PARENTS have been receiving the news that their child has been accepted into a primary school.

But what if your child didn't get a place at the school you had really set your heart on? Is there anything you can do?

Here are seven tips from the government:

1. Don't panic.

Consider accepting the school you have been offered. Compare its curriculum, distance from your home and facilities. You have until April 30 this year to decide.

2. Put your child on the waiting list of your first choice school and check back regularly.

3. Find out whether your first choice of school is full (class sizes are limited to 30 pupils for five to seven-year-olds) and consider if you want to appeal.

4. You can still appeal if the admission arrangements haven’t been properly followed, the admission criteria aren’t legal, or the decision to refuse your child a place wasn’t reasonable.

5. If you decide to appeal, collect as much evidence as possible and make sure you are well prepared for the hearing.

6. At the appeal the panel will decide if the admission criteria were properly followed and are legal, and if your reasons for your child to be admitted outweigh the school’s reasons for not admitting another child.

7. A decision will be made in five days.

Visit www.buckscc.gov.uk for information about accepting your child's place online.