Apply for a place in a reception class
Take time to read our e-booklet 'Starting school 2025 (PDF)' as this explains the admission process in full detail.
National closing day for on time applications Wednesday 15 January 2025 23:59pm.
Applications we receive after this date are late. These late applications are processed after applications that are on time. Late applicants are less likely to get a place at the school they prefer.
If want to make any changes to your application (like your list of schools or the order of your school preferences) after submitting your application, you can make the changes on e-admissions, as many times as you wish up until the closing date and time.
See full details about changing your application below.
Apply online
Parents/carers can apply for a reception place for September 2025 through the eAdmissions website.
Applicants will need to register and create a password before they can start their application.
All Newham nursery, primary and junior schools can help you to apply for a school place using the eAdmissions site if you don’t have access to the internet.
How to register for eAdmissions account
Please upload any relevant documents on your eAdmissions account. Your documents can be added to the application until national closing day.
Supplementary Information Forms (SIFs) must not be uploaded on your eAdmissions account. Instead, send them directly to the schools or local authorities that ask for them.
Getting a receipt
If you apply online and successfully submit (make) your application, you will get an email confirmation and be given an application reference number (ARN). Your ARN will look a bit like this 316-2025-09-E-001234. If a reference number is not received it means the application has not been successfully submitted. Applicants can easily log in to eAdmissions to check and submit their application again.
Remember in the case of twins, triplets and so on, make sure you have a different ARN for each child.
Getting help
If you try to apply online and you cannot see your exact address in the list, or the schools you want to apply for are not listed, you must contact the School Admissions and Appeals Team before 5pm on 15 January 2025 or your application will be considered as ‘late’.
If you have any technical difficulties making your application online, please visit the eadmissions website.
If you still need help after contacting the helpdesk, please email or phone us - our details are below:
School Admission and Appeals Team
Email: schooladmissions@newham.gov.uk
Phone: 020 8430 2000
Can I change the information on my application form?
If your information changes, you must change the relevant sections on your online application form by the closing date. We will send you an email with a new version number every time you change your application. If you cannot make these changes to your online application, you must email us and include supporting documents if necessary. The new details that you give us will replace those on your previous form. The last application you make before the closing date (on paper or online) is the one that we use to process your preferences.
After the closing date, you must fill in and submit the ‘Change of Preference Form’ that will be available from 16 January 2025. If we receive any of your changes after the closing date, we will treat those changes as ‘late’ as we offer places based on all information available on the closing date. This form will replace your last one and we cannot consider any schools not listed on this new form (including those you want your child to stay on the waiting list for).
Any changes you make on this ‘Change of preference Form’ will not appear on your eAdmissions account, but we will email you confirmation that we have received your request. We will email the results of your new application after National Offer Day – 16 April 2025. Requests after this date will be processed within 10 working days of receiving your form.
Supplementary Information Forms
Some schools ask for a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) as well as the main online form (common application form). If you do not submit a Supplementary Information Form, the school will not be able to put your child in the correct priority group. This form is mainly for faith schools and SIF forms can be downloaded from the school’s website or pick up a copy from the school. In Newham, the schools below ask for SIFs and links are below for quick reference. A SIF is not needed for these schools if are not applying under the school’s faith criterion.
St. Antony’s Catholic Primary School (PDF)
St. Edward’s Catholic Primary School (PDF)
St. Francis Catholic Primary School (PDF)
St. Helen’s Catholic Primary School (PDF) - Coming soon
St. Joachim’s Catholic Primary School (PDF) - Coming soon
St. Luke’s Church of England Primary School (PDF) - Coming soon
St. Michael’s Catholic Primary School (PDF) - Coming soon
St. Winefride’s Catholic Primary School (PDF)
Remember to fill-in and return the SIF to the school by the deadline. For Newham faith schools, the deadline is 15 January 2025. For schools outside of Newham the deadline maybe different, always check with the school.
Important Note: A Supplementary Information Form is not an application form. If you submit a Supplementary Information Form but do not submit the main common application form, the request cannot be considered.
What happens after applications have been submitted?
After the closing date, the admission authority for each school you have listed on the application will decide whether or not to offer your child a place. If a school is oversubscribed (receives more applications than available places), the admissions authority will use its published rules (admission criteria) to decide the order in which to offer places. If it is not possible to offer a child a place at any of the schools their parents/carers listed on their application form, the local authority where the child lives will make arrangements for the child’s education. In Newham we give the child a place at the closest school to the child’s home that has a space available – this may not be close to the child’s home but will be a Newham School.
Results
For applications received by the 15 January 2025 (national closing date) results will be sent on national offer day - Wednesday 16 April 2025.
Parents and carers will receive an email that evening asking them to log into their eAdmissions account. If you could not apply online but applied direct to the School Admissions and Appeals Team by the closing date, that team will send you the results by email. If you don’t have an email address we will send the results by first-class post on 16 April 2025.
Late applicants will also receive their outcome on 16 April 2025 if they applied by 31 March 2025. Applications received after 1 April 2025, or those who have changed their on-time application after the closing date, will then be processed in weekly batches. We will offer places for the applications we received in February on the second Friday after national offer day. After this date, we will send results within 10 working days after we receive your late application form.
Do I have to accept the place offered
If you have been offered a place at a school is outside of Newham, parents/carers must accept the place using their eAdmissions account by 30 April 2025 or the place will be withdrawn.
For all other schools in Newham you do not need to do anything else unless you are making different arrangements for your child or you are deferring entry.
If you cannot access your eAdmissions account or are making other arrangements for your child’s reception education, please email details to us at schooladmissions@newham.gov.uk so that we can update our records.
