Online school registration proving a first class hit
09 January 2019
Aberdeen City Council’s new online school registration system has proved a huge hit in its first week as the authority’s focus on digital innovation gathers pace.
The platform went live on Monday (7 January) and on the first day 450 applications were opened as preparations for the August intake begin.
Aberdeen City Council is the first local authority in Scotland to launch both school admissions and placing requests for all school types as a fully online process. The entire process is digitised and paper free with decisions issued to the online account of the applicant.
It is part of a comprehensive programme of innovative solutions designed to embrace digital technology to better meet the needs of customers.
The school registration system follows the recent launch of a number of online platforms across Council services including parking permit applications, with a rolling schedule of further launches is planned for 2019.
Councillor John Wheeler, Aberdeen City Council’s Education Operational Delivery Convener, said: “We’re delighted with the very positive response to our innovative new registration system and to the wider roll-out of digital technology which thousands of customers of the Council are benefiting from.
“The Council is proud of the work that is being done to provide a better service to customers, with exciting plans to continue to embrace existing technology and push the boundaries with new opportunities.
“The school registration platform is a fantastic example of the approach in action. It makes things much simpler for parents and carers, who are no longer required to travel to schools to collect and then submit an application form as was the case with the old paper system, offering a smoother and far more efficient process.
“With comprehensive online guidance as well as continued support and advice from schools, the system has been designed to provide an improved experience for applicants being led through a very important process.
“The wholly-digital approach also gives applicants additional time to complete their submission rather than the limited window they had in the manual process, although we would still encourage anyone planning to register for the 2019/20 school year to do so at the earliest opportunity as we plan for the next intake.”
The launch of the online system has been supported by an awareness-raising campaign, with Aberdeen school pupils playing their part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoV-k0hHk0w&feature=youtu.be .
All applications for school places must be made by registering at https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/education-and-childcare/apply-school-place and completing the online form by 15 March 2019. Parents and carers can apply for any Aberdeen City Council school, any year group, any term and any priority. This includes primary, secondary, denominational, special, and Gaelic medium schools.
Parents can also seek advice on completing the application by visiting their local library.
Photographs and video show children at Braehead and Woodside schools promoting the new online registration system.