Guidance for parents
Deferred entry reception class
If your child becomes 5 years old during the summer term of the 2027 to 2028 academic year, you may consider deferring their admission to primary or infant school until the beginning of the 2028 to 2029 academic year.
This only applies to children born between 1 April 2023 and 31 August 2023.
However, if you do this, you should note that most children in Birmingham start school at the start of the academic year when they reach the age of 5 years.
Therefore, some or all of your preferred schools will likely not have spaces in your child's year group if you apply for a place in year 1. This is because these places would have been allocated to children who started school the previous academic year.
As part of this request for deferred entry, you must also complete an application. You must apply for a reception place for September 2027. Applications open from 1 October 2026, and the national closing date is 15 January 2027.
Applications after 15 January 2027 will be classed as late applications. Late applications will not be processed until the offer of places, which is on 16 April 2027.
Deferred entry secondary transfer
You will need to request deferred entry now for transfer to secondary education in September 2027 only if your child:
- was born between 1 April 2016 and 31 August 2016, and
- had deferred entry agreed at the point they were due to start reception if they were due to transfer to secondary school in September 2027
As part of this deferred entry request, you must also complete an application. Families must apply for a secondary school place for September 2027. Applications open from 1 September 2026, and the national closing date is 31 October 2026.
Applications after 31 October 2026 will be classed as late applications. Late applications will not be processed until the offer of places, which is on 1 March 2027.
Page last updated: 26 August 2026
