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Nine in ten young children will be starting at their first-choice school in September

May 2, 2022 8:12 PM

Last week, parents found out what first, primary, and junior schools their children will be starting in September 2022 - and data shows that the majority of children will be joining or transferring to their first-choice school.

The positive figures released by the Labour and Liberal Democrat-run Progressive Alliance show:

  1. 53% of children starting school were offered their first preference school compared to 93.22% in 2021. 99.35% of children starting school were offered one of their preferences, which has also increased compared to last year.
  1. 99.44% of children transferring to junior school were offered their first preference school compared to 96.80% in 2021. 99.91% of children transferring to junior school were offered one of their preferences, which has also increased compared to last year.
  2. All schools were able to offer a place to all their catchment children that had expressed a preference.
  1. Every child that applied by the deadline was offered a school place.

Councillor Kerrie Bradburn, Lib Dem Councillor for Broughton and Member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, added: "As a mother to a young child, I understand how parents would have felt last week when opening their offer letter. The fact that nine out of ten children have been offered a place at their first-choice school is great news, and I look forward to seeing this figure improve in the years to come."

Commenting on the figures, Councillor Zoe Nolan, Labour Progressive Alliance Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said:

"The Progressive Alliance welcomes the news that so many children have been offered a place at their first-choice school. The Council has been working hard to ensure that each family is happy with their offer, and the data shows that we are improving year on year. This is an exciting time for children and their families who are getting ready to take the next steps in September."

Kerrie Bradburn_