Admissions
There are two kinds of admissions to Slade.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Admissions are for those children starting school for the first time in Reception Year and In Year Admissions, which happen once a child has already started school and there is a desire or need to transfer schools, or is new to the UK and is of school age.
Both of these are described in full below. If you have any questions, please contact us using the email address admissions@slade.kent.sch.uk.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Admissions
​​​We offer 60 places in our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, or 'Year R') for new admissions (this is our Published Admissions Number). These places will be allocated by our admissions authority, Kent County Council, in accordance with the following criteria (in order of priority):
- Children in Local Authority Care
- Current Family Associations (siblings)
- Health and Special Access reasons
- Nearness of children's homes to school
Primary School National Offer Day: Thursday 16 April
National Offer Day is the day that Local Authorities inform parents and carers of the school their child has been allocated to join in September. National Offer Day this year is Thursday 16 April.
From about midday on 16 April, emails will be received by parents and carers who have made an application to join Slade Primary School. This offer of a school place will be sent from Kent County Council to the email address used on the original application.
Please read on for our guide of what to do next once you have received your offer on Thursday 16 April:
I have received an offer to join Slade and this is what I wanted.
In this case, you should wait for a welcome email from us. We will write to parents and carers of children who have been offered places at Slade later on 16 April.
This email will detail everything that you should do next, which will be to let us know that you accept the place, attaching copies of evidence of your address. We cannot process any acceptance without address evidence also being submitted. Once this has been done, we will send you our welcome pack which is a guide to the next few months as well as an introduction to your new school.
I have not received an offer to join the school I wanted.
In this case, the advice is to first accept the place as this guarantees you have a school place on 1 September. Kent County Council will automatically put your name on the waiting list for any school you listed as a higher preference to the school you were offered. You can apply to Kent County Council to be placed on the waiting list for any of your lower preference schools – details on how to do this will be included in their offer letter. Parents and Carers who apply to go on waiting lists before 30 April will be included in National Reallocation Offer Day, which happens on Thursday 21 May. This day allows the Local Authority to reallocate any places that have become available since the original offer day in April.
From 21 May, you can apply to be on the waiting list of any school using the In Year Transfer application route; scroll down on this page on how to do this.
You can also appeal against the decision of the Local Authority. You must submit your appeal before Monday 18 May 2026 for it to be considered by Monday 20 July 2026. Any appeals received after this time will be heard within 40 school days from the deadline, or where reasonably possible in line with updated guidance from the Department for Education. More details and the form required to submit an appeal can be found via the Kent County Council website: Appeal a school offer – Kent County Council.
Useful links
In-Year Admissions
If you are looking to transfer your child from another primary school, please complete an in year admissions form and submit this directly to us. Slade Primary School applies the admissions criteria laid out by Kent County Council as described above in the EYFS Admissions section. Please click on the link below to find out more information about the criteria and for links to the application form required.
Please email your completed application form via our dedicated admissions email address:admissions@slade.kent.sch.uk
Useful links:
Visiting the School
For parents interested in joining Slade as an In Year transfer, we are unable to satisfy demand for tours before such time that an offer of a place has become available. Once this is the case, we will invite you in for a full 1-2-1 family tour before making up your mind whether to accept the place or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When should I apply for a place for my child?
Children start school when they are 4 rising 5 and all applications should be made via the Kent County Council in the year preceding their 5th birthday.
For example: Children who are born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 need to apply in the application window which opens in November 2025 through to the closing date in mid January 2026 for admission to school in September 2026.
2. Can I put my name down on a waiting list now for a place for reception?
Slade Primary School does not keep a reception waiting list or expression of interest list.
3. What is your catchment area?
There is no official 'catchment area'. We fill our spaces using the criteria mentioned above - with the vast majority of spaces being filled by those living closest to the school (criteria 4). Although a set distance does not guarantee a successful application, and as a guide only from the last two years, the furthest distance from the school to gain a place under this criteria has been 1.3 Kilometres.
4. How are children allocated to a class when they start school?
Children are divided up into two classes in order of date of birth. We attempt, where possible to provide classes with an equal number of boys to girls, additional educational needs and other factors that will allow for a balanced year group.
5. What provision do you have out of school hours?
We have limited spaces wraparound provision at Slade for Breakfast Club, starting at 07:30 and for After School Club finishing at 17:30. Further details can be obtained on the relevant page on this website or by contacting yetis@slade.kent.sch.uk.