How to Apply

Selecting a school and applying for a place for your child can sometimes seem daunting but we hope that the information on this page will guide you.

Please read our attached Admission Arrangements for further details and the information below on how to apply. Suffolk County Council also produce a very useful guide for parents and carers on how to apply for your child’s school place.

We are always available to talk to you about our school and the admissions process, please do contact us.

Normal Year of Entry

Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy has a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 60 for entry into Reception. Suffolk County Council co-ordinates all Normal Year of Entry Admissions into Reception and communicates all admission decisions to parents. Please note that attendance at the Nursery does not guarantee a place in our Reception class.

► Your application must be with Suffolk County Council by 15 January 2023

The advantages of applying online are that you:

• will receive confirmation of your application by email
• can check or change your application right up to the closing date
• can view the outcome of your application online on the offer day
• will receive an email with details of your school offer on the offer day

► Online Applications: You’ll be able to view the outcome of your application on 17 April 2023, the National Offer Day.

► Postal Applications: An offer of a school place will be sent out on 17 April 2023 by Suffolk County Council. You’ll receive this letter after 17 April 2023.

In-year Applications

Our school is part of Unity Schools Partnership (USP).  USP is its own admissions authority and processes its own in-year admissions applications.  Normal year of entry (new Reception intake) applications should be made through the local authority’s admissions website, as detailed above.

You can apply for a place for your child at any time to our school outside of the normal admissions round. However, an application will not normally be considered more than half a term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.

If your child is changing schools, you need to think about:

• why you are applying to change schools
• if our school is right for your child
• how your child will travel to our school
• the availability of places in the year group at our school. Be aware that even if our school is full, you are still able to apply for a place.

Read the ‘Guidance on transferring schools’ (PDF) before moving your child from their current school, attached to this webpage.

If you wish to make an in-year application to our school, you should:

1. Apply for a place by completing the school’s own application form available from our school office, or complete an editable version of the in-year application form (Word, 69KB) and email to our school, or if you are unable to access this version apply for a place by downloading and completing the in-year application form (ADM1) (PDF, 216KB)*.
2. Send the application form directly to our school.

The email address is available on our contact us page.

*If you don’t have a printer please contact our office and we can arrange for a paper application form to be sent in the post.

Check the oversubscription criteria for our school on the Admissions policy on the Admissions page of the website of the school you wish to apply for.  The criteria are also available here in the list of schools’ details, admissions policies and Supplementary Information Forms or in the Directory of Schools in Suffolk.

In-year applications

Unity Schools Partnership will aim to notify you of the outcome of your application in writing within 10 school days of receiving it, however, we must notify you in writing within 15 school days.

If you have provided an email address on your application form, we will notify you of the outcome by email. If you have not provided an email address, we will send you a letter in the post.

If you have not received an email or letter within four weeks of sending your application, please contact our school office directly to check on progress.  Contact details are available on our contact us page

Once a place has been made available for your child, they must take up that place by the date given in our offer letter. Our school will put your child on roll by this date. If your child does not take up the place it will be withdrawn and may be reallocated.

Unsuccessful applications
If your application is unsuccessful then you will have a legal right to appeal the decision. The details of how to appeal will be included in the decision letter and further information can be found on Suffolk’s website at www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions.

Waiting lists
Our school does not hold waiting lists for in-year applications.

Making another application for our school, if you have already applied before
If your application has been refused, Unity Schools Partnership will not process another application for the same school in the same school year, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances of the parent/carer, child or school. This might be a house move or a place becoming available at a school.

If circumstances have not changed you can make another application for the following school year. However, this will not normally be considered more than half a term ahead of the date when you want your child to start at the school.

Further information about our school