If your child was born between 2 July 2015 and 1 July 2016, they will be due to start primary one in September 2020, and as they will be of compulsory school age, you must apply for a place in a primary school.
The Citizen Portal is available to make an online application for admission to pre-schools in September 2020.
Places are not allocated on a First Come, First Served basis.
You will be able to apply online between:
12.00 noon (GMT) on Tuesday 7 January 2020
and
12.00 noon (GMT) on Thursday 30 January 2020
If you are unable to apply online, paper applications will be available on request from schools or the Education Authority.
Before you submit your application it is important that you read the admissions criteria of the schools you are interested in sending your child to. When completing the application you will need to make sure you include all the relevant information about how your child meets the criteria, as this is what schools will use when applying criteria and making decisions on which children will be offered places.
If you apply after the closing date/time for punctual applications i.e. 12 noon on Thursday 30 January 2020, you will need to complete a paper form as the Citizen Portal will not be accessible after this date, and your application will be treated as a late application.
For more information, please view the Primary school admissions User Guide below.
Reception Class
A small number of primary schools provide a Reception class/group for children who are aged four at the date of their admission, but who are not yet of compulsory school age (i.e. children whose fourth birthday is after 1 July in a year).
Children who are not of compulsory school age will only be selected for admission after all children of compulsory school age have been allocated a place.
You can use the ‘Find a School’ search facility on the website, to find out if a primary school in your area has a reception class.
You can apply for a Reception place on the Citizen Portal as outlined above.
Children currently already enrolled in a Reception Class
If your child is currently enrolled in the Reception Class of a primary school and you wish for them to continue their primary one education at the same school, then a new application is not required.
However, if you wish to apply for your child to be admitted to a different primary school, then you must complete an application for consideration.