be treated as late applications.
Deferred school entry and eligibility from 1 August 2023: Catchment Residents
If your child is not yet 5 years old on 1 August 2023, you can defer your child's entry to primary school by a year. If your child is deferring entry to school for a year, you will get an extra year of early learning and childcare funding. You need to let us know if you want to defer your child's entry to school so that we can allocate them another year at nursery: even if deferring your child's entry to P1 you must submit a P1 application and record your request to defer. Should deferral applicants decide at a later date that they wish for their child to commence their primary education in August 2023, the School Admissions Team should be advised of this as soon as possible. Late P1 applicants will be less likely to be allocated a P1 place at the preferred catchment school.
Parents/carers of deferred children are required to apply for a P1 catchment place for the commencement of the next school academic year, in December 2023. By deferring a school place there is no higher priority allocated to applicants for the following year; all applications will be processed in accordance with the Council's school admissions policy regardless of previous deferral.
For more information on deferring entry to school visit the Council's website.
General
If you reside within, or are in the process of becoming resident within East Renfrewshire and wish to apply for a school place for any other year stage, please contact the School AdmissionsTeam for further guidance. If your child is currently in the P7 year stage and attends an East Renfrewshire school, the school admissions team will be in contact to advise of the process for transitioning to secondary school.
If you require further information about a particular school you should contact the school directly or visit the school's website. The links for these websites can be found on the Council's website.
The Education Department will process applications fairly and transparently in accordance with its school admission arrangements which are published on the Council's website. In doing so the Council will conduct checks to establish the accuracy of information supplied which may include visits to premises or surveillance in cases where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. Any attempts to obtain a place by deception will result in the rescinding of your application/placing request and may result in the matter being passed to the Procurator Fiscal's office for consideration of criminal proceedings.
Mark Ratter
Director of Education
East Renfrewshire Council