Now is the time for parents to register to receive an application pack to allow them to apply for a place at primary, infant or junior schools for the next academic year (2012/2013).

To help parents through the process, Wokingham Borough Council has produced two admissions guides available at www.wokingham.gov.uk/admissions – one for starting school and one for those pupils transferring to year 3 in September 2012 at a junior school, both include school visit information.

Parents are required to apply for school places through their home local authority (the authority to whom they pay council tax) even though their preferred schools may be situated in another local authority area. If parents are considering applying for schools outside the Wokingham Borough, it is recommended that parents obtain a copy of the relevant admission policy as the admission arrangements may differ from that detailed in the parent’s guide issued by Wokingham Borough Council. Equally if you live in another local authority and wish to apply for a Wokingham Borough school, please request a copy of the parent’s guide or download a copy from the council’s website.

Parents of those children starting school or transferring into year 3 at junior school, living in the Wokingham Borough, will be able to apply from the end of November, with a deadline for applications of January 16, 2012.Applications can also be made online at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/admissions.  Onlineadmissions will open on November 21, 2011.

Parents will be notified of their allocated schools on April 20, 2012.

Parents living in the Wokingham Borough, whose children were born between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008, need to register their child’s details with the council’s school admissions team. Application packs, including an admission guide and application form, will be sent to parents towards the end of November. 

The application form will allow parents to express up to four school preferences, an increase from previous years. Parents, living in the Wokingham Borough, with children in year 2 of an infant school will receive their application pack via their infant school.

Parents need to be aware that whilst they may well have registered an interest in attending an infant or primary school, or currently attend a nursery or foundation stage unit on a school site, a place will not have been reserved for their child and they must apply to the school admissions team for a school place using an application form.

Full-time school places will be offered to start school in September 2012. Parents will have the opportunity to request that the date their child is admitted to the school is deferred until later in the school year or until their child reaches statutory school age in that school year (the term after their child’s fifth birthday) and can also request that their child attend part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age. Further information is provided in the parent’s guide.

Cllr Rob Stanton, executive member for education services, said: "Our schools are popular and it’s very important that parents do not miss the deadline for applying for school places. Starting school or transferringto junior school is an exciting time for pupils, it can also be daunting as parents decide which schools to apply for and then wait and see if they have been successful. The council has increased the number of preferences a parent can make from three to four this year and the guides explain the process for applying for places and will help parents through the application process."

Parents wishing to request an application pack for primary, infant or junior school places should contact the school admissions team on (0118) 974 6245 or (0118) 974 6225 or complete the school application pack request form available at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/admissions