Applying for Reception places

National Offer Day

Offers are being sent out through the day on 19 April 2022. If you applied on the portal you will be able to log in from midnight to check your offer. We are not able to provide offer information over the phone.

Check your Reception offer

Remember to respond to your offer by 1 May 2022. For further advice read the information below.

Quick links

• National Offer Day
• First waiting list run
• Making an application
• How Reception places were allocated in 2022

National Offer Day

If you have made an on-time application and have applied online, you will be able to view and respond to your offer of a school place by logging into the Citizens Portal.

https://www.newcastlelea.org/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en

If you made an on-time paper application, you will have to wait for your offer. If you have provided a valid email address, we will send you an email with your school offer, otherwise we will send you a letter in the post.

Frequently asked questions

Should I accept my offer?

Yes. Accepting your offer means your child has a school place confirmed for September.

If you refuse the place offered before securing a place in another school, you put yourself in a position where your child doesn’t have a school place for September 2022.

How were places allocated?

All applications for each school were considered against the oversubscription criteria in that school’s admissions policy. Any evidence you provided was considered by the admissions authority as part of this process. Where there were more applications than places available in the school, places were offered to students who were ranked highest against the oversubscription criteria.

If a student was able to be offered more than one school place, the highest preference has been offered. This is in line with the statutory national School Admissions Code 2021 and the local authority coordinated scheme.

We publish, for Newcastle schools, how applications were ranked and how many students were offered under each of the school’s oversubscription criteria. To view this information please see the “How reception and transfer places were allocated” page on Newcastle City Council’s website.

https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/schools-learning-and-childcare/apply-school-place/how-reception-and-transfer-places-were

I haven’t been offered any of my preferences

If your child has not been offered a place at one of your preferred schools, we will have offered you a place in an alternative school.

We recommend you accept the place at the school you have been offered and you will remain on the waiting list for your higher preferences (unless you tell School Admissions otherwise). If a space becomes available and you are top of the waiting list School Admissions will make you an offer. However, if you refuse the place you have been offered, and you are not subsequently offered a place from a waiting list, you will not be offered an alternative, which means that your child may not have a school place for September.

I haven’t been offered my first preference

Don’t worry, there can be movement in school places between National Offer Day and the end of the process.

Accept the place at the school you have been offered, this will make sure your child has secured a place in a school in September.

I have been placed on a waiting list

You will remain on waiting lists for higher preference schools that we have been unable to offer, even if you have accepted a place at another school.

If a place becomes available, we will offer out that place to the student top of the waiting list. We do this on set dates between National Offer Day and the end of August. Please see the “Key dates in the Reception process” on the Newcastle City Council website for more information.

School Admissions can provide you with an approximate position on the waiting list if this would help you make a decision about remaining on the waiting list. Please email admissions.information@newcastle.gov.uk for this information.

What happens if I am on a waiting list and a place becomes available?

If a place becomes available at a school and your child is top of that schools waiting list, we will automatically remove your current offer of a school place and offer you the higher preference school.

If you are happy with the school you have been offered, and don’t want to be considered for higher preference schools you must tell us by the deadline provided in the offer letter (for national offer day offers this is 1 May 2022). If you do not, you could lose the place at the school you want and might not be able to re-secure that place.

I have changed my mind about the school I want

You can make a new application for other schools which you have not previously expressed a preference for.

You can have a maximum of 4 preferences on your application form. Remember to include any schools you want to remain on the waiting list for as your highest preferences. Make sure that you order your preferences in your priority order (preference 1 is the school you want the most).

We recommend that you accept your current offered school place while your application is being processed.

If you would like advice about which schools have places and the process, please contact the team via email on admissions.information@newcastle.gov.uk or via phone on 0191 278 7878 (ask for school admissions)

I want to appeal

You have the right to appeal to an Independent Appeals Panel if your child has not been offered a place at a preferred school. However please be aware the panel has very limited grounds to allow an appeal.

Please consider your case carefully and seek independent advice from the Appeals Service by email to schoolappeals@newcastle.gov.uk or phone 0191 277 7427. You can also read more information about making an appeal and fill in the forms for schools which are supported by the local authority here: School Appeals.  

General advice

• Accept the school place you have been offered, even if it isn't your preferred school.
• You will remain on waiting lists for any schools that we have been unable to offer.
• Only refuse a school place if you have already secured a place at another school. If you refuse the school place offered, you are in a position where you don't have a secured school place for September 2022.

Waiting list advice

• You will have been automatically placed on the waiting list for any higher preference Newcastle school you haven't been offered. 
• Between National Offer Day and the end of August 2022, if a place becomes available at a school you are on the waiting list for, we will automatically remove your current offer and offer a place at this higher preference school.
• If you have been placed on a waiting list for a higher preference school and you are happy with your current school offer, you need to tell Newcastle School Admissions that you wish to be removed from the higher preference school's waiting list. If you don't this and a place becomes available at a school you are on the waiting list for, we will automatically remove your current offer to offer the higher preference. You may not be able to re-secure your original offer.

First waiting list run

The first waiting list run for on-time applications will take place on 9 May. All on-time applications will be reconsidered and new available places reallocated from waiting lists. 

Making a new application or changing preferences

Deadline to make a late application: 13 May 2022

Date late applicants hear result of application: 8 June 2022

• If your child is already on the waiting list for a school because of a previous application and you wish to remain on their waiting list, whilst also making an application for new schools, the school you are on the waiting list for needs to be named on your new application form as a higher preference.

Read:

1. Important information about Reception 2022
2. Legal information - School Admissions
3. Schools with places available - Reception 2022

Making the right choice

Find and compare schools

Use this search tool to find schools. This search tool allows you to :

• search for schools by postcode
• check school Ofsted ratings
• filter schools by religion

Find and compare schools

Visit the school

Visiting a school helps you decide whether it's right for your child. You'll be able to speak to teacher and ask questions.

Schools may have open days or you contact them to arrange a time to view the school.

Are you likely to be offered a place?

Each school has their own set of rules that they use to decide which children to offer a place to. This is called the oversubscription criteria and can be found in the schools admissions policy. Each oversubscription criteria is made up of different categories (you can see how these work in the example below).

You can see how places were offered in previous years in the below link: 

• How reception and transfer places were allocated

All applications are ranked using these rules. School preference order is only used if we can offer a place in more than one school, at which point we will offer the school which is your highest preference.

Oversubscription criteria example

• Read the oversubscription criteria for each school.
• Check which category your child comes under (see individual school's website)

Example

Ahmed applied to North East Primary as their first preference. Ahmed's child is not offered a place there, even though they live close to the school.

There were more applications than places so the school used their oversubscription criteria to decide who to give places to. 30 places were available:

• one place went to a child who had been adopted (category 1)
• 20 places went to children with a brother or sister at the school (category 2) 
• one place went to a child with an exceptional medical need meaning they could only go to that school (category 3)
• the remaining 8 places went to children who lived closer to the school than Ahmed and his child (category 4)

Instead, Ahmed was offer a place at their second preference of North Academy which also had 30 places available:

• 10 places went to children who had a brother or sister at the school (category 2)
• 20 places when to children who lived near the school, including Ahmed's child (category 4)

Apply here for your reception place