Clackmannanshire Council Online

Placement Requests

Placement Requests

Making a placement request

Parents have the right to choose a school for their children to attend other than the catchment school - this is commonly known as a placing request.

Please note that if a placing request is being submitted for a new entrant to school, ie a P1 or S1 pupil, you must still enrol your child at his/her catchment school.

Timescale for making decisions 

The timescale for making decisions on school placing request applications is outlined below. 

• If you wish your child to start the school of your choice at the beginning of the school year in August and your application has been submitted by the closing date 15 March, you will be given an answer by 30 April. 
• If you wish your child to start the school of your choice at the beginning of the school year in August and your application has been received by this office after the closing date 15 March, it will be considered a late application and will not be considered until after 30 April. 
• If you wish your child to go to a different school in the middle of the school year, you will be given an answer within 2 months from the date your application has been received by this office.

Criteria for accepting placing requests 

School placing requests for primary and secondary schools will normally be accepted unless one of the following criteria apply:

• Placing your child in the specified school (that is, the school specified in your placing request) would make it necessary for the authority to take an additional teacher into employment.
• Placement gives rise to significant expenditure on extending or otherwise altering the accommodation at or facilities provided in connection with the school.
• Placement would be seriously detrimental to the continuity of your child's education.
• Placement would likely be seriously detrimental to order and discipline in the school.
• Placement would likely be seriously detrimental to the educational wellbeing of pupils attending the school
  • if the education normally provided at the specified school is not suited to the age, ability or aptitude of the child; 
  • if the education authority have already required the child to discontinue his/her attendance at the specified school; 
  • if, where the specified school is a special school, the child does not have additional support needs requiring the education or special facilities normally provided at that school; 
  • if accepting a request would prevent the Council from retaining reserved places at the specified school to accommodate pupils likely to become resident in the school’s catchment area between the application date and the end of the school year; 
  • if, assuming that pupils numbers remain constant, make it necessary at the start of a future stage of the child’s primary education for the authority to elect either to create an additional class, or an additional composite class, in the specified school, or take an additional teacher into employment at that school;
  • if accepting a request would mean that the capacity of the school would be exceeded in terms of pupil numbers.

Where a school has more placing requests than places, it will give first priority to children who have a sibling attending the requested school at the time the school placing request takes effect. If after accepting siblings the school has more placing requests, then placing requests will be decided by means of a ballot to which parents will be invited to witness.

Denominational Schools

Entitlement to enrol in one of the Council's two Roman Catholic primary schools - St Bernadette's and St Mungo's Primary Schools or the Roman Catholic secondary school - St Modan's is restricted to children who have a baptism certificate from the Catholic Church.

Parents of other primary school aged children who wish to enrol must submit a placing request.

Placement requests for St Modan's must be submitted to Stirling Council. Please follow the link provided.

Scottish Government information

The Scottish Government produce a A guide for parents on choosing a school and the placing request system which gives information for parents in Scotland about choosing a local council school.

It gives a general explanation of the law relating to these placing requests and sets out the procedures that parents and local councils have to follow.

Additional support needs

If your child has additional support needs you will find advice including information about choosing a school and your appeal rights in The Parents' Guide to Additional Support for Learning published by Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning.

This booklet cannot give a definitive interpretation of the law. That is a matter for the Courts.

More information

If you want more information or have queries, please contact us using the details below. Alternatively, you can contact the headteacher of your local school or Parent Council.