Local parents urged to apply for school places ahead of deadline

THE Education Authority (EA) is asking all parents and guardians of children who are due to start pre-school or primary school in September 2023, who have not yet applied for a school place, to do so before the deadline of 12 noon on Friday, January 27.

Peter Canavan, the EA’s Head of Pupil Admissions and Financial Support, said, “We are delighted that over 31,400 or 72 per-cent of applications have been received for a pre-school or primary school place for September 2023; however, we are concerned that 28 per-cent of applications are still outstanding.”

Mr Canavan added, “We want to ensure parents and guardians of all eligible children are aware of the deadline for receipt of applications of Friday, January 27 at 12 noon and ensure that children are in the position of being considered for a place by the school of their choice.”

Parents can apply now via EA Connect, EA’s new unified customer portal which will host a number of important EA services, and is the home of the new pre-school and primary school online applications at https://connect.eani.org.uk/parent.

The EA is advising parents that, as this is a new system, they will be required to register a new account before beginning an application.

An EA spokesperson said, “EA strongly urge all parents and guardians who haven’t already done so, to apply for a place ahead of the deadline.”

There is also an extensive list of guidance and resources available on the EA website to help parents through the application process.

Parents can contact the EA Admissions Helpdesk on 028 95985595 or email preschooladmissions@eani.org.uk or primaryadmissions@eani.org.uk for further help and support.

Lines are open from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.