School placing requests

Apply for a school placing request

Most children attend their catchment school, which is the school that serves the area where they live. If you would like your child to attend a different school, you can make a placing request.

For children starting Primary 1 or S1 in August, we recommend applying between mid January and 15 March. If we receive your application by 15 March, we will let you know our decision by 30 April.

You can make a placing request at any time during the school year.

Before you apply

Primary 1 children

If your child is starting Primary 1 in August and you want them to attend a different school, you must still register them at their catchment school. You should do this even if you plan to submit a placing request.

Siblings of P1 and S1 children

If you are making a placing request for a child starting Primary 1 or S1 and want to request places for other children in the family, you should submit all requests at the same time.

Things you should know

Before applying, please note that:

we will not reserve a place at your child's catchment school while we consider your application
if your request is unsuccessful and your catchment school is full, we will offer a place at the next nearest suitable South Lanarkshire school
children attending a school through a placing request are not entitled to free school transport
a placing request for a younger brother or sister is not automatically approved because an older sibling attends the school
you must make a placing request if you want your child to attend a school in a different denominational sector
secondary school catchment arrangements are based on your home address
if you submit a new placing request, we will stop considering your previous application

Apply online

Complete the appropriate online form:

If you need help completing the form contact Education Resources Support Services.

Before you submit your application

You must complete a separate application for each child.

When completing the form, you must confirm that:

you are the child's parent, guardian or carer
you have registered your child at their catchment school if they are starting Primary 1
you understand the decision timescales
you understand that standard placing requests cannot be used to apply for an additional support needs school or additional support needs base

Supporting evidence

If your child has an additional support need that is relevant to your placing request, you should upload supporting evidence from an appropriate agency, such as:

NHS services
Social Work services

Supporting documents must clearly show:

your child's name
date of birth
home address
the name of the requested school

Files should:

be no larger than 5MB each
preferably be in JPG or PDF format
not exceed a combined upload size of 24MB

Additional support needs schools and bases

Do not use the standard placing request form to apply for:

an additional support needs school
an additional support needs base within a school

For advice about these placements, contact the Inclusion Service on 0303 123 1023.

When you will receive a decision

Applications for the next school session

If we receive your application by 15 March, we will write to you with our decision by 30 April.

If we receive your application after 15 March, we will normally make a decision within two months.

Applications during the school year

If your request is approved, we will tell you whether your child can start at the requested school within two months.

If your application is unsuccessful

We will write to explain our decision and provide information about the next steps.

For information about the appeals process, email EducationAppeals@southlanarkshire.gov.uk.

Young people aged 16 or 17

Young people who are over compulsory school age may be able to submit their own placing request if they have the capacity to do so.

In these circumstances, the request should be made by the young person rather than a parent or carer.

Further information

You may find the following information helpful:

These pages explain how placing requests are considered, who gets priority for places, why a request may be refused and how to appeal a decision.