Nearly 800 Doncaster parents missed primary school application deadline last year, new figures revealÂ

Nearly 800 parents of children in Doncaster missed the primary school application deadline last year, new figures have revealed.Â
Nearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealedNearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealed
Nearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealed

The figures, which were requested by Exam Papers Plus as part of a Freedom of Information request to 200 councils across the country, showed that Doncaster Council had one of the highest number of late applications for September 2018. 

Of 107 councils which provided data, Doncaster Council ranked fourth out of the worst offending areas with 21 per cent of applications received late, falling behind Denbighshire, in north-east Wales with nearly 22 per cent and Gwynedd with 23 per cent.

Nearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealedNearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealed
Nearly 800 parents submitted primary school applications late for September 2018, figures have revealed
Read More
Calls to recognise the 2,641 children living with domestic abuse in Sheffield
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In Doncaster, a total of 3798 applications were received for the September 2018 start date, with 799 of those being received after the deadline had passed.

This compared to Sheffield Council, where nearly eight per cent of applications were received late.

Figures also revealed that Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council was the worst for late applications, with nearly 30 per cent, and that the City of London received no late applications.

The founder of Exam Papers Plus, Faisal Nasim, said: "We conducted the research to find out how many parents are submitting applications late. The national average doesn't strike me as overly surprising.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

'But the fact that some council areas have such a high proportion of late applications is incredibly surprising and really begs the question - why? Is it a lack of communication from councils? Is the system too confusing? Either way, it's something that probably needs reviewing in some areas.

'Primary school applications are really important. And by being late with yours, it may mean your application isn't even considered until after the ones submitted on time are allocated.

'So if your first choice is a school that often receives more applications than it has places, your chances of securing your place could be diminished."

Doncaster Council said that engagement between families and schools is continuing to improve.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Damian Allen, Director of People at Doncaster Council, said 'Doncaster Council continues to improve engagement with families and schools and for Secondary 2019.

'We can report that due to changes in working practices we can see that of the 3752 Doncaster residents, 3575 have applied by the closing date equalling 95%.  This is an increase from 83% last year. '