It is compulsory for all children in the UK to attend full time education by the time they reach their fourth birthday and this for most children means attending a mainstream primary school unless you decide to home-school them or they are going to attend a private school.
The school admissions process in the UK is to apply to your local council and state in order of preference the three primary schools that are in your area that you would consider as a suitable school for your child to attend.
But how do you choose these three schools?
Firstly it’s important to realise that the admissions process is not first come first served so there are criteria that a child must meet in order to attend their chosen school, the latest criteria can be found on the government website.
When you are looking for a suitable school the first thing to look at is their Ofsted report, this can give you a lot of information about the school in general. Then it’s a good idea to look at the local school league tables as this gives an impression of how the school compares to others in the area.
Before making any decisions ensure that you visit the school to get a real feel for what it’s like.