To apply for Nursery, call our main office

We offer 15 hours per week of free nursery education, with two schedules to choose from:

• Monday, Tuesday 8:40am-3:15pm and Wednesday 8:40am-11:15am
• Wednesday 1:00pm–3:15pm and Thursday, Friday 8:40am–3:15pm

Children can join in September, January or April after they turn 3 years old.

For places in any year (apart from nursery)

You should apply on your local authority website.
Places are limited by the number of children we can (legally) accept in each year group.

• If you live in an area that’s Leeds City Council – leeds.gov.uk
• If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council

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Apply for a reception place (if you have missed the deadline)

Deadline to apply for a Reception place – 15 January

• If you live in an area that’s Leeds City Council – leeds.gov.uk
• If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council

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Is your child born between April and August and starting Reception?

If your child is summer born child (born between 1 April and 31 August) you may request that your child be admitted out of their normal age group, to reception rather than year one.

Click here to find out more and read the Admission out of chronological age (including deferment for summer born children) section. 

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Move to us from another school

If you want to move school, get in touch and we can help you get started. You can complete this online on the council’s website:

• If you live in an area that’s Leeds City Council – leeds.gov.uk
• If you live in another area, find your local council here – gov.uk/find-local-council

For support with this, please contact the in-year transfer team. For Leeds this is – education.transfers@leeds.gov.uk

Or, download and return the In Year Application Form from the bottom of this page.

Once you have applied for a place, we will get in touch with you. 

• If we have spaces in the year groups applied for, we will let you know about starting at Woodlands.
• If we do not have spaces in the year groups applied for, you will be added to our waiting list.

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Waiting Lists

Find out more about Leeds City Council waiting lists.

We admit up to 60 children in Reception each year – this is our PAN (Pupil Admission Number). If fewer than this apply, we offer a place to all applicants.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be admitted to the school named on their plan. These children are assigned places before the oversubscription criteria is applied.

We follow the Leeds Local Authority oversubscription criteria. This criteria has now been updated to include: “Children who were in state care outside of England and were then adopted”. We will consult on this new criteria in time for our September 2023 intake, so this criteria won’t apply for children starting at our academy in September 2022.

Leeds Local Authority may need evidence that you meet the priority criteria below.

• Submit your evidence here – leeds.gov.uk/admissions

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When there’s more applicants than places available

Priority 1

1. Children in public care or fostered under an arrangement made by the local authority or children previously looked after by a Local Authority
2. Pupils without an EHC plan, but who have Special Educational Needs, or with exceptional medical or mobility needs – that can only be met at Co-op Academy Woodlands

Priority 2

Children with a sibling who’ll start school at the start of the academic year and are living at the same address

Priority 3

Children who live in the catchment area for Woodlands (as defined by Leeds City Council)

Find your catchment area here – forms.leeds.gov.uk/SchoolCatchment

Priority 4

All other children

Tie Breaks

When there’s more children meeting these priorities than places available, we offer places based on distance. Those living closer to the school will be offered a place (when measured in a straight line)

Appeals for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 – these classes are limited to 30 pupils per teacher by law. This means that appeals for these places are less likely to be successful.  

If our school refuses your child a place because of this limit and you want to appeal, you will need to make an infant class size appeal.  You can see if your reasons are likely to be successful by reading the Department for Education’s information about infant class size appeals.   

Other appeals – You can appeal because you want your child to attend a particular school. These are successful if the panel agree that the reasons for your appeal outweigh the school’s decision not to admit any more children.

Wanting your child to go to a school because you think it is the best one in the area is not likely to convince the panel that your child should get a place there.

If you are not offered a place at the school you requested, you will have the right of appeal. The appeal panel is independent of the school and council and the decision is legally binding.  

Before you appeal you:

• should accept any place that you have been offered in case your appeal is not successful
• should think about why you are appealing and check if it’s likely to be successful
• could read the advice for appealing school places on GOV.UK 
• could get independent advice on making an appeal from a charity

Leeds City Council arranges our appeals and you can find the appeal form at School appeals (leeds.gov.uk)    

Find our Admissions Policy and Admissions Arrangements on our policies page.

If you require any help, your local Council website has lots of information about the process.
You can also contact us.

Leeds City Council Admissions Website
Leeds City Council Admissions Helpline – 0113 222 4414

 

We are part of the Coordinated Admissions Scheme for schools in Leeds. Click the links below to find out more

Coordinated admission scheme for schools in Leeds 2024 to 2025

Coordinated admission scheme for schools in Leeds 2025 to 2026