Parents of children aged three or four have just over two weeks left to apply for a primary school place for September 2020 – here is all you need to know.

Last year, Suffolk County Council received nearly 7,500 applications from parents and carers indicating which school they would prefer their child to be educated at in Reception Year.

Now time is running out for parents of those looking to get a school space for summer 2020.

When do applications close?

Parents living in Suffolk and Essex can apply for a reception school place up until Wednesday, January 15.

Those who complete the application before this date will have the best chance of being offered a place at one of their preferred schools.

You must apply for a Reception Year place for September 2020 by January 15 2020 if your child was born between September 1 2015 and August 31 2016.

How many schools can I choose in my application?

In Suffolk you can select three schools in order of your preference.

It is best to think about your options and transport links when you chose your top three schools.

How do I know which school to apply for?

Here are some top tips about how to make your choice from a local head teacher.

What happens if I am too late to apply?

If your application is received after the closing date it may not be dealt with until after places have been offered to those who filled in the form on time - this is why the closing date is important.

This could mean that all the places at your preferred schools are filled before your child's application is processed.

What happens if you move house during the application process?

This is something that commonly crops up in the primary school application process.

If you are moving house it is still important to make an application by the closing date.

In Suffolk, if you are moving to a new address and want to use that address as the child's ordinarily resident address for their application - for the Reception intake - the parent must send SCC written evidence by Friday, February 7 2020, that they are legally committed to the move and that it will happen before the start of the school year.

Parents should contact SCC for more information or look on their website as it is complicated.

When will you find out the outcome of your application?

Offers will be sent to online applicants by email on Thursday, April 16 2020 - which is National Offer Day.

From this date, if you applied online, you can log into your account to see your allocation - and you will also be sent an email.

If you have not been offered a place at your preferred school(s), this email will give you more information about what to do next, including details of how to make an appeal.

According to Suffolk County Council, 98.6% of applicants received offers for one of the primary or infant schools their parents or carers applied for, with 93.8% getting their first preference.

For any further questions about primary school applications in Suffolk see here, and in Essex see here.