Schools and learning

How to apply online for Reception or Year 7

These instructions will help you to apply online for a place in Reception or Year 7 when the admissions process opens.

You must register for an account before you can apply online. If you have applied previously for another child, you will already be registered. If you have forgotten your password you can reset it by clicking the 'Forgotten your password' link.

  1. Step 1: Sign in

    Details

    When you open the school admissions portal, sign in by entering your email address and password and click the blue Login button. This will be the same email address and password you used when registering for an account.

    Enter your email address and password to sign in

  2. Step 2: Select 'Reception & Year 7'

    Details

    You will see a number of options. Click on 'Reception & Year 7 Admission Applications.

    Select 'Reception & Year 7'

  3. Step 3: Add child

    Details

    If you have previously applied for a school place, your child's details may be saved from your last application.

    For example, you may be applying for Year 7, so they will already be in the system from when you applied for their Reception place.

    Add child

    If you see the name of the child you are applying for, click on the 'Start new application' link under your child's name.

    Otherwise, click on the 'Add child' link in the bottom right corner to add the child for whom you are applying.

    You will be asked to add your child's details such as name, address, date of birth, and who has parental responsibility.

    Once you have added your child, you can click 'start new application' under their name to begin your application.

    Start a new application

  4. Step 4: Confirm the child has a Liverpool postcode

    Details

    To apply for a school place you must submit it to the local authority where your child lives.

    To check your child's address is in the Liverpool local authority area, you will need to enter your postcode and click 'Check now'.

    Check postcode

    If your child's postcode is within this local authority area you will be prompted to continue with your application by clicking the blue 'Continue to apply' button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

    If your child's postcode is not within this local authority area you will need to visit your own local authority website to apply for a school place. 

  5. Step 5: Select a transfer group

    Details

    You will see a screen asking you to select a transfer group. The transfer group will only appear if your child's date of birth is in range for the applicable September start date when your child is due to start Reception or transfer from primary to Year 7:

    Select a transfer group

    Click on the transfer group to continue.

    If you don't see an admissions transfer group you may have missed the application deadline or your child's date of birth is out of range. If this is the case please contact school admissions.

  6. Step 6: Additional details

    Details

    Next, you will be prompted to answer the following 3 questions:

    Does your child have an Education Health and Care Plan?

    Is your child registered as being in the care of the Local Authority (foster care or 'Looked After')? If you answer yes to this question, enter the required details.

    Is your child a twin or triplet (or one of multiple birth)? 

    Add additional details

    If the answer is yes to any of the questions, slide the 'No' to 'Yes' and it will appear as a blue 'Yes'.

    Then click the blue 'Next' button in the bottom right corner to continue.

  7. Step 7: Confirm child's current school

    Details

    You will only see this screen if you are applying for a Year 7 place. If you are applying for a Reception place, skip to Step 8.

    It will ask you to confirm which primary school your child currently attends by entering the school name and click the blue 'Search' button. 

    If you prefer you can search by entering the school postcode or enter the name of the local authority where your school is located in the 'Schools located in' field and select your school from the list.

    Confirm child's current school

    If, after searching, you are unable to locate your child's school, there is an option at the bottom of the page to enter the name of the school manually.

    You should also use this field to tell us if your child is not in school, for example, if they are educated at home.

    Select the blue 'Next' button in the bottom right corner to continue.

  8. Step 8: Your preferences

    Details

    This is where you tell us which schools you would like your child to attend ranked in order of preference. You can change the order once you have selected your preferences.

    Remember, you can add up to three schools for Reception and up to five schools for Year 7.

    Add your school preferences

    To add your first school, enter the name of the school in the 'School Name' field or you can search by school postcode or enter the local authority where the school is located. Then click the blue 'Search' button on the right.

    The results will display at the bottom of the page. Click on your chosen school to select it.

  9. Step 9: Reasons for preference

    Details

    You will then see a screen asking for your reasons for choosing this school. It will ask:

    If the child has a sibling (brother or sister) at your chosen school.  If your answer is yes, you will need to complete the sibling details questions.

    Other reasons - for example, you may want to include any social or medical reasons to support your application here.

    Reasons for preference

    You will be asked these questions for each of your preferred schools.

    When you have answered the questions, you can continue by clicking 'Next'.

    This will take you to the 'More preferences' screen to add further schools to your preferences.

  10. Step 10: Add your next preference

    Details

    You'll now see your first choice added to your preferred schools list.

    Add your next preference

    To add another school click the blue 'Add a new preferred school' button and repeat steps  8 and 9 to add your other school choices.

    Remember, it's up to three choices for Reception and five for Year 7.

    Once you have added more than one school, you'll see up and down arrows appear next to each school. You can use these to re-order your preferences before you submit your application if you wish.

    If you change your mind about a school and want to remove or edit it, you can do this by clicking on the relevant button next to the school name.

    When you are happy with your choices and preference order, click the blue 'Next' button on the bottom right of the screen. This will save your application.

  11. Step 11: Submit your application

    Details

    The last step is to read the information on the final page before submitting your application.

    Read the summary and submit your application

    If you want to receive your offer of a school place by email on national offer day, select 'Yes' next to the question, otherwise you will receive it by post.

    Declare that you have read the terms and conditions by selecting 'Yes' next to the declaration question at the bottom of the page.

    You can choose to submit your application straight away by clicking 'Submit now' or if you are not ready to submit, you can choose 'Return later'.

    Once you have submitted your application, you can return to the school admissions portal at any time to change your application up until the closing date:

    - 31st October for Year 7 applications

    - 15th January for Reception applications

    Application submitted