At today’s (Wednesday December 18th 2024) meeting of the Council’s Education, Children’s & Families Committee a consultation was approved to take place in the new year.
Nearly 95% of pupils get place at first preference primary school for this September
Nearly 95 per cent of Sheffield children eligible to start primary school in September this year (2024) have been allocated their first preference.
Parents and families across Sheffield today learned which primary school their children have been allocated as they start their educational journey in reception.
Overall, 98.87 per cent of pupils were allocated one of their three preferences.
The following outcomes are reported for Sheffield Local Authority based on the position at the national allocation date of 16 April 2024:
- First preferences met - 94.53% (5,406 pupils)
- Second preferences met - 3.78% (216 pupils)
- Third preferences met - 0.56% (32 pupils)
- No preferences met - 1.13% (65 pupils)
This represents a slight decrease on the figures for 2023, where 5,587 pupils (95.34%) were allocated a place at their first preference primary school.
Whilst the number of preferences met is very high, it is unfortunately not always possible to accommodate all catchment area applicants because places are limited by the size of the school.
If a pupil has not been offered a place at one of its three preferred schools, a place will be offered at the nearest available school.
Appeals
Parents of pupils not eligible for a place to any of their preferred schools have the right to appeal against the refusal to an independent appeal panel. Further information will be sent to parents about the appeal procedure. Appeals will be held between June and July.
The Local Authority holds waiting lists for pupils who didn’t get a place at a school that they ranked higher than that which was allocated. Parents should be aware there is no guarantee of obtaining a school place from the waiting list but to bear in mind that there is always movement between March and September.
The waiting list will come into operation from today (Tuesday 16th April) and will be maintained until July 2025.
Help and Advice
The Admissions Team is available to provide advice and guidance about how to appeal, waiting list positions and other schools with places available.
The Admissions Team can be contacted on ed-admissions@sheffield.gov.uk to find out which other schools have places available and make any request to change their preferences.
Alternatively, further information is available on the Sheffield City Council school places site at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/schools-childcare/apply-school-place
