Admissions and School Tours
At Brookvale Primary School, we recognise that finding the right educational setting for your child is an incredibly important (and sometimes daunting) decision. Like you, we want your child to attend a setting that will not only help them achieve well academically, socially and emotionally, but one which will also celebrate their individuality, develop their personal interests and talents and support building their confidence and character, allowing them to flourish and thrive.
We warmly welcome all parents and carers to arrange a visit with us in school to see if Brookvale Primary School is the best setting for your child.
If you would like to book a tour of the school, please email the school office: office@brkvale.bham.sch.uk
Our Admission Criteria
The Local Authority facilitate the process of consultation on admission arrangements for the schools in the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, including Brookvale Primary School.
When we receive more applications than there are places available, we will apply the oversubscription criteria which will be used to decide who will be offered a place, and the ranking of the waiting list. Places at our school will be offered based on the following order of priority.
- Looked after or previously Looked After Children
- Children with a sibling already at the school they have applied for who will still be in attendance in Year 6 (for primary admissions)
- Children who live nearest the school of choice.
Within each of these categories priority is given to those who live nearest the school calculated on the basis of a straight line measurement between the applicant’s home address and the main school gates. For details of individual school age range for primary and secondary as well as the the published admission number for each school please visit the related school website or the www.atlp.org.uk
Waiting lists will not be fixed following the offer of places. They are subject to change. This means that a child’s waiting list position during the year could go up or down. Any applicants will be added to the school’s list in accordance with the order of priority for offering places.
Appeals are administered by the Local Authority. Parents who wish to appeal against the decision to refuse their child admission to the school of their choice should contact School Admissions at Birmingham Local Authority and request an appeal form. Appeals will be heard by an independent panel.
How places are allocated for Reception starters in September 2025
Children in Birmingham can start school (Reception) in the September after their fourth birthday. For example: If your child was born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021, they will be able to start school in September 2025.
- You will receive information from Birmingham City Council School Admissions Team in the Autumn about how to apply for a school place for your Reception child. If you have not received this you need to contact the School Admissions Team on 0121 303 1888.
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Applications open on 1 October 2024 for primary school applications for entry in September 2025. The closing date is 15 January 2025 at 11:59pm.
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It is really important that you apply on time. If you apply late, you are less likely to get offered a place at any of your preferred schools. Applications received after the 15 January 2025 will be classed as late applications and will not be processed until after the offer of places on 16 April 2025.
- Places are allocated in line with Birmingham City Council’s admission criteria as outlined above (looked after children, siblings, then distance from school).
- Online applicants will be notified of their allocated place on 16th April 2025.
Deferred Entry
For deferred entry enquiries, please use access Birmingham Local Authorities guidance using the link below:
www.birmingham.gov.uk/deferred_school_entry
Offer of School Places
If you applied online and provided an email address, Birmingham Local Authority will email you on Wednesday 16 April 2025 to tell you which primary school your child has been offered.
You will also receive a formal offer letter, posted by 1st class post on Wednesday 16 April 2025, allowing at least three working days for your letter to arrive.
The offer letter will explain how to accept or refuse the offer that has been made.
Do not contact Birmingham City Council before you have received the offer of a school place.
The school admissions team cannot tell you which primary school place has been offered to your child by phone or email.
You must have received your email or letter before contacting the school admissions team.
If you have not received your email or letter by Tuesday 22 April 2025, you may contact school admissions.
Acceptance and Refusals
The email and letter you receive from Birmingham Local Authority will name the primary school your child has been offered for September 2025.
You do not need to let them know if you plan to accept this offer.
If you want to refuse this offer, you must contact the admissions team by Wednesday 30 April 2025.
Your offer letter will tell you how you can refuse the offer. If you do not refuse the offer, records will show that the offer has been accepted.
If your child has not been offered a place at any of the schools you applied for, this will be because the school(s) received more applications than there were places available and other children met the admission criteria more closely than your child.
You are strongly encouraged not to refuse the offer so your child has a guaranteed place for September 2025.
By refusing the offer, the place may be given to a child on the waiting list for that school.
The offer being accepted will not affect your child’s waiting list position for any of your higher preference schools or influence the outcome of any appeal you may submit.
In-Year Admissions
Pupils usually start school at the start of the school year in September. Sometimes your child will need to start or change school after this because:
- You move house, either within or into Birmingham.
- You want your child to change schools for other reasons.
To apply for an in-Year admission, please visit the below website for further details: www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20119/school_admissions/587/in-year_school_admissions
What happens after I apply?
If the school you request has places, your child will be offered a place at the school.
The school will notify the School Admissions and Fair Access Service of your child’s details and the outcome of the application.
If the school you request doesn’t have any places, your child will be placed on the waiting list for your preferred school and you will be offered a place at the nearest available school. You also have the right to appeal. You can appeal against the refusal of a place in current Reception class to current Year 13 using our In Year appeal form (see link below for appeals information) www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20119/school_admissions/207/appeal_against_a_decision_to_refuse_your_child_a_school_place
Fair Access Protocol
The Fair Access Protocol sits outside the arrangements for the coordination of school places and is triggered when pupil hasn’t secured a school place under the in-year admissions procedures.
All admission authorities must take part in the Fair Access Protocol to make sure that unplaced children are offered a school place quickly.
There’s no duty for local authorities or admission authorities to meet parents’ preferences for schools when offering places under the Protocol.
The Fair Access Protocol has been amended to add an addendum to meet the new requirements of the new School Admissions Code that was implemented on 1 September 2021.
