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In which order do I need to sort these thing's out? (Re. moving house/schools)

9 replies

NatalieJane · 21/07/2009 11:39

We will be moving towards the end of the year, hopefully October time. DS1 (7yo) is most likely going to have to move schools, DS2 (3yo in December) would have been starting nursery in January 2010.

We'll be privately renting, so obviously need to find a house in the next couple of months, ready to go in October-ish. Do I need to secure a school and nursery place before we put a deposit down on a house? Or if we put a deposit down on a house, do the local EA have to find the places for us? If that's the case, can we specify that we don't want a certain school/s? And does the school have to be within a certain distance from the house? Or, is it a case of moving in and then sorting the school?

Also, is there any notice or anything we have to give to the school he's in now? Or is that up to the school?

Any other advice about the logistics of this would be really helpful TIA

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LIZS · 21/07/2009 11:46

I don't think the LEA wodulk ahev an obligation to find a place for your 3yr old regardless of what the current one has offered. Personally I'd be looking into private ones now (EY funding should cover the basic cost) and going on waiting lists. You would proabbly need ot have signed hte lease before looking for a place for ds1 - some LEA's operate a list of vacancies centrally others will leave it to the individual school. No notice required but you might like to mention it.

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titchy · 21/07/2009 11:47

Identify location first, based on schools and their proximity to potential houses. If you're curretnyy out of area the LEA will not be able to allocate you a place at an over subscribed school because you'll be too far away compared to other applicants. The LEA will not use your new address until you are able to prove you have secured a house i.e. show them the 12 month tenancy agreement.

Once you have moved then sort schools out, but watch out the for application deadline (October half term in many counties). You will have to give notice to your curretn school.

HTH

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NatalieJane · 21/07/2009 11:54

Thanks both

Trouble is, we don't know exactly where we will be moving to, until we've found the right house, we have a fairly vast search area (and a very picky house criteria!), and it could be that we move down the road or 60 miles away.

What happens if we move, then sort the school out? If the only school we can get into is 5/10/15 miles away, what happens then?

What is the October application deadline? We are hoping to time the move so that DS1 would start the new school when the children go back after the October half term, would that not be the case?

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Sparks · 21/07/2009 12:02

In our area, the October application deadline only applies to kids starting in reception. For kids joining in other years, there is no deadline, they can join straight away, assuming there is a place at the school.

Your best bet would probably be to phone the potential LEA(s) and ask what their procedure is.

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titchy · 21/07/2009 12:07

Oh yes theh Octpber deadline is to first point of entry schools, so as long as you're not moving to an area with seperate infant and junior school you should be able to just phone the nearby schools to see fi they have vacancies.

TBH finding the right area for schools would be my first priority - and this will mean vising schools and seeing if they have any vacancies, then finding the right house.

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NatalieJane · 21/07/2009 12:37

Problem is with sorting the school first, there are potentially hundreds of good schools in our search area, we could go to all the trouble of finding the right school with an available place, and then start looking for a house only to find that there are no houses that would suit us for 30 miles.

We thought it'd work best if we found the house, put the deposit down on the condition that we can find a good school within a reasonable distance, then sort the school, if we have no luck on the school front then we have to find a different house. Is that feasable? I suppose not if we have to prove to the LEA that we are already living there before they allocate us a place anywhere?

Are the LEA/s open over the summer break?

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LIZS · 21/07/2009 12:56

Lea should be open in the holdiasy btu schools may well not be until towards the end. You really need to narrow it down , look on Upmystreet and do some local research . imo a good school in an area you ahte is worse than a mediocre shcool in an area you like. Ultimately you will get whatever school has a suitable space at the time - be it a 5 minute walk or 5 miles in the car. You would have to sign the lease to get allocated one which is binding but only for 6 months so if you looked around and preferred a different house or location then you can move again.

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bigchris · 21/07/2009 13:01

we moved first, 15 minute walk away from the school we wanted.
then we kept our fingers crossed and it was all fine
just hope they don't abolish the sibling rule and closest rule for some kind of stupid lottery in the next 2 years

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petelly · 24/07/2009 22:04

Unfortunately, you can't get the school sorted until you have proof of address.

We've gone through the whole process just now and it's very frustrating.

What you could do, since you're renting and the timeframe is shorter, is call round all the schools that you're interested and find out if they have vacancies for the year you're interested in. If not, ask how long the waiting list is and the crtieria/distances for the first few children. Then, when you find a house, make sure it's near to a school that you like that either has a vacancy or one where you'll be near the top of the waiting list (preferably for a larger school with 2 or 3 form enter so there's more chance of a child leaving).

It's a gamble because a family may register before you and take a place that comes up or push you down the waiting list - but it's the only thing that you can do.

The other possibility is to appeal if you have good grounds for going to a particular school (and it's not infant class size prejudice).

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